Audeze LCD-1 Review 

Nailed this one in this review. While I like it, it's by no means perfect and kind of a niche product. The timbre cannot match the 650, but treble detail is amazing. It's everything else like the build quality, grainier upper mids, small stage width, and lesser bass dynamics than the LCD2 that strongly puts it in this price category. I actually guessed $299 also before I was told the price. But considering ease of being driven, it's impressive for what it is.

Loxjie! Nice! Stoked for your reviews :)

Appreciate the honesty. Keep it up!

Congrats on 30k subscribers

Nice review, I really wanna get my hands on a pair of these.

Excellent review I hope you are going to review the monoprice M1070 as soon as possible

Nice to see you back JV And Desperate for your Reviews on the new Monoprice M570,1070 and 1570.Neither you,Zeos or DMS has reviewed them yet there’s others have got them out there😮 I do think the LCD-1 is going to be a Big Seller But I will stick to my DT1990. My main issue at the moment as I want a new Set of Cans is do I go for the Audeze LCD-2C or the Focal Elex or wait for the reviews on the new Monoprice M1570 Planars.

As a mix engineer my reason for choosing headphones is to hear issues with mixes and sound balance, these do a good job in regards to this and for the time I've been using these, my mixes translate well. For a headphone for listening pleasure, I would look elsewhere personally. Great review.

Thank you, Joshua very much for Yosi Horikawa spaces album suggestion, I enjoyed it really a lot. It remembered me Floex/Tomas Dvorak Zorya and samorost 3 ost album. Listen to them I'm sure you're going to love them.

I'm personally very interested in using these around town on walks using just my phone as it is so efficient. When I was younger/in college, I wore some HD590s to, from and at school. Of course, those are not quiet environments but it let me listen to music and also interact with the world on the sidewalk and in the lab. Ill wait to see if these are cheaper next year though.

I plan on buying these, they’re on special at my local fancy hi fi shop. I’m going to audition them, but I’m thankful for this review for a number of reasons. Not the least of which is learning that the name is pronounced Aud azee and not Aud eeez. You’ve saved me some embarrassment my friend and for that you get a like and a sub. (Also, your review was quite clear and detailed :) )

Maybe you needed a break because this was one of, if not your best review yet. Well done, thank you!

Josh not sure what veiled are you getting on the mids. But have you plug the cables on the headphone properly? All the way in? I noticed mine is loose and if not plug properly the mids are somewhat affected

Joshua, If you compare the GX, can you compare it to the LCD-2F and HD800S for imaging and soundstage? I'm really eyeballing that HP for singleplayer gaming and music all-rounder. Thanks and thanks for this review as well.

Hey Joshua , are you going to review the akg k361 and/or akg k371 ? I have both and I'm not going to say anything right now as i can't wait to hear what you think

I can relate to your review. When I heard them at an audio shop. I found that they had a pretty flat sound signature but barely any soundstage felt a bit like closed back headphones and lacked the emotion/sparkle I enjoy with other headphones.

Would you recommend these for video editing?

Hey Joshua. Any idea why almost no one has compared the LCD-1 with the Sine DX? I've searched the usual boards for info but haven't found hardly any...

Wish it had the same housing as the Audeze Sine.

My favorite $500ish headphones: focal elex (heavy eq), dt1990 (heavy eq,dakoni elite pads), and demon ahd7200 (light eq)

Did I see HD800S on that list? I own a pair and a th900 so Josh's least favorite flagships lmao, hope you like the S better!

Awesome review, these headphones are really interesting! By the way I miss the music reviews, are you planning to bring them back, even if only occasionally? You should do an episode about Floating Points - Crush!

The 1990 I would love but I can’t deal with the brightness the hd600 I would love but I need more bass the lcd1 not being bright like 1990 & having more bass then the hd600 at the cost of weaker quality mids then the hd600 seems like the best overall choice for me for mixing and mastering headphones

Can you review Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Open (and/or Closed) please?

Hi, thanks for such a clear and insightful review. it's so difficult to make a purchasing decision on something so subjective as audio quality/enjoyment. I have some ageing Sennheiser HD340s which have developed an intermittent fault. I appreciate their ability to deliver a rich and non fatiguing and open airy/presentation. Like others, I hanker after "more" and was strongly tempted by these but you seem to be saying that they are weakest in the very areas that I value. I'm worried about the Beyer 1990s due to the brightness and high impedance. I do have a good hifi but would be mostly using headphones driven by a MacBook Pro M1 without an off board amp. I'm now leaning more towards the Sennheiser 660s which I can pick up used or open box in the UK for 300GBP. Do you think the MacBook will power them adequately or would I get a better experience (in my application) with a lower impedance planar?

