Obviously, Alex and Sankar had a few tricks up their sleeves. As a result, the LCD-2 was born, and a short time later, the LCD-3, Audeze’s top of the line Überknüller Headphone. Retailing for $999 and $1999, respectively, these ‘cans were clearly marketed to a very specific segment of the market: the best, nothing less. Considering the many advantages headphones have over loudspeaker counterparts, ie. a more immediate, direct sound without the issues caused by room reflections, etc., there are of course some inherent drawbacks too. First, and I speak of personal experience, whatever is wrapped around my head, better fit me perfect. Second, you have 2 drivers pointed directly at your inner ear, meaning that any and all sound the drivers produce will be processed by your ears pretty much with zero delay, degradation, or outside influence. That, in my most humble of biased opinions, has been my Achilles heel for optimal headphone Hi-Fi sound: most headphones simply sound way, way, way too bright for me, with the exception of my trusted pair of custom molded in-ear-headphone JH Audio 13’s I now have had for almost 2 years. Utilizing multiple balanced armature drivers per channel, my 13’s have produced a most balanced of sounds, very similar in tonal density and organic imaging as my Zu Definition MK IV loudspeakers.

Even my “trusted” old pair of AKG 701’s, which I have had for almost 6 years, are barely used due to their incoherently bright image. Music simply does not sound like music when I use them, which obviously negates the point, hence their relegation to simple monitoring or “quick” source checking when converting some of my records to DSD. Another problem with headphones I have heard is the issue of bass. As in, bass that is real, not futzed with or bloated, just right. Here again, the only headphones that truly shine are my aforementioned JH-13’s, which produce exceptional bass that is congruent and in line with real life music.

Thus, when I met Alex and Sankar at a local Hi-Fi meet earlier this year, I was rather keen to hear what the “fuss” was all about. Google the name Audeze, and you’ll quickly see what I mean: from zero to Hero in .5 seconds it seems. Wow, I say, given the fact that they do not have the financial backing or multi-line parent company deals like AKG (Harmann Group), or Beyer (medical and aerospace) pulling their strings. Audeze it appeared, was truly a business of our times, organically grown through real world craftsmanship and artisan building skills.

Eagerly awaiting my pair of LCD-3’s I brushed up on my technical understanding of these new cans. Planar magnetic drivers are very similar to electrostatic speakers for your head. Powerful magnets move the entire diaphragm in a clean, piston like motion, thus giving little chance for modal break-up. Where planar magnetic drivers differ from the electrostatic brethren, is that they require far more magnetic force. Also, due to the fact the entire apparatus is rather large in size, comfort must be part of the entire design, otherwise, no one would be bothered wearing them. Like I said, if someone wants me to wrap something around my head, they better make sure its comfortable. “Don’t worry” Alex told me, you will love these.