LZ-A4 Impressions and Discussion Thread

[Jimster480]

There are certain phones though that are made for music, the LG V10 and V20 and the HTC 10

Exactly, if you own one of these phones you certainly don't need a DAP.
 
Hell they tested the HTC 10 against a Chord Mojo and found it to be ~90% as good.
 
In the Chord mojo thread some people were selling their Mojo's to buy HTC 10's lol.....
 
I understand the whole DAP thing but it really depends on how often you listen to music on the go that is in a scenario that needs the upmost quality. For me my HTC10 is more than versatile enough for me to not need another device.
I do have a iPod touch but I rarely listen to it from the headphone out with actual headphones, mostly just in my cars via the lightning connector since cars support the iPod interface.

 

[duyu]

A5 is not coming yet. LZ told me before he will seek feedbacks for the beta version like A4. This process took a few months last time.

A4 has a strict pricing policy. Perhaps that seller was banned?

 

[Asspirin]

First measurement with AudioTools. Black/Black. Lower Frequencies What?

 

[Jimster480]

First measurement with AudioTools. Black/Black. Lower Frequencies What?

That looks like a cool program, do you need anything special to use it?

 

[nealh]

A5 is not coming yet. LZ told me before he will seek feedbacks for the beta version like A4. This process took a few months last time.

A4 has a strict pricing policy. Perhaps that seller was banned?

Good to know my wallet is safe for awhile

 

[bavinck]

First measurement with AudioTools. Black/Black. Lower Frequencies What?

Seal problems?

 

[Hisoundfi]

Now that I'm done with these, I'll be working on my LZ-A4 review. These are no slouch. LZ is great stuff, no doubt:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/lz-a3s-hybrid-in-ear-monitor/reviews/18012

 

[FUYU]

Seal problems?

Coupling does affect lower-frequencies, but not to such extend. This is the same issue I've encountered. Maybe due to this.

(Black/Black)

 

[Lohb]

http://www.head-fi.org/products/lz-a4/reviews/18015

 

[nealh]

http://www.head-fi.org/products/lz-a4/reviews/18015

What a terrific review. I especially appreciate how you point out your journey to determine why you initially felt they didn't seem to "be right". Realizing it wasn't the A4 but another component causing the limitation take a lot of effort and many would have left blame on the IEM.
Your description of the sound and your choices of filters is excellent. Thank you for the very thoughtful review.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Interesting review. Most of us would not be able to pin the issues you found to the engineering limits on various design components or be able to adjust accordingly

 

[duyu]

http://www.head-fi.org/products/lz-a4/reviews/18015

Great review!
Planars are monsters, and are difficult to drive them well.

However, A4 is very easy to drive. I was surprised when you told me A4 didn't sound right.

My E12 DIY (muses02+ buf 634) has been matching extremely well with LZ's IEMs.
I recommend FiiO E12a to those who own a pair of A4.

 

[TwoPalms]

Great review!
Planars are monsters, and are difficult to drive them well.

However, A4 is very easy to drive. I was surprised when you told me A4 didn't sound right.

My E12 DIY (muses02+ buf 634) has been matching extremely well with LZ's IEMs.
I recommend FiiO E12a to those who own a pair of A4.

Topping NX5 (AD8610+BUF634) is well paired with A4 too. Low gain (0) is dead quiet no noise.

 

[Lohb]

Great review!
Planars are monsters, and are difficult to drive them well.

However, A4 is very easy to drive. I was surprised when you told me A4 didn't sound right.

My E12 DIY (muses02+ buf 634) has been matching extremely well with LZ's IEMs.
I recommend FiiO E12a to those who own a pair of A4.

Yep, A4 is easy to drive. It is finding the right synergy upstream of hardware behind it that is where the time/effort is put in, not power requirements.
 
JH Angie is an IEM that takes some effort to fully release the magic with the gear behind it. I think that is a strong indicator you have a good IEM at-hand - on how much its presentation changes with different gear/opamp chips. A Rock Zircon ($12 or so) for example will barely respond to all that kind of effort upstream in the audio chain.

 

[Jackpot77]

Great review!
Planars are monsters, and are difficult to drive them well.

However, A4 is very easy to drive. I was surprised when you told me A4 didn't sound right.

My E12 DIY (muses02+ buf 634) has been matching extremely well with LZ's IEMs.
I recommend FiiO E12a to those who own a pair of A4.

While I don't pretend to understand why (will leave that to the excellent reviews from members like Lohb), gear synergy is a very real consideration, especially for something a chameleonic as the A4. Case in point for me - have been listening to the A4s through a Fiio X7 with the AM2 mid-power amp module, which sounded excellent. Switched over last week to a second hand X5ii I picked up on Fleabay and it just sounds better to me (low gain). Spec sheets and pricing say the X7 should be a step above (and it is withdoor of my other gear), but that just isn't what I hear with the A4.