Audeze LCD-5 Open-Back Planar Magnetic Over-Ear Headphones with New Combo Balanced & 6.3mm Cable

The LCD-5 is a good HP, I found them to be very comfortable, however, despite the low OHM rating you still need a powerful amp to get these best sound and performance. As others have said, it is a very neutral HP, meaning that on bad tracks and recordings the sound while accurate is not musical. I tried these twice, the second time was a great deal $2,500, so I thought it was too good to pass up, and I'm now using a MAC tube amp which usually provides a more warm sound.Sounded much better to me the 2nd, but the treble range was still too bright and left my ears ringing. I found myself bracing for high peaks in music or playing at a volume level that did not allow me to enjoy the music. I tried using an EQ but still to bright for my ears. So I decided to return the HPs. I have a pair of LCD-4s which I like, and I also listened to the Audeze CRBN HP which sounds great!! I think the CRBN is my next purchase....

A very neutral headphone with Excellent mid-range. The new pads are a bit tough and the fit is not very comfortable. The clamp force, the comfort and the lack of bass makes this headphone worth between $1500-$2000.00. $4500 is a straight robbery.

I'm someone who has owned the Audeze LCD-2, LCD-3, LCD-4z and now the LCD-5. While I may be a bit of an Audeze fan, I'm more of an audiophile; I've also owned many other headphones by other makers such as Hifiman, Audioquest and Sony as well.I can tell you that these LCD-5's have the best timbre of all Audeze headphones to date! Highly resolving, yet warm, with impactful bass (but not overblown bass which is what you want, you can always EQ some bass boost if you want a bit more bass), with a slight forward midrange. It's a sound signature that suits my listening preference perfectly. Very enveloping and engaging sound, yet non fatiguing on literally any kind of music I throw at it; from electronica to Bach and everything in between.These are amazingly detailed without being harsh and with the new not as tight headband they are now including, they're a lot more comfortable than when they first came out on the market. And, they now only weigh 420g, which is so much better than prior LCD headphones, which I always thought were simply way to heavy to be comfortable.The LCD-5 is literally the only headphone that I just want to keep on listening too for a long period of time.I'm keeping my fingers crossed with regards to reliability as they are still new so that remains to be seen (I did have a driver reliability issue with my LCD-4z's). Lucikly, Audeze includes a three year driver warranty and that even goes with the headphones such you sell them to someone else (as long as they were originally purchase from an authorized dealer).Expensive and probably overpriced? Yes. The best Audeze headphones you can get? Also yes. They are so choice, if you have the means, I highly recommend picking on up.

I thought I have heard and owned the best headphones available and now I am enjoying listening to a new contender in TOTL headphone world from a well-known trusted brand.Audeze (Aww-da-zee) Sound is almost everything in a headphone, but if you can’t wear them due to clamping force or weight, it doesn’t mean much.The LCD-5 has it all Amazing sound yet featherweight headphones. No buyer’s remorse even at this price. For most of my audiophile (means I like listening to music) life, I moved to the Focal sound signature. Once you decide if you want an open or closed-back headphone, you can narrow your decisions to what sounds best to you. Open back means you will hear what’s going on around you and people close to you can hear what you are listening to. The reason to buy an open-back headphone is in my humble opinion that you get a much more realistic sound. The clarity and expansiveness, just the beauty and musicality is superior to a closed back.The reason to buy closed back is obvious, privacy and not to disturb people around you, and to block outside sounds (passive noise cancellation). You can get superb, closed-back headphones, the Focal Stellia (my favs) for example but the sound-stage will never feel like you are in the same room the music is being played.There are a half dozen top-of-the-line open-back headphones and it was a tedious process of reading and watching reviews online and then narrowing down choices so I could audition the headphones at a local shop (if you are lucky enough to have one in your area with high end “cans”. Cans are audiophile speak for headphones.And that’s how I found the LCD-5. I bought a pair of LCD X a few years back and they were just too heavy to wear though I did enjoy the bass-line. I am not a “bass-head” but I do like well-defined punchy bass, not bloated or overpowering. And the LCD-5s have just that. The bass is in my opinion just perfect and if you want to make adjustments, they take very well to EQ. It’s there, it’s deep & bass boot through DAC/Amps that offer those options or through software. It doesn’t sound phony. Now a true audiophile wants a neutral sound signature with no coloration, but I prefer a warm signature to listen to classic rock, folk rock, country rock, 90’s rock, jazz et al.The LCD 5’s have a fairly wide sound-stage, not “Senn 800s” wide but not intimate- just sounds natural. Where they really excel is in detail and transparency. I hear every instrument in just the right place. There are a lot of “buzz words” that professional audio reviews could use to explain the sheer fun and musicality of the LCD-5s. Detailed but not analytical. The tight, yet deep bass, slightly forward mid range, and treble are all there in just the right quantities to make these truly enjoyable headphones.I read a lot of negative reviews about the LCD-5 comfort due to excessive clamping force but when they came out the manufacturer Audeze listened to complaints, and gave new headbands to relieve the clamping stress to all existing users that requested them. So, most of the reviews I saw were pre-mid-December 2021 when they changed to making all LCD-5’s with a terrific new headband that I am wearing for hours now, without discomfort.So much to say about how great these sound to me. I came from a background that ultimately went from Hifiman 400HE to Focal Clears> (a few mid-priced in between) I thought the Focal Clear was my endgame at 1/3 of the price of these. They are superb- indeed. And there is a point of diminishing returns - if you buy headphones for 3 times the price you won’t get cans that are 3 times better. But then I heard a pair of Focal Utopia and a whole world of wonderful sound opened to me.I never thought I would go for the price of Utopias or LCD-5 so be careful- this can be an expensive hobby or listening experience. After I burned in the Utopia for 150 hours they sounded “joyful” for lack of better words. And soon after along came the new technology lightweight LCD-5’s.I read the Utopias were lean on bass- not the case at all. Just perfect. Just a bit too intimate for me. (Close sound-stage) Very closed in but a remarkable flagship headphone I would never give up unless I found something new that just sounded better and a lot wider than the Utopia. I love the Focal Utopia.I also read, and heard that the new lightweight LCD-5s were lean on bass. Nothing further from the truth. The LCD-5’s bass is impactful, with just the right decay and a decent DAC/amp should help you drive these to musical nirvana.In closing, for now, let me say I was happily surprised with the beautifully revealing and resolving sound of these new Audeze LCD-5. They are well built, stunning to my eye, and sound wonderful. They come with a great braided copper cable that looks better than many aftermarket cables. It is a balanced xlr output with a connector to 6.33. The headphones come in a small black aluminum-looking case that looks like it might hold secret codes or arms. It is cool, gimmicky yet useful and sturdy.This is a large purchase so do your due diligence and then buy these and let me know how much you love them too. If there are changes as it burns in more I will update. They come with 24 hours factory burn in but in my experience, most drivers especially planars just get better and better so 100 hours should do well to hear their true sound.I hope you enjoy them as much as I am enjoying mine.