Audeze LCD-1 Review – Budget Feel, Premium Sound & Price

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These are one the most expensive sets of headphones I’ve tested, coming in at around £400 they certainly aren’t the priciest option on the market but they definitely aren’t cheap. And yet, despite their planar magnetic drivers and premium price tag, they feel like a £30 set straight from Amazon. What’s going on here? Well, lets find out. But first, if you haven’t already, consider subscribing for more videos like this one every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The reason, I suspect, for the lacking build and materials quality is those fancy drivers. Planar Magnetic tech can be found in their more expensive LCD-2’s and those are renown as some of the best headphones around. This style of driver has been shrunk down to fit in this more portable design. The LCD-2’s use a 106 mm driver, versus 90 mm in the LCD-1’s. They do use the same neodymium N50 magnets, although need significantly less power to drive them thanks to much lower impedance. Just 16 ohms instead of 70. But, those drivers aren’t cheap and while the price tag isn’t either, for context their bigger LCD-2’s sit at almost double the price as these. So, to hit this price tag, they’ve sacrificed build and material quality for killer drivers.

And I mean that, the clarity these offer, the detail is absolutely insane. These are so clear and crisp, and when paired with the incredibly open sound stage thanks to their very open back style you get a very true to life listening experience. It’s easy to pick apart songs with these, hearing each layer of sound, picking out each vocal harmony as they are all presented evenly. These are perfect for an analytical listener, or mixer.

If I had to critique the sound I would say while the bass is well balanced, in fact the whole sound profile is well balanced, it lacks real punch. It doesn’t feel like a truly involved listening experience, unlike the Sennheiser HD650’s I’ve used before. To me anyway, they lack a bit of character natively, although being a ‘neutral sound’ set that makes sense.

They suit a wide range of genres of music, although I found lighter songs played a little better to my ears as the more grungy punk/rock/metal I like sounded a little, well like I said uninvolved. From a straight listening experience, these are great but didn’t blow me away. One thing that did impress me though was the ability to drive them from any device, and relatively well. Sure, my Schiit Magnius and Modius make light work of driving these and offer much better resolution and detail, but even using a type C to 3.5mm adapter from my phone produced a listening experience that was 90% as good, and that’s great.

Unfortunately for me, despite the decent listening experience, I can’t use these as my go-to headphones. Why? Because they are horrendously uncomfortable on my head. The headband, with what is apparently real lambskin leather but feels like the cheapest of vinyl tat you find on every gaming headset ever, has next to no padding and no matter it’s setting it digs into my head. The ear cups are also far too small for my ears so they barely fit inside, and when i do get them in they scrape on the driver surface AND the back of the ear cup padding, and the clamping pressure is a touch too tight for me too. I personally can’t wear these for more than 20 minutes or so before I need to take them off, and that’s a deal breaker for me. Of course, comfort is subjective and based on your head size and shape so these may fit you just fine, but I can only report my experience.

Touching on the build quality again, my second complaint after the leather is the plastics. This is a Corsair HS35, a £35 gaming headset with plastics that legitimately feel better. They feel higher quality with a slight soft touch feel, and less painfully sharp edges. I had these LCD-1’s around my neck and the number of scrapes I got from the sharp edges is more than I can count on one hand. And while I’m ranting on, why do the ear cups turn 90 outwards this way? If I’m going to have them around my neck I would much rather have the soft ear cups resting on my chest instead of harsh plastic. Audio Technica do it with the ATH-G1WL’s I use daily, why not these?

The build quality isn’t something I would be too concerned with from a longevity standpoint. The main point of failure I expect would be the hinge points that let the earcups tilt, although the swivel and folding joint may come in a close second. What’s odd is they’ve included a fairly premium feeling hard shell case for these to fold up into, and a stunningly premium reversible 3.5mm cable and gold plated 3.5mm to ¼” jack too, yet the one bit that matters the most is cheaped out on.

Getting back to the main point, these are incredibly clear and detailed. They don’t pack much of a punch and aren’t a truly involved listening experience, but the ability to pick out individual instruments or harmonies when listening makes these an incredible option for a neutral listening experience. They aren’t the cheapest, and might not even be your best option in this price bracket as you shouldn’t get these just because they have the fancy drivers, but for the right listener I think you will enjoy them. Assuming they fit your head.