Наушники — Audeze LCD-X

The LCD-X is an Audeze headphone of the open-back, over-ear type, using a planar magnetic transducer of generous diameter. Audeze groups it with its professional audio models, next to the LCD-XC, LCD-MX4, LCD-S20 and MM-520, and the current version carries revised figures compared with the original, which was specified at 22 ohm and 96 dB for 1 mW. It ships with leather or leather-free earpads, a suspension headband and a hard travel case.

Key specs that matter

Audeze fits a 106 mm planar magnetic transducer driven by a proprietary array of N50 neodymium magnets. Audeze quotes a frequency response of 10 Hz to 50 kHz and a maximum level above 130 dB SPL, with distortion under 0.1 percent at 100 dB SPL. Sensitivity is 103 dB for 1 mW, a figure Audeze gives at the drum reference point, and the nominal impedance is 20 ohm. The driver accepts up to 5 W RMS. The headphone weighs 612 g.

Engineering and use context

The diaphragm uses Audeze's ultra-thin Uniforce technology, in which the conductor pattern on the film is shaped so that the driving force stays even across the whole membrane surface. Fazor waveguides placed ahead of the magnet structure steer the wave as it passes through the openings between the magnets. As an open design at the rear, the LCD-X leaks sound to the outside and lets outside noise in, which makes it a tool for quiet studios and home listening rather than for travel or for tracking next to live microphones. The suspension headband spreads the mass over a wider area of the head, a relevant detail for a model that sits at the heavier end of the over-ear category. Planar magnetic drivers of this kind present an almost purely resistive load, so the rated impedance varies little with frequency.

Pairing

Low impedance plus high sensitivity mean a portable player or the phones output on a recording interface can reach normal levels, while a dedicated desktop amplifier gives more reserve for the peak levels the driver can take. The supplied 1.9 m braided cable ends in a 4-pin XLR plug for balanced amplifiers and comes with an adapter to a 6.3 mm single-ended jack, plus a second adapter from 6.3 mm to 3.5 mm for smaller devices. Audeze also packs an authenticity certificate and its warranty paperwork. The headband and earpads spread contact pressure, and the leather-free pad option avoids animal materials for buyers who prefer that.

Alternatives

Buyers who need isolation from the room can look at the Audeze LCD-XC, the closed-back model in the same professional line.