What's a CHF 2,200 helmet really worth?

The Audeze LCD-3 is an open set of headphones. That means everyone can enjoy what you're listening to - and that's no exaggeration. When I tried it out in the living room, my wife, who was cooking, heard everything.

Besides, these headphones are a monster: I've always found my AKG K-701 very big, but it's a featherweight next to the LCD-3. At 550 grams, you can feel it when you wear it.

And: 2149.- of put#@&! de francs!

That's it, I've said all that's in my heart. Those who continue to read this article after this bad news really want to know more about LCD-3. Welcome!

Unboxing

You now know the weak points of the Audeze LCD-3. But these are just details, because, after all, what matters is its sound. Let's start at the beginning with unpacking. I take a huge plastic box out of the carton. This 'travel case' will make more than one customs officer suspicious. It's more likely to contain nuclear warheads than headphones. In the box are an XLR cable and one with a ¼ inch stereo jack. An adaptor for a 3.5mm jack is also supplied. And, of course, the LCD-3. Everything looks solid and very good quality.

The cable is plugged into the side of the headphones at two XLR mini-connectors. It's flat and relatively stiff. And now it's time to try out the LCD-3 for the first time. Despite its impressive weight, Audeze's development department has gone to great lengths to make it comfortable. The soft lambskin leather nestles nicely around the ears and the headphones stay securely in place on the head, without putting pressure on the ears. The headband is lightly padded around the head and is comfortable. Despite all these efforts, the Audeze LCD-3 is best used sitting or lying down.

Perhaps another quick word on its appearance. Tastes differ greatly. In any case, the smooth "zebra wood" is very chic. I would, however, have preferred something less flashy.

But what is its sound worth?

The installation was as follows. I tested the LCD-3 with a headphone amplifier (SPL Phonitor 2) and a good CD player. In addition to the CD player, I used my iPhone as a signal source with a USB DAC. I was therefore able to listen to Spotify at the 'extreme quality' setting, i.e. 320kBits. The LCD-3 had to prove itself against the .

What can I say? The LCD-3 pulverised them all.

The LCD-3 was the best.

The first thing I noticed was that the bass was very pronounced and precisely controlled. The higher bass offered a very special feel. The headphones don't invent bass where there normally isn't any. Nor does it crush everything below 150 hertz in favour of big "boom boom" sounds, as some manufacturers do to imitate a big sound (looking at you, Dr. Dre).

The bass, midrange and treble are in perfect harmony. Overall, the LCD-3 is a very balanced and relatively neutral headphone. I tried it with a number of titles, moving from classical, to pop, to rock, not forgetting jazz, but found no weaknesses. On the contrary, the LCD-3 plays all the tracks with great precision and sovereignty. I have to say, though, that the sound is so good it's almost dangerous. I caught myself several times turning up the volume - until I noticed, startled, that the potentiometer was almost at full blast.

For the LCD-2 and LCD-3, Audeze recommends using a headphone amplifier. For direct connection to the smartphone, we recommend the LCD-X or LCD-XC instead. Of course, I tried the LCD-3 with my iPhone. The sound is great. It's only when the volume is at maximum that you notice the limits of the smartphone's power supply.

A few words about the technology

Audeze is fairly new to the market. The company has only been around for seven years. The Californians conquered the premium market with their headphones and quickly became very successful. In several articles, the LCD-2 and LCD-3 have already been named as the best on the planet.

Most headphones (and speakers) are electrodynamic. Audeze is one of the few manufacturers to try other modes of operation. The reason is that electrostatic (Stax) and planar magnetic (Audeze, HifiMan, Oppo) result in bulky and heavy devices, as they depend on the current intensity.

Overview

I'll make this quick. These are the best headphones I've had on my ears so far. If you value WiFi and have spare cash: buy it! I'm doing my best not to have to return the one I tried ;-)

Headphones

Audeze Lcd-3

Cable

2

Headphones

Audeze Lcd-3

Cable

2

Good alternatives for the LCD-3 are its predecessor the LCD-2 or the recommended smartphone variant, the LCD-X. If you don't necessarily want an ear-covering headset, you could look at the Sennheiser MOMENTUM 2 Wireless - at 230 grams, significantly lighter and perfect for public transport thanks to its closed design.

The LCD-3 is a great alternative to the LCD-2.

Updated 20.6.2016

In the comments, there has been some feedback regarding installation or rather missing information. I'm happy to complete the article. Of course, when I used it with my iPhone, I took a DAC: the HRT iStreamer. The advantage of this device is that the iPhone in host mode does nothing other than read the DAC data. The cinch transmitted the signal to the headphone amplifier. The DAC was only used for Spotify. In normal use, the CD player (Neukomm CD-41S) sends the data directly to the headphone amplifier.

I took the liberty of plugging the LCD-3 directly into the iPhone. Several commenters have put their finger on it, and they're right: we don't recommend doing this, as you don't get the full potential of the LCD-3. A headphone amplifier is highly recommended and Audeze even have one in their range. I made a point of writing this bit with the smartphone, because at some point you're bound to want to sit on the balcony with the headphones on. And what can be said: the sound from the LCD-3 plugged into the smartphone remains decent - I think that's the main thing.

I referred to a CD player, a compatible amplifier from Neukomm, as well as a pair of Piega Coax 90.2.