Considering LCD-4z, and want some advice.
I'm a metalhead and I like HPs that can really bring it in the bass department, otherwise I'm just not interested, I'm not flat FR or analytical sound.
I own the LCD-X, but I barely use it anymore, as they are really lacking in vocals compared to my other HPs and they are just not as good in general.
I was wondering if the LCD-4z is really like the LCD-4 (which I never tried but read about), or is it something else?
Can someone compare the LCD-4z with the LCD-X or with any other HPs I own - Rognir, D8000 Pro?
I recently had a chance to compare the old LCD-X, the 2021 LCD-X, and the 4z.
The 2021 LCD-X and 4z are surprisingly similar. The 2021 X has a slightly wider sound stage, and has a slightly harsher sounding treble. It sounds ever so slightly more aggressive than the 4z.
Although minor, I prefer the 4z sound in every way. It has slightly more resolution across the frequency range. Even though the sound stage is slightly less wide, it seems to present classical music more accurately. Vocals are a bit more forward in mixes. The most important difference for me was in the treble. The 4z has the best treble I've ever heard in a headphone. It might be the only headphone with treble I like. I was doing some mixing on the 2021 X and ended up removing too much treble from the vocals. I could easily identify this with the 4z and correct it. Those corrections translated to my speakers. The 4z is as close to perfection as I've heard.
That said, the 2021 LCD-X was very close to the 4z, especially considering the price difference. If I learned to compensate for the minor issues I had with their treble, and never heard the 4z, I could happily live with the 2021 X. Also, the 4z is less comfortable on my head, and I personally prefer the look of the X.
As for the pre-2021 X, the copy I used were quite different than the 4z and 2021 X. There was more difference between the old X and new X in terms of frequency response than the 2021 X and the 4z. The old X had the widest sound stage of the three. Its mids sounded recessed compared to the other two. It had less detail than the other two. It had a more relaxed, mildly flabby sound, which I still really enjoy compared to most other headphones. Compared to most other headphones, I certainly wouldn't describe them as lacking detail or flabby, that's just compared to the 2021 X and 4z.
If you have the 2021 X and really dislike the sound, you'll probably dislike the 4z too.