Audeze LCD-1 review | Laptop Mag
Our Verdict
Pick up the Audeze LCD-1 if y'all seek audiophile headphones at an attainable price betoken.
For
- Accurate and neutral sound
- Powerful drivers
- Much more than affordable than other planar-magnetic models
- Lightweight and portable
- Can be plugged into most devices
Confronting
- No onboard controls
- Can't utilize for calls or voice assistance
- Zero isolation and lots of leakage
Laptop Magazine Verdict
Choice up the Audeze LCD-one if you seek audiophile headphones at an attainable cost indicate.
Pros
- +
Authentic and neutral audio
- +
Powerful drivers
- +
Much more than affordable than other planar-magnetic models
- +
Lightweight and portable
- +
Tin be plugged into most devices
Cons
- -
No onboard controls
- -
Can't utilize for calls or vocalism assistance
- -
Zero isolation and lots of leakage
Audeze is a leader in planar magnetic (PM) applied science and has built some of the all-time-sounding headphones on the market. Information technology also charges a serious premium for such creations. The flagship LCD-4z runs for most $4,000, which is why the company'southward newest release, the $399 LCD-ane, is considered a shocker. Open-back headphones that evangelize high-end audio at an entry-level price point? Believe it.
- Our expert picks for the best wireless headphones, per budget and fashion
- Bank check out our Bose 700 review
- …and our Sony WH-1000xM4 review
These cans are designed for audiophiles to use at home, in the studio or the become, boasting a lightweight frame that houses superior specs, including Audeze's 90mm PM drivers and an ultrathin diaphragm. Of course, a lower price tag comes with compromises. No special features, no controls, and you lot'll besides have to practise your listening in complete isolation to enjoy peak audio operation. Still, if you want how-do-you-do-fi headphones that won't pause the banking concern and are more portable-friendly than some of the category's steeper selections, the LCD-1 is a hard bargain to reject.
- Audeze LCD-1 for $399 at Amazon
Audeze LCD-1: Toll and availability
You can purchase the Audeze LCD-1 for $399 at major online retailers, including Amazon and B&H, or straight from Audeze. The headphones only come in black.
The LCD-1 can be seen every bit a pricier pick compared to other audiophile favorites similar the $299 HiFiMan Deva and $349 Sony WH-1000xM4. At the aforementioned time, it's a steal when looking at other high-cease entry-level models such every bit the all-new $990 Focal Celestee.
Audeze LCD-1: Design
The LCD-i is somewhat of a divergence from the brand's luxe-built models. Y'all're not going to become the handcrafted woods cease or loftier-quality leather featured on beauties similar the $1,945 LCD-3. Yet, Audeze effectively downscaled its design to make the product more portable and affordable, while also giving information technology a unique await.
These headphones are equanimous of plastic, metal, and leather. They aren't too flimsy, nor too substantial, but provide a good residuum of pliability and sturdiness. The outside is built to stave off well-nigh scuffs and scratches, while protecting the internals from any damage caused by hard spills to the concrete. It's also nice that the headband has some stretchability to it, and that the earcups fold in, so you can easily bear them around in hand or around the neck.
I wouldn't phone call the LCD-one trendy, but at that place is a chicness to them. The all-black colorway with the company name in silver accents is aesthetically highly-seasoned, along with the Audeze logo laser-etched on each side for make recognition. What gives these headphones such a striking advent are the grilles on the outer panels of the earcups. It's different than the clean canvas designs of the Bose 700 and WH-1000xM4, and I mean that every bit a compliment.
Unfortunately, at that place is something missing from the design: controls. Audeze chose non to integrate a control console on the side of the earcup or on the inline cable. Another notable omission is a built-in mic to use for phone calls, video chats or your device'south native digital assistant (Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa).
Audeze LCD-1: Accessories
For $399, most consumers would expect a big number of accessories to come with the purchase. Temper expectations because 3 is all you become. In the box are a dual iii.5mm cablevision with reversible connectors, a three.5mm to six.35mm aureate-plated adapter, and a mesh-textured travel case that carries everything, plus ane or two mobile accessories (eastward.g., portable charger, smartphone). To exist fair, this is about the same number of extras bundled with most Audeze products.
Because the make's wide range of accessories, which includes everything from replaceable ear pads to a leather care kit, information technology would have been slap-up if ane or 2 more than items were thrown in.
Audeze LCD-one: Condolement and fit
Overall comfort on the LCD-1 is a mixed bag. The open up-back design allows for airflow, and the earpads feel costly and gentle on the ears. Yet, the way Audeze designed the earcups results in them compressing difficult around the ears and increasing fatigue the longer you wearable them. I wore them for an hour before noticing some soreness on the side of my caput. Another piece of advice is to adjust the yokes by two or three notches so that your skull receives more breathing room because the clamping force is pretty tight at the everyman setting.
