[sfviahouston]

Leaning toward the LCD-4's. They seem to have less leakage than the HE1000 so they don't disturb my wife at reasonable volumes in bed.

Obviously that coupled with various other sound quality preferences

 

[neueziel]

booo

 

[guguplex]

LCD-4.  I've always felt that Hifiman's lacked in the mid range.  

Lacked in the mid range, may be but cleaner. LCD4 is a bit overpowered in the same region and the price for this is a little lose of clarity, a bit darker than the Hlfiman

 

[Yugo]

As a current owner of both. I would highly recommend keeping both.
Btw, Hifiman's smooth and refined midrange is the main reason I loved it so much. I would never call it lacking. The two reflect complete opposite take on vocals. LCD4 is rich and warm. That's probably why there's been soon much debate. 
There's simply no 'the better' one. It all comes down what you listen to the most.

 

[sfviahouston]

Keeping both, decision too difficult.

 

[doc0075579]

Now you have to decide which to listen too!

 

[JaZZ]

I have the HE1000, and it has become my favorite headphone. Even unequalized I think it's a very neutral headphone (relatively speaking), and equalized it is a master of instrument timbres and spatial depth in my book. But don't forget to add a matching (silver?) upgrade cable! The one that comes with it doesn't do it justice.
 
I've auditioned the (new) LDC-4 and the HE1000 side-by-side in the store, driven by my Hugo. And I liked the Audeze. It plays on the same level to my ears. Just one thing would prevent me from purchasing it: Compared to the HE1000 it lacks the third dimension. Clearly so. While my DAVE would be able to drive it at its full potential, the LCD-4 in turn would most likely not do the same, since imaging of spatial depth is DAVE's special strength.
 
So, to the thread starter: Have special attention to this criterion and if it's decisive for your sonic ideals. Adapting the sonic balance to the personal preferences is easy, but adding the third dimension retroactively is impossible.

 

[YugiRider2]

Used to own the HE-1000 and just ordered the LCD-4.
 
The build quality of the HE-1000 is enough for me to dislike it. It is seriously quite horrific especially for someone who is obsessive like me. It looks like a $20 headphone compared to the LCD-4's cocobolo wood and chrome plating. There are so many blemishes with the metal work that it is actually quite hilarious. I know this has nothing to do with sound quality, but on a $3,000 headphone, I expect some kind of quality.  I also find the HE-1000 too soft and lacking in dynamics compared to the LCD-4. I think the Hifiman is better for relaxing but as a flagship headphone, I feel it distorts and changes the music too much. The bass on the LCD-4 is also much more punchy, better extended and more satisfying. I am also not a fan of the peaky mid-treble of the HE-1000. It is a great headphone, but I would recommend the Edition X which is even less fatiguing. The Edition X has a similar soundstage, something which the LCD-4 is a bit lacking in.

 

[manpowre]

  I have the HE1000, and it has become my favorite headphone. Even unequalized I think it's a very neutral headphone (relatively speaking), and equalized it is a master of instrument timbres and spatial depth in my book. But don't forget to add a matching (silver?) upgrade cable! The one that comes with it doesn't do it justice.
 
I've auditioned the (new) LDC-4 and the HE1000 side-by-side in the store, driven by my Hugo. And I liked the Audeze. It plays on the same level to my ears. Just one thing would prevent me from purchasing it: Compared to the HE1000 it lacks the third dimension. Clearly so. While my DAVE would be able to drive it at its full potential, the LCD-4 in turn would most likely not do the same, since imaging of spatial depth is DAVE's special strength.
 
So, to the thread starter: Have special attention to this criterion and if it's decisive for your sonic ideals. Adapting the sonic balance to the personal preferences is easy, but adding the third dimension retroactively is impossible.

The third dimension is there with a more powerfull amp!

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

I just auditioned both, and absolutely preferred LCD-4. Audeze seems to have had some hate from the classical community, but playing Wagner, I thought the LCD-4 was utterly wonderful. Rich, thick, wonderful, spacious. The tone of the brass and low strings was the best I've ever heard, anywhere.

 

[Dillan]

I agree with most people here that the sound on the LCD-4 is rich and enticing and wonderful. As compared to the HE1000, the build quality is way better on the Audeze and to me the sound is better and more r&d went into the LCD4, but sound sig will be personal preference.. to me LCD4 just sounds "better".
 
Best mids I have heard in any headphone..

 

[gancanjam]

This is not to say "which is better" but is more of "which is better for YOU" as both LCD4 and HEKs are technical marvels. I can give my personal high level brief  impression and you can decide on what you are looking for,  again they are only comparative speaking within that segment and not mean either of these HPs does a poor job in any aspect, given a choice i would own both these HPs but i had money to buy only one  
 
Build Quality: LCD4 by a big margin, it is not just the ear cup materials but also connections, sockets, cords and everything is better in LCD 4 .
Bass: HEK has great deep rich sub bass but overall LCD 4 has an edge over HEK over bass in totality. Though personally i do not have anything to complain with HEK bass at all and for me more than adequate in terms of quantity and quality. One finer point to note is, if you are looking for mid bass punchy slams then HEK has it noticeably lesser than LCD 4, HEK though it does not have those punches sounds still very refined, meaty and a bit relaxed in the bass region
Mids: Both are great but LCD4 has an edge over HEK
Vocals: LCD 4 has more prominent vocals than HEK but i prefer the vocals to slightly downplay so that instruments shine in the background. So in my case, i actually like HEK better in this department
Treble: HEK have an upper hand here but depending on the music source and amp, mid treble can be little edgy but with a warmer amp this problem can be mitigated. LCD 4 treble is overall more smoother but i personally like HEK treble better as both the mid treble and Highs are great in terms of quality and details
Music source: HEK all day and every day ! HEK is much better in terms of forgiving nature and i personally have many MP3 and mediocre FLAC recordings from international music so for me HEK is a heaven of not  fussing over the quality of recording. HEK also scales up very well with lossless recording of course
 
Conclusion:  I personally did not chose HD800 for its relatively thinner/brighter/lesser bass/edgy trebles/relatively unforgiving trait and i personally did not chose LCDs for its relatively darker/lesser treble/relatively unforgiving trait. So finally I bought HEK because it did all frequency spectrum and all genres reasonably well especially even for my poorly recorded songs, it sounded detailed yet cohesive.  I am still worried about how long my HEK will last though Again YMMV varies , your song collection, genre of music all comes into play so choose what will fit your needs.

 

[Dillan]

Excellent post gancanjam.

I think you gave good information on the differences between the two.

 

[1BADJAD]

I'm fortunate enough to own both, as I'm an ADDICT to this hobby. I really love the HE1000V2's, BUT I'd 100% keep the LCD-4's (mine are the 200ohm version) if I had to choose between the two (or choose between the 12 as the case may be).

 

[rgs9200m]

Nice cats. (Nice headphones too.) Try a Susvara if you can (and still have some money leftover for cat food).