Lord Chaos
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2007
- Posts
- 404
- Likes
- 48
A few weeks ago, the Denon AH-D7000 that I bought about 10 years ago quit working. They'd been well used, and if I could have found a new pair just like them I'd have bought it.
For a time I thought I could live without headphones. I have speakers now, which I didn't have 10 years ago. After a couple of weeks I knew that wasn't going to work. I'd have to buy new 'phones.
I have little patience for shopping. Going to a store and getting a few minutes in a noisy environment led me to buy the speakers based on reputation of the store and the manufacturer. I decided to take the same shortcut with headphones, and bought the Audeze LCD-4, based on some opinions expressed by people whom I respect, and about 20 minutes spent listening to an LCD-3.
Would they be too heavy? Would they work with my equipment? Audeze says they're power-hungry. There's just one way to find out.
They arrived last Thursday. Quick answers: No, they're not too heavy. Due to how the headband is designed, they're more comfortable than the Denon. And again, no, they don't take inordinate power. They work just fine with my DAC-headphone amp. They even work with my portable, but I seldom use that.
And the sound is, quite simply, lovely. If one hears music on a little radio, it's recognizable. Instruments can be identified. A better system allows more discrimination of details. The LCD-4 provides detail, and delicacy. I've done a lot of live recording, and attended concerts both acoustic and amplified. The LCD-4 simply sounds like music to me, with the quality dictated mainly by the recording itself.
There is the value question. Is any headphone worth $4K? There are probably 'phones that cost less and sound as good, and probably some that cost $4K but sound better. I could probably been as happy with the LCD-3, or even the -X.
I'm not one to buy headphones for specific uses. One set will have to cover all. About 4 minutes into first fitting them onto my head and starting the music, I have no regrets at all.
For a time I thought I could live without headphones. I have speakers now, which I didn't have 10 years ago. After a couple of weeks I knew that wasn't going to work. I'd have to buy new 'phones.
I have little patience for shopping. Going to a store and getting a few minutes in a noisy environment led me to buy the speakers based on reputation of the store and the manufacturer. I decided to take the same shortcut with headphones, and bought the Audeze LCD-4, based on some opinions expressed by people whom I respect, and about 20 minutes spent listening to an LCD-3.
Would they be too heavy? Would they work with my equipment? Audeze says they're power-hungry. There's just one way to find out.
They arrived last Thursday. Quick answers: No, they're not too heavy. Due to how the headband is designed, they're more comfortable than the Denon. And again, no, they don't take inordinate power. They work just fine with my DAC-headphone amp. They even work with my portable, but I seldom use that.
And the sound is, quite simply, lovely. If one hears music on a little radio, it's recognizable. Instruments can be identified. A better system allows more discrimination of details. The LCD-4 provides detail, and delicacy. I've done a lot of live recording, and attended concerts both acoustic and amplified. The LCD-4 simply sounds like music to me, with the quality dictated mainly by the recording itself.
There is the value question. Is any headphone worth $4K? There are probably 'phones that cost less and sound as good, and probably some that cost $4K but sound better. I could probably been as happy with the LCD-3, or even the -X.
I'm not one to buy headphones for specific uses. One set will have to cover all. About 4 minutes into first fitting them onto my head and starting the music, I have no regrets at all.
