Audeze LCD-5 Headphone Review

Look, I love Audeze headphones for their sound. But throw the LCD-4 on my head and I'm not going to last too long. Fabulous-sounding headphone, mind you. But it's not ideal for long hours of listening. Clamping force is solid, allowing me to turn and shake my head without having to make adjustments.

The LCD-5 cable is specially tuned with directional OCC high-purity copper strands that provide a low capacitance and low resistance path for the signal to travel from your amp to the drivers, maintaining unsurpassed clarity and precision.

A look at the range of Audeze headphone weights:

Sound Quality

Turning to my more default classic rock setting, I called up Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. I intended to listen to just a track or two, but before I knew it I had let the album run through. Clearly the LCD-5 was doing something for me here. On the first track, "Second Hand News," I loved the grit and thump of the main guitar-plus-drum rhythm that sounds like a locomotive. The track sounded so lively and tight. Moreover, Stevie Nicks' and Christine McVie's backing vocals were so clearly delineated that I could easily switch back and forth between theirs and Lindsay Buckingham's lead vocals. I loved that I could easily focus on the vocals as easily as I could discern the acoustic strings that kept popping up in my left ear. The rest of the album was great. The plucking of the strings on the acoustic "Never Going Back Again" was magical, providing a little tingle to my brain. And Buckingham's voice sounded like it was being sung directly into my ears.

On Natalie Merchant's "Beloved Wife," a slow, gut-wrenching track about an elderly man's loss of his longtime spouse, I really got a sense of the more forward middle and middle high frequencies on the LCD-5. This slow and somber track has a fair amount of bass to it, and sometimes that bass can overpower the song. This time, Merchant's vocals and the piano were the most forward elements, with the drums and guitar being perfectly audible and complementary but not center stage. Merchant has a rich voice that sometimes lacks enunciation. With the LCD-5, I felt like her vocals sounded a little clearer than they sound on a warmer headphone or a headphone with less clarity.

Finally, I listened to Jethro Tull's "Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Day," a track I often use in my headphone testing. You may know from my previous reviews (or maybe you know the song), but the prelude features frontman Ian Anderson making tea. A headphone with lots of detail and clarity will really make this sequence pop, to the point where you can "feel" the teaspoon on the back of your neck when it clinks against the cup. This and the whole rest of the track sounded amazing on the LCD-5. The flute and bells had lots of sparkle and zing, and instrument separation was strong in the more frenetic parts of the song. What really stood out to me on this track was the tightness of the bassline. It's easy to get swept away by the treble as well as the powerful guitar blasts, but somehow hearing that bassline kept the song grounded and even more interesting.

Sound summary: Neutral/analytical with forward upper mids and vocals. Tight, punchy, deep bass. A spacious sound with great imaging.

Features & Technology

Audeze has developed a patented technology to combat this interference. Think of Fazors like guides for sound, maneuvering the sound waves out of the drivers in an even and smooth way without interfering with each other. Each Fazor element is placed just outside the magnets that drive the diaphragm, allowing the sound waves out in a more even and parallel direction, reducing interference and diffraction, or scattering of sound waves.

By reducing the resistance to the natural flow of sound waves, Audeze’s Fazor arrays accomplish multiple goals while adding minimal weight and greater performance. They not only extend high frequencies, they also allow greater efficiency, and help keep the Fluxor magnets acoustically transparent. This is because they help sound waves pass through the magnet structures unhindered, causing less degradation and interference by the mass of the magnets themselves.

Diffraction of sound off the magnets can cause different frequencies to arrive at different times, which results in changes in phase (essentially the timing of the sound waves relative to each other). With Fazors, sound waves generated by the large planar magnetic diaphragms pass through magnetic structures without disturbance, preserving timing details in the recorded signal. This ultimately results in cleaner sound, greater resolution, and better imaging, as well as allowing the diaphragm to settle faster and with less “ringing.”

Award-winning Fluxor™ Magnets

Fluxor magnetic technology allows Audeze to create a stronger magnetic field for the same weight. Here's why this matters:

• Ergonomics: Fluxor magnets allow Audeze to develop lighter headphones, making use of a smaller number of magnets without making them harder to drive. Audeze has been able to create lightweight designs, such as those found in LCD-i3 and LCD-i4 IEMs, that employ a single-sided Fluxor design yet maintain a high degree of control over the diaphragm.