Pretty damn good review and I totally agree with you 100%. I totally see your preference for vocals being a main criteria for your reviews (not that it's a bad thing by any means, vocals are important!!!). It's like anybody that has ever heard a Sennheiser HD600 or 650/660 is forever tainted and can't tolerate the mids of most other cans, unless they have a preference of instruments > vocals. Please please please don't get me wrong, I have HD650s and they are indeed delightful with vocals, almost unbeatable with the proper gear. But maybe it's just me, but in a 4 piece rock band, I care more about what the 3 instruments are doing versus the vocals. If I'm listening to r&b, folk music or crooners liks Dean Martin, then yes, the vocals should be front and center. I understand it is a preference thing, but some of these other mid forward cans really lack in the clarity and musicality in the upper bass, lower mids and mid treble (Grado 1 to 2K, Beyer Treble, Meze Bass). It's why I tend to use a Rush song when testing headphones. If Geddy Lee's vocals overshadow his own bass playing, Neil Peart's percussion or Alex Lifeson's guitar, I can't listen further. Preferences once again, and perception. 😉

Hi, How does the sound stage of the LCD-1 compare to the Beyer DR880 pro?

These are absolutely awesome to use just with the Apple lightning dongle. I have MUCH more expensive gear and it is just a hassle. These just work and are quick to pull out and jam to tunes on. (There is your use case here..) Forget the amp or laptop just use with a phone... done :)

any plans on reviewing topping dx7 pro dac/amp? got the dt 1990 after watching your reviews and loving it so far. i'm curious about this dac looking at the price/specs

Good review but you only consider them as music listening cans, Audeze markets them for sound engineering, like mixing and mastering. Consider adding some frequency response graphs. Best regards and thank you for the review.

Please measure inner size of the earpads,interior height,width,depth.Very few reviewers who do that.

Good day! Wanted to would to know your opinion in comparison models Audez'e LCD-1 and Mobius, not know what choose (I take not for games). I apologize for spelling mistakes, as I know only Russian)

I want to love these cans but I can’t find a reason to pull the trigger and buy them. Good price, great design, seem comfortable, PLANAR! But man that tuning makes me uneasy. Enjoyed Oluv’s thoughts on these too.

How would you say these compare against the DT1990 Pro for HipHop music?

Nice review Josh . For me I prefer nice tight bass and I'll take quality over quantity any day.

I just found this channel, and I thought to comment on your most recent video yields a higher chance of a response.. :D. I am thinking of diving into the world of audiophile headphones. This might sound like a dumb question but, What can i expect going from ostensibly high-quality ANC bluetooth headphones, like pxc550, (which I find sound amazing with an equalizer), to an entry-level AP pair like (beyerdynamics dt990 pro )? I love classical music, concerti etc. But enjoy all types of music. Also, would the Beyerdynamics be a good starting point, or should I go for something more expensive?

0:26 Focal Stellia Sennheiser HD800s.... Anga???? Sennheiser HD820 Sennheiser HDV 820 Fostex TH900 MK II Loxjie D20 + P20 IFI IDSD Audeze LCD-1 Audeze LCD-GX ???? 20 Schiit Asgard 3 Klipsch RP150m KEF LS50 Wireless SVS Ultra Tower

Pretty sure you can easily modify this to make it more open sounding I know Zeos will figure it out somehow I bet lol

Thanks! Great review. Would the midrange in the lcd1 make it hard for me to get correct mid levels when mixing? Or that’s not what you mean by Veil over the midrange?

One of the main benefits of these are they are so easy to drive. I disagree on the vocal shroud you suggest and was pleasantly surprised at the detail even when listening to youtube compressed audio via a PIxel 2 phone! Im used to LCD-X and XC or the HD650 from a Neve RNHP or Lynx Hilo in a studio environment so the sights are pretty high. I cant stress enough that everyone needs to listen to all candidate headphone themselves before making any decision

