Audez'e LCD-4 -- again -- anyone...?

Knew this thing had a big hole in the presence region. You have to listen really loudly with these to get any involvement factor. It kinda reminds me of the HEK in that regard but even more severe. LCD2/3 over this thing any day.

Response looks great up to 1khz. It's a shame they couldn't get it flat out to at least 2-3khz to make the mids better. I overheard the lab coat guy telling somebody at CJ that this HP measures perfectly flat on their rig...would love to see how whacked their compensation curve is. Maybe it's "flat" with 1 octave smoothing and zoomed out to 200dB

Not sure that's necessarily the case when distortion is measured as a %.

 

At this point I always look at the raw measurements, and in the raw plot there should be a rise to 3kHz---it's the concha focusing effect and needs be there to sound flat.....according to my ears and the Harman curve. It's the stuff from 3kHz and up that's worrisome.

@Armeagis Thanks for the very interesting metallurgical lesson. Cool stuff. Having been a scanning electron microscope tech and been in failure analysis labs many time I did manage to follow along. I didn't see a SEM at Audeze while there---they go for a cool 1/4 to 1/2 mill$---but it wouldn't surprise me at all if they've taken samples to a lab for a look.

Glad you guys enjoyed the read...now to draft an email to Sankar and Doc. C and tell them I still love what they do. I don't like writing reviews that negative and damaging, on the other hand it may prevent wallet damage for others. It's not a comfortable place for me.

 

Not my finest hour. That's one that will be coming off the Wall Tuesday.

 

Did you ever try the HD598? It can't compete with HD600 but for $150 I think it's a nice sounding headphone, bass is lacking but midrange is nice and engaging.

Also: That was one hell of a LCD-4 review.

 

Holy crap I used to have one of those microscopes!

On square waves, years ago I think Tyll had a spreadsheet one could download that let you muck about with some of the parameters to see how frequency response and phase shift would change the squares. Kinda neat. I wonder if anyone could make a web app or something that let's you pull areas on a FR and phase chart and see the corresponding changes in the square waves. The math isn't too hard behind it...

edit: actually I bet there's already speaker simulation software that does this eh?

 

Having heard it this weekend, I'm kind of glad I didn't appeal to me since I can't afford it anyway... And what is it with Audeze and recessed presence on their headphones? I love my lcd 2s, but sometimes I miss my old Senn Momentums, as they had a very sweet upper mid range. I also felt the same way about my prior HD 650s: A lot of body, but not a lot of sweetness in the upper mids.

 

Hey guys, someone mentioned this post over at Head-Fi. I would very much prefer if the things I said here stayed here...at least as far as quoting me by name as the source. Thanks.

And leaving a link back to my comment is pretty damned funny, but it might get you banned over there.

 

Ok, I understand. Sorry about that. I'll end the discussion there.

EDIT: I didn't realize these odd things between the two forums. I deleted my post and asked for the one quoted me to delete the quote.

 

My apologies guys, I just added a paragraph and image of LCD-4 EQed.

http://www.innerfidelity.com/conten...essive-lcd-4-planar-magnetic-headphone-page-2

 

The fact that it's a % measurement is exactly the reason why it has to be the noise floor. Unless you are somehow suggesting that a transducer can have more THD at a lower SPL? Or are you saying that there is a "fixed" amount of THD that does not vary with signal level? Both notions would fly in the face of how linearity curves actually work. And anything I've ever observed when measuring electronics or transducers.

The fact that the noise floor might have been slightly lower on previous plots could be experimental errors or deviation. Noise floors can be like that.

Totally agree. Big powerful Class-A amp with strategic PEQ and I think this has potential.

 

I wonder if driver failure and product variance will be an issue with the LCD-4. I find it kind of baffling that Audeze is still recommended fairly often and charges so much for their products when they can't even fix their shit after all these years.

 

There's already been several reports of driver failures. Not many, but there are some.

Perhaps that's why the headphones cost $4000, to cover these possible failures .

 

I have to ask, is the Shure 1540 coming down also? I've heard it is actually awesome with a pad change and the distortion is greatly diminished at high volumes without those pads. Just wondering if you've heard it with different pads, as I have found little in the way of opinions on the headphone.

 

A borrowed set of LCD-4s arrived today (gotta dress up the amps for AXPONA) and I got a few hours listening in. I don't think I've ever written a review of a headphone as I don't think I have enough experience and time with good headphones and related components to give an opinion of much value, but since these are newish, whatever.

Agree with Tyll's "sonic helmet" description, though I didn't find it as pleasant - there was a point after about an hour that I just wanted to have them off my head, though I have been spending a lot of time with lighter headphones lately. That point did pass and a type of comfort set in, though I still found the clamp (I'll note that my head is also slightly larger, probably, than the average head, and I have longish hair, so the clamp was probably tighter than average) to make me feel physically closed in and thought that probably contributed to the music also feeling closed in. Even if the soundstage felt decently large, it was like there was still a wall present around things. These don't feel like open headphones.

Have been getting distracted while writing this and listening more, haven't put any other phones on. Tried a song with Tyll's EQ, sounded pretty good, better than the same track without EQ, though I'm going to wait before I play with EQ more. Even without EQ I'm getting used to the feel of the phones themselves and can say that jazz, in the form of ensembles, duets, and acoustic bass solos, is enjoyable; men alone with guitars are too affected by the weird treble, though women singing sound pretty good. The Specials sounded great. Surprise genre that matches extremely well with the LCD-4: low-bitrate rap. Never before have I enjoyed these shitty, often unlistenable rips of Memphis rappers so much.

Equipment note: I have only (and probably will only, until AXPONA) heard these on the MicroZOTL2. I'm pretty settled at around 1pm on the volume pot as a listening level on the louder side, which is much more than I usually need but I think the headphones are getting what they need, or at least what they can use. Listening to Ron Carter's All Alone turned all the way up (solo bass is bearable all the way up) I'm not hearing obvious distortion.

 

Tyll, mate, are you going to review Hifiman Edition X? I'm between that and TH900 mk2.

I listen to EDM mostly. I like energetic but smooth treble and thunderous and tight bass. I had TH900 mk1 for a while and while I adored its bass, the treble was a bit rough. I tried lots of headphones after that but could never get that level of bass quality, even in so-called bass king planar headphones. If anything, planar headphones have weird tonality. I wonder if HEX is better?..

 

I'm surprised you have not reviewed the Audioquest Nighthawk, it measures pretty flat and is very resolving, at least as resolving as the LCD-2 and HD650.


I tried the LCD-4 a few weeks ago and I personally found it an improvement in the clarity department, less grey than the LCD-2 and LCD-3 but I couldn't help but feel it was on the lean side, lacking weight and body.