The Audeze LCD-3 is 110Ω at 101.0 dB/mW; the Audeze LCD-4 is 200Ω at 97.0 dB/mW. This page is only about what they ask of an amplifier — not how they sound, which no specification on either sheet can tell you.
The LCD-4 needs 4.0 dB more than the LCD-3 to reach the same loudness — 2.0 mW against 0.79 mW.
| Specification | LCD-3 | LCD-4 |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 110 Ω | 200 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 101.0 dB/mW | 97.0 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 110.6 dB/V | 104.0 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 0.79 mW | 2.0 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.30 V | 0.63 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 2.7 mA | 3.2 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 13.75 Ω | 25.00 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 280 | 280 |
Every source in the database that drives one of them drives the other. On power, the choice between these two changes nothing about what amplifier you need.
2 sources are low enough in output impedance for the LCD-4 under the one-eighth rule but not for the LCD-3 (Schiit Valhalla 2, Schiit Valhalla 3).
280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both. That count is about power only — the output-impedance and hiss lines above are separate questions, and a source can pass this one and fail those.
Each model has a page of its own with the full source list, the hiss estimate and the provenance of every figure above: Audeze LCD-3 and Audeze LCD-4. Every figure on this page comes from what Audeze published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.