In your honest opinion these or the hifiman sundara for casual listening

I tried yesterday this lcd-1 against a Sundara using my Xiaomi Mi8 smarphone and the Audeze sounds better to me. I know it isn't fair to judge them without proper amp but it was clear to my ears: the Sundara is the colder and thin sounding of the two, and less midrange detail than lcd-1. I also compared two weeks ago this lcd-1 to a Focal Elear, AKG K712pro and Sennheiser HD660S using a Chord Mojo out of my smartphone and to me the best ones were the ldc-1 and the Elear. I couldn't choose a winner between them. Maybe the Elear but it didn't convice me fully. The factor of 16 ohm impedance on the lcd-1makes it easily driven by smartphones. I recently bought Sundara H400S and I returned, I didn't like it (using dac/amp). The Sundara sounds a bit better (out of my phone) but the LCD-1 is more enveloped sounding. I see Joshua finds more midrange detail in the Sundara but I found it more present on the lcd-1. Detail-wise I couldn't tell, since I needed more amp. But it didn't convince me, Sundara's profile is thinner. I also noticed a bit of bass bloom with the lcd-1 (out of phone), but I remembered bass also sounded more present or saturate prone than Focal Elear out of Mojo. Sundara bass was deep and clear but more isolated than lcd-1. I see lcd-1 as a terrific headphone.

Almost bought them, then I remembered the Sundara's and the fact that Monoprice has the 1070's and the 1570's in the line up ... but so far I love what I see, the format is great, nice and sleek.. tuning reminds me of a pair of Senn HD25's but planar ...

These or HD660S?

How much sound do these leak? I can't seem to find information on this, and some open headphones leak way more than others. The midrange veil might be caused by a filter to the outside.

Is that good for gaming?

How is the build quality of these? For such a price they look very fragile and I feel they will brake if I accidentally drop them.

The problem is that those arcs that sustain the cups are from plastic, being foldable means you'll get pretty quick wear around that bolt where the cups rotate. Those arcs seems pretty squishy to me, ATH squishy and that's a deal breaker.

Can you please review Kennerton Headphones?

I was so disappointed with these, something just sounded off and I think it was that midrange veil you described. I returned them and got the HE4XX as a replacement and they sound much better in my opinion after some eq. For some reason I could not enjoy any of my music with the LCD-1 which is not a problem with the HE4XX.

How do they compare to el-8 titanium?

For anyone interested: the fuzziness that you can hear in the vocals is probably caused by the frequency response of this particular headphone. I used EQs from other youtubers (metal571, Chrono from The Headphone Show), but the fuzziness was still present. To be completely honest I use LCD-1 directly from my phone (OnePlus 6 without any dac/amp, so nothing special) and I use USB Audio Player PRO with the additional plug-in Morphit. I use the plug-in to make my LCD-1 sound like "Generic Studio target curve" with additional boost in the bass region (analog bell 30 Hz +2.0 dB 1.00, low shelf 100 Hz +3.0 dB 1.00). I also decrease some sharpness in the treble region (analog bell 10 kHz -2.0 dB 3.00). I also subtracted 1dB in 3.5 kHz region to make the vocals be more smooth (analog bell 3.5 kHz -1.0 dB 1.4). Output level is -8.0 dB. Using Morphit (even without additional EQ) makes the vocals MUCH more transparent. It's now much better headphone (especially with the additionall EQ). More bass (and punch to some extent), more details, more transparency in the vocals, even bigger soundstage. Maybe it's not that smooth as it was out of the box, but definitely worth checking it out. Hope this helped some LCD-1 users.

It looks like creative aurvana lol. I guess their aim was easy driven portable headphone, not necessarily audiophile market. It's a good headphone though. It has it's market and fills the gap. Price is a bit Audeze premium.

These or Sundara?

Comparison to Mobius?

What about closed headphones? Did they stuck making it?? The only GOOD closed that don't leak are el8 titanium but they are heavy and they break, others?? Nothing new?

Hi friend. Can ifi hip dac drive beyerdynamic 990 pro 250 ohm 96 db properly?

Doesn’t sound like a closed back headphone. It has a small soundstage but sounds open. Sounding open vs closed and soundstage size aren’t the same thing. It definitely sounds open, yet with an intimate sound stage.

How does it compare to the Audeze Mobius?

Tetons drive from Yellowstone??

I have a pair of these and oh boy, they creak ALL the time

Too expensive here in good old germany (450€) I bought the Elears for 540€ and wanted to compare them with the LCD-1. But after that Review that would be unnecessary i guess.

Audeze Sine ?

You forgot to mention that these are cold and metallic sounding headphones. The bass is thin and the soundstage is absolutely claustrophobic. @metal571 says the 650 has better timbre. No, it's not just the timbre where the 650 bests the LCD-1. The 650 is a better overall headphone. If you like sharp, aggressive treble, which Oluv described as being like razors, then OK the LCD-1 has better treble.

yes

How can a open back headphone be portable!? And is there someone that would go out with 400$ thing on his/her head! In my opinion we use these type of headphones( I mean open backs) at home only and due to their wide soundstage that the landscape of audio is rather big and pleasant. I think that dt 1990 and especially Sundara are better deals.