The one benefit of tight clench forcefulness: stability. In other words, you lot won't have to worry virtually the headphones slipping off your head, as they remain put when properly adjusted. The yokes don't extend equally far as those featured on other premium headphones, therefore, whatever listener with a large skull will feel some discomfort or an unpleasant fit.
Audeze LCD-1: Planar magnetic drivers
Most headphone makers stuff dynamic drivers into their headphones, and for many good reasons. They're more affordable, allow for a more compact and lightweight design, and can produce cracking sound quality. At the aforementioned fourth dimension, they are more prone to distortion and come up with smaller magnets.
Audeze decided to go in a unlike sound wave direction, employing PM drivers into all of their headphones, including the LCD-one. What are the advantages? PM drivers are engineered to create tighter bass extension and minimize distortion at loftier levels. With the diaphragm being flat on PM transducers, models similar the LCD-i benefit from authentic sound reproduction, which tin event in a more than immersive listening experience. Now that you lot've gotten a crash course in Audeze'south sound technology, let'southward see how these headphones perform on the audio front.
Audeze LCD-1: Sound performance
When evaluating cost, information technology's fair to compare the LCD-i'southward audio operation to consumer favorites like the WH-1000xM4 and PM oppositions like the Deva. The LCD-ane does share some sonic similarities to the Deva, while the WH-1000xM4 is a dynamic commuter model with top-tier sound.
As for the LCD-1, its sound contour can be all-time described as deadline neutral with some kick. Recordings sound equally close to the originals every bit possible, which is what musicians and studio engineers desire most. Bass is vibrant too, though the Deva generates deeper lows.
Anderson .Paak's "Already" e'er gives me chill-out vibes, but its melodic product was even smoother on the LCD-one. The bassline rode with finesse and had me smiling from ear to ear from the moment I pressed play. I was mostly impressed past how clear and transparent the adlibs and synths sounded, as those are musical elements that get lost in the background on most dynamic commuter headphones.
The LCD-1 earned my appreciation nearly on complex recordings similar Pink Floyd's "Money." Audeze'south soundstage cleaned upwardly the distorted guitars and made the bass riff fifty-fifty more dynamic compared to what I heard on the WH-1000xM4. More importantly, it demonstrated astounding stereo imaging to pinpoint individual furnishings throughout the recording; the rhythmic pattern of the cash register loop event is something you have to hear on these cans.
Despite its tamer depression finish, the LCD-ane has enough kicking to satisfy bass heads, while letting you hear subtle nuances that would ordinarily get unnoticed on standard headphones with warm-heavy profiles. The pulsating drums on Dr. Dre's "Stranded on Expiry Row" knocked hard, plus the creeping string sample was emphasized to complement the tape'due south gritty resonance.
There is no companion app to personalize audio, just if you lot experience and then inclined, in that location are two ways you tin can customize sound on these headphones. It can exist done by accessing the EQ settings in Spotify or selecting one of numerous presets available in the iPhone settings. I implore that you do neither because that does a massive disservice to Audeze'due south masterful engineering. Leave. Information technology. Alone.
Audeze LCD-1: Noise Isolation
Picture having Transparency Style at max level on the Bose 700, which makes all noise effectually yous audible. That's exactly what it felt similar wearing the LCD-one in any surround. I found it humorous hearing my wife's full conversation with our newborn on the changing table. Other common distractions like door buzzers, iPhone alarms, and even keyboard clatter were highly noticeable as well. Merely put, if you lot're looking to enjoy music in peace, and then await elsewhere.
Leakage is another major effect. The LCD-one's open enclosure and grilles let sound drain outward at a high level. Listening to music at max volume, the missus idea I was blasting music directly from my MacBook Pro's speakers. Dropping volume to virtually 20%, she could still hear what I was listening to.
Audeze LCD-i: Portability
I know how valuable Bluetooth is for portable listening. Unfortunately, the LCD-1 doesn't support the technology, merely for a pair of wired headphones, they're the most portable choice in its grade. At 8.8 ounces, that places them in the same company equally the Bose 700 and WH-1000xM4, which each hitting the scale at 8.95 ounces. These are as well a jiff of fresh air to comport effectually versus larger and more spec'd out competitors like the Focal Celestee (15.two ounces).
Sound remains lively when transitioning from a laptop to a smartphone. I did notice that bass and volume received a pocket-size boost when plugged into my Pixel 2XL, and that was completely fine with me.
Audeze LCD-one: Verdict
The Audeze LCD-1 is a superb model for those who value disquisitional listening. It delivers the crisp, detailed, and rich sound that one comes to expect from loftier-end open-back headphones, but at a more attainable price betoken. The lightweight and compact blueprint is likewise a sigh of relief from the heavy and bulky cans all-time associated with the category. Yep, you'll have to live with sure exceptions like zero controls, special features, and racket neutralization. Are these dealbreakers? Possibly, but non for audio purists who want how-do-you-do-fi sound on the cheap, which is what the LCD-1 offers y'all.
Source: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/audeze-lcd-1
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