Audeze Reviews

Over the last few months, I’ve been playing video games on my PS4 and Nintendo Switch using Audeze’s Mobius Headphones. They’ve also been part of my music listening regiment when I want to have a more intimate experience. While the last few years I’ve been mostly on budget headphones for gaming and and using Air Pods with my iPhone and iPad, it was extremely cool to dive into a more immersive listening experience with a high-end set of headphones.

When Planar Magnetic headphones first hit the scene, there were three significant barriers to entry. First was the size. Most were big and bulky, and some couldn’t handle the weight wearing them for long periods. Audeze is a U.S. based manufacturer (California to be exact) that does one thing. They make impressive Planar Magnetic headphones. Most of their models are of the big, power-hungry, expensive variety, but they have also come up with smaller, more portable designs like the SINE on-ear and the iSINE in-ear. The SINE (now discontinued) was their first portable planar magnetic headphone. It was designed to take the spacious and detailed sound Audeze is known for on the road, but it got mixed reviews due to comfort and tuning. Regardless, it was still a massive shift in PM headphone design and had plenty of potential. First of all, comfort is no problem with the LCD-1. Unlike the SINE, it’s an over-ear model, so the pads go around the ear instead of resting directly on them. The pads and headband are also heavily cushioned, and the clamp is just about perfectly judged, even for a big head like mine. They are snug but without undue pressure on the head.

“All these gamers who are serious about becoming competitive [and] having a competitive advantage are going to invest in better tech,” Jake Fyfe said,  “because it’s an arms race when you’re trying to be the best. And headphones can give you an edge. From my conversations the standout headphone currently is Audeze’s Mobius headset. “They are the best headphones that I’ve used for gaming – ever,” OG Arabian Prince told me. It is also among the most expensive of headsets. At the same time, Audeze being a very high end headphone company where headphones can retail in the multi-thousands, the Mobius is one of their least expensive and best-priced items."

"If you want a truly quality headset for gaming that has all the bells and whistles, the Audeze Mobius headset may be your best choice. Not only does it offer a lot of “stuff”, but it also sounds pretty amazing too!"

"Audeze has done a marvelous job providing a product that targets both audiophiles and gamers, but therein lies the problem. The Audeze Mobius retails for $399. For most audiophiles that price probably comes across as very reasonable compared to what most audiophile equipment goes for. However, for gamers, the most popular high-end gaming headsets only run about $100-150. The jump to $400 might be too much for some, but if you are interested in upgrading your audio experience in the same way you upgrade your gaming system specs, then the Audeze Mobius is absolutely worth it."

"By making design decisions to keep the LCD-1's lightweight and portable without sacrificing the audio quality derived from their planar magnetic design, Audeze has created a unique product"

"The demand for audiophile-grade headphones is increasing day by day. There are a lot of new brands that are manufacturing audiophile-grade headphones, and some of them gained much popularity with time. Audeze is a modern American brand that started its journey in 2008 and is now a well-known brand among audiophiles for its high-quality top-of-the-line headphones. The Audeze LCD 4 Over Ear Over-Ear is a premium “no budget” audiophile headphone from Audeze. It is a flagship that will cost you around 4000 USD. It promises to deliver you the best and unmatched audio experience. Let’s see what these headphones are capable of."

"Audeze have been making waves in the headphone world with an approach to headphone design that includes flexible circuit material designed for NASA and magnetic planar drivers. These come together in the LCD-MX4, their studio-focussed unit. These open-back cans were designed for mixing and mastering applications, and feature a frequency response of 10Hz to an astonishing 50kHz. They also have a remarkably low impedance of 20 Ohms, although with headphones of this quality you’re likely going to want to pair them with an equally high-end headphone amplifier. As the over-ear LCD-MX4’s are for studio work, Audeze has designed them to be balanced, neutral, and transparent. They’re also incredibly precise and detailed, with a tight and fast response. While not the lightest headphones on this list, the carbon fibre band helps keep the weight down, while the leather-covered memory foam cups ensure comfort during long listening sessions. They come bundled with a 1.9m 1/4-inch to dual four-pin mini-XLR cable and a sturdy travel case. The Audeze LCD-MX4 headphones are extremely expensive, and thus out of the reach of most musicians and producers. But for the truly discerning professional, they’re something of a pinnacle of headphone technology.

"Who hasn’t heard of Audeze? The US-based headphone manufacturer are an icon of the headphone industry, their LCD line-up having both huge success and staying power. If there’s one thing that alienated buyers from these models, it’s likely their price followed quickly by their large, heavy design. The new LCD-1 is their solution to these qualms, and their sleekest LCD headphone yet excluding the on-ear SINE. It implements the same technologies in a compact form factor designed for all-day comfort. Furthermore, the sound signature has been tuned with monitoring in-mind, pivotal as such a balanced sound is not so easy to come by around this price range."

"Audeze headphones have at all times been a favorite right here on the Digit check lab and the brand new LCD-i3 cements our liking for this audiophile-grade model much more. The Audeze LCD-i3 is a pair of open-back, planar-magnetic IEMs that borrow closely by way of design from the flagship Audeze LCD-i4 earphones, that are considerably costlier than the LCD-i3. They additionally mimic the iSINE vary of Audeze merchandise in relation to low-impedance. As an organization, Audeze nails the planar magnetic know-how utilized in IEMs since they make the headphones open-back. Closed-shell IEMs with planar magnetic tech typically are likely to sound shrill between 3-5khz and Audeze avoids this attributable to their resolution to make the LCDi-series open-back. The Audeze LCD-i3 is priced at Rs 79,990 and definitely mesmerised us with its sound which is why it ended up being the winner within the Best Performing Wired IEM phase in our annual Digit Zero1 awards. Let’s delve into these earphones additional."

"The folks at Audeze have a reputation not only for high-end headphones but for high-end headphones with a relatively unique set of features. See, these headphones offer Spatial Audio, or the ability to accurately simulate sounds as though they are coming from different sources instead of blasted directly at your ears from either side of your head. Their LCD-1 headphones released in January focused on professionals with incredibly high-end needs and a focus on precision and accuracy, allowing the user to hear music as though they were coming from speakers in front of you."

"The Audeze LCD-1 headphones are the smallest planar headphones I have ever seen. Weighing in at just 250g, LCD-1 have shed weight by using lighter weight materials and lots of plastic rather than more upscale materials you might otherwise expect. The end result is a trim, small profile that saves the technology for the drivers"

"Based on subjective expectations at this price point. there’s really just one caveat to the high performance of these headphones: While they may have “decent” sensitivity for planars, compared to dynamic headphones they require a lot of power. This becomes an issue if you try and run the LCD-1s directly from a phone or tablet, the result sounds anemic. But the moment you hook up an amp (even a USB dongle) and provide some juice to get ‘em going, they transform into one of the most satisfying-sounding sub-$500 headphones out there"