Could I use these with an iPhone ?

how about dac differences.

LCD 1 about the same price as the Sundara? 399 to 349. That is 50 dollars is 12.5% difference. I would say that is a pretty big difference and you go for a second hand it's 50%. Not really fair but still something worth to mention. Ooo 1 think a bit hifiman fanboi.. sorry! I do like your content!

KEF LS50 Wireless back there? same as mine. :) (Ahh, Audeze headphone...meh..)

Please do Austrian audio hi-55x

Guttenberg says lcd-1 trashes the hd6xx...His review is wayyy more positive than this. This is tough.

It's for bedroom producers that can't save up for the LCD-X.

At one point, I realized Audeze does not have any quality control at all. A few LCD-2c I heard, they all sounded completely different. I wonder LCD-1 has more consistent quality control. In my opinion, Audeze should not assemble in the U.S. They are great at designing products, but not good at manufacturing it.

Steve Guttenberg compared it to the 6XX and said there is no competition as LCD1s are way better than 6XX. Now, this is very confusing as you call 6XX as the master of mid-range and vocals, plus you pointed these are lacking even when compared to 58X. I don't know if you both are listening to the same headphone or is there a quality consistency issue here?!!

This or the Sundara?

Beyerdynamic (all) is not for everybody. If you have long ears they can be very annoying. Now I don't mean elf ears either. IF you have small rounded ears then yes they are fantastic, but if you have normal shaped med to large ears you might not like them. I have other headphones that touch my ears, but there is something about Beyer that after 3 days I had to return them. Yes they sound fantastic, but only if they fit

The sound is not important at all when it comes to headphones,what is important is the build quality,cabels and finely the Pads,thats why i only collects on cabels and Pads now,to hell whit the sound.

Audeze LCD 1 Me pregunto a mi mismo: ¿qué es lo que nos vende esta marca por cerca de 400 euros? Primero que nada saquémoslos de su zona de confort a esta marca. Están hechos y diseñados en China, solo sus oficinas contables se encuentran en los Estados Unidos. No es que uno pretenda hablar mal de la manufactura oriental (que es de vanguardia) pero las normas ahí son de las más dudosas en todo el mundo, ya que no están sujetas a tantos requisitos como en otras partes del mundo. El empaque con el cual viene resulta extremadamente grande para lo que trae adentro. Uno ya empieza a dudar de que es lo que pagamos por los 400 euros. Las pruebas se hicieron en tres diferentes player y con archivos de música FLAC, de alta calidad, sin usar ninguna ecualización, solo el sonido tal como viene. Sonido mucho muy plano, por no decir que los graves se escuchan, pero sin ninguna profundidad. Tienen una buena respuesta en las frecuencias medias pero conforme uno escucha las altas, es cuando viene la desilusión; son algo “metálicas” por no decir chillonas. El sistema que es orto fónico (plano). Pero son con diseño abierto, es decir que los que te rodean también escuchan. Si hay ruido en el exterior, también lo alcanzas a escuchar. El diseño de sus capuchones es casi idéntico al de la marca KEF SPACE ONE y que colaboro en este la compañía PORCHE DESING. Pero en los Audeze LC1, todo es plástico. El cable con el que vienes en de hilo trenzado con una longitud de 2 mts. El cual está bien si los quieres escuchar en un equipo de mesa. Pero algo incongruente es que su impedancia está pensada para ser usada en móviles o player de MP3 (16 ohm, con 98 Db de sensibilidad) por lo que se puede afirmar que tienen un buen nivel de volumen. Pero si uno los compara con otro que también es de tecnología plana como el afamado OPPO PM3; Audeze se queda mucho muy por debajo. Así que uno acaba preguntándose; ¿que es lo que me está vendiendo AUDEZE?

I also think this is a 300euro/dollar headphone. But you pay premium for an Audeze.

I feel like your disclaimer is redundant. Of course they're not paying you, that's never the risk. The risk is, and i'm in no way accusing you of this, that youtube reviewers feel pressure to give positive reviews to ensure the continued flow of items for review so they can build their channel. There's no disclaimer that will prove that you don't do that. The only way viewers can judge that is if you are critical where it's waranted (as you seem to be here). So the reviews speak for themselves without any need for a disclaimer.

Made In USA is all you need to buy it.

Hi Joshua, what is your favorite Christmas movie?

Beyerdynamic headphones are garbage imo. Too spicy and piercing