[Devodonaldson]

You've got good results with eq on the Monolith, you say? I have the Monolith AAA amp/dac as well. I haven't tried it with my i3s yet, heck, I'm so enamored with the cipher, I haven't even tried bluetooth cable yet. I must try with the Monolith in the future. Question, do you get the huge soundstage with the Monolith compared to cipher? Overall, can you get the sound as good or better with the Monolith with eq compared to cipher. Are you using stock 3.5 cable?

Monolith craps on the cipher cable. It's a much better DAC and amp than the cipher cable. Shoot me a pm and I'll send you my settings.

 

[Devodonaldson]

You've got good results with eq on the Monolith, you say? I have the Monolith AAA amp/dac as well. I haven't tried it with my i3s yet, heck, I'm so enamored with the cipher, I haven't even tried bluetooth cable yet. I must try with the Monolith in the future. Question, do you get the huge soundstage with the Monolith compared to cipher? Overall, can you get the sound as good or better with the Monolith with eq compared to cipher. Are you using stock 3.5 cable?

I'm using the stock cable that came with the i4, but yes, a basic 3.5mm cable with the monolith is all you need. You get a great, near ideal eq'd i-headphone in portable form. Cipher is certainly nice, but you can definitely hear it's limitations. It's limited to 48khz sample rate, so no high-res audio as intended, and the amp is decent, but nowhere near ideal

 

[Joe Curcio]

I have both the 20s and lcd i3 and can attest, the i3 sounds noticeably better than the 20s. I was saving up for the i4s when I found out about the i3s. I went to Audio46 in NY and auditioned the i3s, with my isine 20s on hand to compare. As soon as I put the i3s in, I was sold. I clearly, and I mean clearly heard a difference. Even now, every time I put the i3s in, I'm amazed at the sound. The bass is deeper and tighter, and it has much more treble than isine 20s. It has a larger soundstage and more details. Tonally, they may be close, but the i3 bests the isine 20 in every metric. I never tried the i4. I should have tried all 3 at once. I was too busy seeing if the i3 was enough of an improvement over the 20s to warrant purchase. Perhaps if I had tried the i4s, I would've just waited and kept saving for them. At this point I owe myself a listen to them. $900 vs $2400 is ridiculous though.

Thanks for that comparison. I have the i3's on trial and am very impressed - but was wondering if an almost 3x (used 20 vs new i3) is worth the difference. I'd consider returning the i3's if the 20 are close (per Guttemberg). Since the cipher cable(s) change dramatically the sound of these can you clarify if you evaluated them using the associated cipher cables (or both without cipher)?

 

[Joe Curcio]

Any new order shipping from Audeze will include all 3 cables. If there is some stock already at dealers, that does not have them, you can email us a proof of purchase and our customer support will help you with the new cables.

Tx

 

[talan7]

Thanks for that comparison. I have the i3's on trial and am very impressed - but was wondering if an almost 3x (used 20 vs new i3) is worth the difference. I'd consider returning the i3's if the 20 are close (per Guttemberg). Since the cipher cable(s) change dramatically the sound of these can you clarify if you evaluated them using the associated cipher cables (or both without cipher)?

I used my cipher cable from my isine 20 on both when I demoed the i3. I wanted to hear them amped both the same.

 

[Joe Curcio]

I used my cipher cable from my isine 20 on both when I demoed the i3. I wanted to hear them amped both the same.

Thanks - very helpful

 

[Manuelia]

Wow, I'm overwhelmed! I was lucky in misfortune because my AKG 5005 broke. So I was able to test a new IEM at my trusted dealer. I first tested the Isine 20 and then the Lcd-i3. The choice was not difficult as I clearly liked the Lcd-i3 better. Right now I'm more than happy that my AKG n5005 broke because I find pretty much everything on the Lcd-i3 better. Thanks to Audeze for this wonderful IEM

 

[talan7]

Thanks - very helpful

I've been using the bluetooth cable this week with the i3s and it sounds just as good as cipher cable to me. I didn't think that not having it tethered to my phone would be a big issue. It's a huge convenience. I would definitely get the bluetooth cable if I had isine 20s only, and the new earhooks as well.

 

[talan7]

I purchased the anker usb c adapter to use my cipher cable with my android phone (player). It works but I have a question. Is the eq stored in the cable and does it work with adapter on android? If so, then i don't need the audeze HQ app on android.

 

[clerkpalmer]

I purchased the anker usb c adapter to use my cipher cable with my android phone (player). It works but I have a question. Is the eq stored in the cable and does it work with adapter on android? If so, then i don't need the audeze HQ app on android.

Yes it stores the last setting. So if you changed the eq on ios and then plug into android the last eq set will be saved

 

[Devodonaldson]

I purchased the anker usb c adapter to use my cipher cable with my android phone (player). It works but I have a question. Is the eq stored in the cable and does it work with adapter on android? If so, then i don't need the audeze HQ app on android.

No Audeze app for Android. The cable stores eq 1 on the cable

 

[420204]

Here's the LCD-i3 review on Headfonia:
https://www.headfonia.com/audeze-lcd-i3-review/

 

[Infoseeker]

So it is also dependant on the iPhone cable and needs EQ. Still not such a simple flowing product like the difficult i4.

 

[talan7]

Here's the LCD-i3 review on Headfonia:
https://www.headfonia.com/audeze-lcd-i3-review/

After reading that review, I might have to try and pick up some i4s. I ain’t paying $2400 though. I might be willing to pay half that though. I’ll shop around and look for some like new.

 

[518141]

After reading that review, I might have to try and pick up some i4s. I ain’t paying $2400 though. I might be willing to pay half that though. I’ll shop around and look for some like new.

Really, I´ve read this review too. The conclusion is that the lcdi3 aren`t too far apart in terms of overall signature. It´s maybe a difference of 10-15% in sound quality. Treble on i3 is a bit smoother too, i4 has a overall brighter sound. Many times noticeable the word "a bit". For the price point it´s hard to justify the price difference to lcdi4, but I think this point is always debatable.