• Resolution and transparency: The very strong magnetic field generated by the Fluxor magnets allows for incredible control over the diaphragm, resulting in some of the best resolution you’ll hear. The LCD-4 and LCD-4z, for example, use double Fluxor magnets (Fluxor magnets on both sides of the diaphragm). This helps achieve the ultimate in control, detail retrieval, and resolution.

• Efficiency: Due to the higher magnetic flux and magnetic force generated by Fluxor magnets, the drivers found in Audeze headphones are the most efficient drivers in production. You get a top-rate listening experience without putting extra strain on your amplifier.

New internally sloped earpads help to reduce unwanted resonances and interior reflections

The LCD-5 features Audeze's "latest and greatest" ear pad design. new sculpted pad that slopes downward toward the driver in a near-triangular shape. This provides two benefits:

1. The gently pointed shape minimizes contact with the listener's head, which creates a better seal on more surfaces and offers greater comfort overall.

2. The "acoustic chamber" created by the cup/pad mating with the head/ear is optimized for less resonance and more control over the air inside it. This creates a more even frequency response and greater definition at all frequencies, but especially in the bass region which is now tighter and more controlled with extra-low extension.

Comparison to the HiFiMan SUSVARA

Curious as to how two TOTL (top-of-the-line) planar magnetic headphones compare to each other? I was, too. So I compared the LCD-5 to the HiFiMan SUSVARA headphones. First, the similarities: They're both expensive headphones. They're both open-back headphones. They're both good-looking headphones. They both do a fine job with detail retrieval and instrument separation. Both have great bass. Here's where they diverge. The LCD-5 (similar to the LCD-4) has a more neutral-analytical sound, with an emphasis on mids/upper mids. The sound is in no way thin, but it's not warm, either. It's got some musicality to it. I think it's a good headphone for critical listening and for genres like classical, jazz, blues, and vocals. If you're looking to dig in and enjoy every nuance of your music, the LCD-5 would be your pick.

Comparison to the Audeze LCD-4

Both the LCD-4 and the LCD-5 have an analytical sound that makes them well-suited to critical listening. I think the biggest difference between the two headphones is that the LCD-5 has some musicality to it when compared to the LCD-4. To my ears, the LCD-5 has a more engaging sound. Treble on the LCD-4 is smoother and less prominent than on the LCD-5, which definitely has some top-end energy. Upper mids are recessed on the LCD-4, which can set vocals back, whereas upper mids are more forward on the LCD-5. Bass on the LCD-4 is powerful, deep, and tight. It’s not a bassy headphone per se, but bass on the LCD-4 is more striking to my ears than on the LCD-5.

The Dragon Cable Experience

Recommended Cable: Black Dragon Premium

The LCD-5 has a neutral-analytical sound with a prominent top end. I chose to pair this headphone with a Black Dragon Premium headphone cable. Dragon Premium cables feature the same quality construction as standard Dragon cables, but with enhancements like premium rhodium-plated Furutech connectors and Mundorf Msolder SUPREME SilverGold that lend an extra layer of clarity to your music. UP-OCC copper strands in the Black Dragon smooth out the top end without sacrificing detail. And with the LCD-5 being a wonderfully detailed headphone, that's not something I'd want to sacrifice. The Black Dragon is a natural-sounding cable that slightly warms the bass and midrange tones for a more musical sound with added body and weight, which I thought suited the LCD-5 quite nicely.

Of course, everyone hears differently and has different preferences. For more information on finding your signature sound, visit our Sound Signature Guide.

The Verdict

Truth be told, I usually gravitate toward a warmer, fuller sound — at least that is the sound that will grab me right away. But the more and more I listened to the LCD-5 headphones, the more I grew to appreciate them. When I wanted a focus on vocals, details, and maybe a "toning down" of a bombastic track, the LCD-5 came through for me. Paired with a Black Dragon cable, the LCD-5 took on just enough body and weight to please my ears. Overall, this is a headphone for those who enjoy critical listening. It's not bassy, it's not "fun" sounding (which can be achieved through a lift in the low and high frequencies). At $4,500, does it sound better than a $500 headphone? I think most would say yes. How about better than a $1,500 headphone? A $3,000 headphone? That's more subjective. But if you're an audiophile, you don't listen like the average consumer. For those who enjoy the fast, distortion-free sound with great soundstage and imaging plus lots of detail and nuance, the LCD-5 is a gem.

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