All
Audeze
Website:https://www.audeze.com/
Est. year: 2010
Audeze was founded in 2008 by Sankar Thiagasamudram and Alexander Rosson, working alongside engineer Pete Uka, who had previously developed flexible circuit materials for NASA, in a Southern California garage beneath a poster for 2001 - A Space Odyssey that reportedly inspired the company's name. The founders adapted Uka's flexible-circuit technology directly into planar-magnetic headphone drivers, launching the original LCD-1 in 2009, a modest debut that nonetheless established the foundation for what would become the influential LCD headphone series.
Range & what it's known for
Audeze's catalog is built almost entirely around planar-magnetic headphones, with the LCD series, spanning the LCD-2, LCD-3, LCD-4, LCD-5 and the recently introduced LCD-5s with its SLAM bass-tuning technology, forming the core of a lineup regularly used by mastering engineers, esports athletes and audiophiles alike. Every Audeze planar-magnetic and electrostatic driver is manufactured at the company's own Orange County, California factory, where Audeze has also become the largest flexible printed-circuit-board manufacturer in the United States, a genuinely unusual manufacturing capability for a headphone brand of its size.
Who owns it and where it's made
Audeze was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment in August 2023, bringing the brand under the ownership of one of the world's largest entertainment and electronics corporations while continuing to design and hand-assemble every headphone priced above 399 dollars at its own Orange County, California facility.
The lineup in this catalog
Headphones (5). Prices span roughly 400 dollars for entry-level planar models to 4,500 dollars for the flagship LCD-5s.
Who it's for
Audeze suits headphone buyers specifically seeking planar-magnetic driver technology built on genuinely in-house flexible-circuit manufacturing, now backed by Sony's considerable corporate resources following the 2023 acquisition, appealing equally to mastering professionals and dedicated audiophile enthusiasts. Sony's acquisition also opens potential integration paths between Audeze's headphone technology and Sony's own broader entertainment and gaming hardware ecosystem going forward. The brand's continued operation as a distinct entity within Sony's larger corporate structure suggests the parent company sees ongoing value in Audeze's specific engineering identity and audiophile reputation.
Range & what it's known for
Audeze's catalog is built almost entirely around planar-magnetic headphones, with the LCD series, spanning the LCD-2, LCD-3, LCD-4, LCD-5 and the recently introduced LCD-5s with its SLAM bass-tuning technology, forming the core of a lineup regularly used by mastering engineers, esports athletes and audiophiles alike. Every Audeze planar-magnetic and electrostatic driver is manufactured at the company's own Orange County, California factory, where Audeze has also become the largest flexible printed-circuit-board manufacturer in the United States, a genuinely unusual manufacturing capability for a headphone brand of its size.
Who owns it and where it's made
Audeze was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment in August 2023, bringing the brand under the ownership of one of the world's largest entertainment and electronics corporations while continuing to design and hand-assemble every headphone priced above 399 dollars at its own Orange County, California facility.
The lineup in this catalog
Headphones (5). Prices span roughly 400 dollars for entry-level planar models to 4,500 dollars for the flagship LCD-5s.
Who it's for
Audeze suits headphone buyers specifically seeking planar-magnetic driver technology built on genuinely in-house flexible-circuit manufacturing, now backed by Sony's considerable corporate resources following the 2023 acquisition, appealing equally to mastering professionals and dedicated audiophile enthusiasts. Sony's acquisition also opens potential integration paths between Audeze's headphone technology and Sony's own broader entertainment and gaming hardware ecosystem going forward. The brand's continued operation as a distinct entity within Sony's larger corporate structure suggests the parent company sees ongoing value in Audeze's specific engineering identity and audiophile reputation.
