I have not heard the LCD-4 and honestly dont see myself owning them given the weight (i value comfort). Have heard the Utopias from my Holo Spring 3 Kitsune and Violetric 281. Wonderful headphones with even more precise imaging and amazing dynamics. To be clear (no pun intended), I dont think soundstage is one of the reasons I purchased the clear. I have heard HPs with much better soundstage at this price point. Soundstage (so we have our definition straight) is the sense of space, left - right, between and beyond. To me imaging is the ability to locate instruments or voices in that space. At this price, I have not heard another headphone that images better with an overall pleasing tonality that the clears have. I feel comfortable building a system around the clears as they represent great price/performance and granted this is very subjective. While I thought the AFCs were decent sounding with great comfort and isolation, they were incredibly boring flat especially at the low end and anemic. If that's your cup of tea, great. It wasn't mine and I ended up getting the Beyerdynamic T5p II for that use case and enjoy them much more as a portable.
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