Audiophile Reviews

"Big expectations and a high pedigree. It is always exciting to see what Audeze will produce next due to their ongoing march towards advancing tech and user experience, while not just simply relying on the next product cycle to sell their latest shiny thing. The changes here are real, and pretty outstanding. The level headed response and uber high resolution makes these headphones great for monitoring and well as pleasure seeking playback. The new lighter design and ear pads make for a higher degree of comfort than any other LCD before it. And for those who care, the case is really nice as well. Highly recommended."

It for sure is one of Audeze’s most neutral and precisely tuned headphones, but they have managed to do it in the most exciting and musical way. What I also like about the new Audeze LCD-5, is that it isn’t just for studios and professionals, but it is musically strong enough and very engaging to please the most discerning audiophile at home.

Certainly, it’s the most mature-sounding and cohesive high-end Audeze headphones to date. Importantly, it is their most likable tuning with plenty of verve and character and absolutely excellent levels of detail to go along with it.

The experience of listening with these truly innovative electrostatics is immersive and magical. In my opinion, the CRBN from Audeze are the best electrostatics ever produced on our planet, and rival any other luxury, state-of-the-art headphone design, dynamic or planar, that I have auditioned in my half-century as an audiophile.

The LCD-XC (2021) does take DSP and EQ very well too, which helps address some of the technical issues with ear gain and ungainly peaks in the treble response.

"If your budget allows, I strongly encourage you to audition the Audeze LCD-2 CB’s. These wonderful headphones manage to combine traits from the best of both worlds (closed-back and open-back headphones) into one package, with no obvious compromise cost. These headphones are well-made, attractive, and supremely comfortable. They are equally at home in a recording studio, or as part of a home entertainment system, or as your go-to personal practice rig."

"That said, I feel the real story about these is how Audeze imported the “live” energetic performance, soundstage and resolving capabilities of their big LCD headphones into a pair of IEMs."

Audeze has created a monster of a headphone with the new LCD-X 2021. It does just about everything right, with its great packaging, excellent and industrial build to a highly detailed and pleasant sound performance. We don’t yet have a recommendation list here at Ear Fidelity, but if we did, the LCD-X 2021 would have been one of the easiest headphones to put on it

"THE SECRET of Daft Punk, discovered" Says SupraPixel of XC

"Overall clarity was simply the best I’ve heard from Audeze. They have been able to raise the already high bar from the LCD-4 and LCD-4z to a whole new level and I would very easily put these headphones among the very best that I’ve ever experienced... I can very easily and wholeheartedly recommend the LCD-5s for anyone looking for the very best headphones around – they are that spectacular!"

"The newest addition to Audeze's in-ear monitor line miniaturized the California brand's patented planar-magnetic sound straight to your ear canal. We are doing an unboxing and review of these IEM's to share with you everything they have to offer."

Currawong goes into detail about the super-limited LCD-R and its partner amp, the Schiit Jotunheim-A current-drive amplifier.

"If you like the typical planar magnetic driver sound and dig a neutral and technically strong tuning with a musical delivery (who doesn’t?), then the Audeze Euclid certainly is an IEM to audition. I’m a fan of the previous IEMs Audeze has produced, and I am adding this one to that list. Before I listened to the Euclid, the price tag seemed a bit high to me but after multiple weeks of listening I can only conclude that the Euclid easily has the sound quality needed to defend this price tag. Audeze has delivered yet another high end, top quality IEM. I for one, look forward to see what they come up with next."

"They are also very easy to drive and the most comfortable pair of headphones from the brand that I’ve ever worn. Not only is the midrange resolution and detail superb – but these headphones recreate a huge soundstage. Impressive for the money. $399 at Amazon."

"What’s more impressive to me is that there’s not much variance in sound quality between using an analog cable, or the two CIPHER offerings, pointing to how well Audeze has managed to design these to be easy to drive. If you’ve got the cash and prefer IEMs to over-ears, this is the set for you."

"At the higher end, my current favorite in-ears are from the premium audio brand Audeze. The company's Euclid buds ($1,299) are among the most astonishing in-ears I've ever tested, thanks to their custom planar magnetic drivers. I've never heard bass this good from in-ear headphones, and the overall detail in the sound is nothing short of shocking. "

"Before I listened to the Euclid, the price tag seemed a bit high to me but after multiple weeks of listening I can only conclude that the Euclid easily has the sound quality needed to defend this price tag. Audeze has delivered yet another high end, top quality IEM. I for one, look forward to see what they come up with next."

"The question isn’t if you should buy the Audeze LCD-3; the real question is: can you afford to? See, while they’re technical marvels, acoustically sublime, and fan-freaking gorgeous, they do cost just a hair shy of two thousand dollars. That’s a lot of cash, but then you do get a lot of headphone for that, so it’s a fair trade-off."

"There’s a good reason the LCD-3 has been near the top of reviewers’ choice charts since its inception in 2011. Okay, I lied, there are a millionreasons why. If all the music you’ve ever listened to has been on dynamic headphones, do your ears a favor and at least sound test this set out, you won’t be disappointed."

"Audeze LCD-1 combine so many attractive features that even after our detailed and lengthy test they seem like something fantastic. This model simply has no direct competitors. All possible alternatives in any case loses by the totality of qualities: price, technology, sound quality. Audeze LCD-1 is a real gift for both professionals and audiophiles."

"The Audeze Euclid is a great first offering from Audeze in the realm of closed-back planar-magnetic IEMs. It features the ability to perform at the level of my full-size open back planars despite being a fraction of the sizeand is able to accurately replicate a wide soundstage. A decade on, and despite venturing into a completely new field and application. Audeze’s Euclid proves that they are still one of the ‘greats’ of the industry. Packing engineering innovation and the execution to pull it off the Euclid offers the versatility of owning a single product that is small and portable in size, adaptable thanks to its MMCX platform, and closed back for isolation, but with a world-class soundstage. I would like to see Audeze continue to develop this platform to where we may one day get an IEM with more low-frequency range reproduction. But for now, it’s a hell of a start.