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<img src="http://www.tonepublications.com/media/FROM-THE-WEB-Audeze-normal.jpg" alt="The Audeze LCD-3 headphones" class="thumbnail large post-image" /><p>Time flies when you’re having fun.* Two years ago when Audeze introduced the LCD-2 headphone, it quickly rose to the heap, becoming many people’s favorite phone at any price, winning over most of the critics in the process.</p>
<p>The LCD-2 isn’t cheap, at $1,145, but it delivers the goods – providing a natural sound quality that but a few of the world’s most rare (and even more expensive) headphones have been able to achieve.* Many have compared the LCD-2s – and rightfully so – to Magnepan speakers, and they share a somewhat similar design, also being planar magnetic.* And, like the Magnepans, the Audeze headphones are designed and built in the USA.</p>
<p>Fast-forward to 2013, and we now have the LCD-3, which at first blush, looks almost identical to the LCD-2 in terms of form factor, but closer inspection reveals driver cups made of Zebrano wood and improved ear cushions.</p>
<p><strong>Evolution not revolution</strong></p>
<p>Queuing up Matthew Sweet’s <em>Girlfriend to</em> compare the LCD-2 to the LCD-3 side by side with the ALO Studio Six amplifier, driven by the dCS Vivaldi stack, allows both to be powered simultaneously and instantly reveals the subtle, but significant, differences.* If you’ve got a system capable of resolving the difference, the LCD-3 is well worth the nearly $2,000 price tag.</p>
<p>Sweet’s vocal layering on this record, especially the title track, is not only clearer, but better defined in terms of image placement, better separated from the backing vocal tracks.* And there are definitely another jangly guitar or two buried in the track that are now perfectly clear.* The rest of the album plays out thusly – upon switching back to the excellent LCD-2, it now feels slightly cloudy and somewhat veiled in comparison.* The LCD-3 brings you that much closer to the music.</p>
<p>Lloyd Cole’s <em>Don’t Get Weird on Me Babe, </em>(from the same time period, featuring Sweet throughout) uncovers a similar epiphany.* The solid bass line in “She’s a Girl and I’m a Man” now has more body, more depth, and more soul.* Closer inspection on a number of other bass heavy tracks from Daft Punk to Supertramp reveals a similar level of low frequency resolution: amazing for a good pair of speakers, but even more captivating from a pair of headphones.* Those formerly complaining about headphones not having convincing bass response will have to drink a cup of shut the hell up; the LCD-3s are fabulous.</p>
<p><strong>Deep tracks</strong></p>
<p>The more familiar you are with your system and your record collection, the easier it will be to justify a pair of LCD-3s.* Every type of music literally comes alive with these phones.* They play jazz, rock, classical and hip-hop with equal dexterity, never missing a beat.* Livening up the mood with some Marilyn Manson, from the <em>High End of Low, </em>clearly underlines that the LCD-3s can rock – hard.* Tracking through “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies,” the LCD-3s paint a soundscape that goes way beyond your ears, as the track builds, getting heavier and heavier, and as Manson says “I’m a country that you never, never, never, never, never want to visit again,” it sends a chill down your spine and you begin to wonder if he’s going to pop up from behind the listening chair and slash your throat.* Yeah, it’s that real.</p>
<p>Playing the late Michael Burks’s “All Your Affection is Gone” clearly demonstrates the ease at which the LCD-3s can unravel a slightly compressed recording, delivering a healthy dose of pace and timing.* Burks’s blazing lead guitar stays well out in front of your head, with the driving bass line firmly anchored, feeling almost if it’s at waist height in comparison.* An equally lusty performance is delivered via the MoFi pressing of Johnny Winter’s <em>Second Winter, </em>leading with the opening track, “Memory Pain.”* Winter’s stormy vocal outbursts fail to throw the LCD-3s a curve, expressed with the necessary dynamics, neither distorting nor compressing.</p>
<p>Again, building on the strength of the LCD-2s, the LCD-3 has a lighter planar diaphragm and more powerful magnets, prime contributors to the newer model’s even greater sense of airiness and effortlessness.* The LCD-2 was a benchmark for vocal clarity, and the LCD-3 takes this to an entirely different level of timbral accuracy.* Julee Cruise’s delicate vocals in the <em>Floating Into the Night</em> feel foggy yet defined at the same time, even though this track is awash with studio processing.</p>
<p>Elvis Presley’s classic “Don’t Be Cruel,” reproduced in monophonic majesty, from <em>The Complete Elvis Presley Masters</em> box<em> </em>set, illustrates just what the LCD-3s are capable of reproducing with such a simple, stripped source.* Every breath and inflection is brought to life with an ease that is rarely, if ever, experienced with headphones.* Even this mono recording takes on a depth and presence normally reserved for the best stereo recordings.</p>
<p>High frequency grain and harshness, often the downfall of even some of the best headphones, are simply not present with the LCD-3s.* It’s not all that discernible with the LCD-2s until you go back and forth repeatedly.* And this makes for incredibly long listening sessions without fatigue – another roadblock to headphone listening just disappeared.</p>
<p><strong>What are you waiting for?</strong></p>
<p>You know you want a pair of these babies.* We’re keeping the review sample for our reference fleet of phones and it will now be our ultimate reference.* The LCD-3s have no limitations beyond your source components and source material.* They get out of the way of the music like nothing else we’ve yet heard.</p>
<p><span>Audeze LCD-3 Headphones</span></p>
<p>MSRP: $1,945</p>
<p><a href="http://www.audeze.com" target="_self">www.audeze.com</a></p>
<p><strong>Peripherals</strong></p>
<table width="100%" align="left" class="easy-table easy-table-default "><tbody readability="7.5"><tr readability="3"><td>Analog Source</td>
<td>AVID Acutus Reference SP/Tri-Planar arm/Lyra Atlas Cart, Indigo Qualia phonostage</td>
</tr><tr readability="4"><td>Digital Source</td>
<td>dCS Paganini stack, Sooloos Control 15, Aurender S10</td>
</tr><tr readability="4"><td>Preamplifier</td>
<td>ARC REF 5SE, Burmester 011, Robert Koda K-10</td>
</tr><tr><td>Cables</td>
<td>Cardas Clear</td>
</tr><tr readability="4"><td>Accessories</td>
<td>Furutech DeMag, DeStat, GIK acoustic treatments</td>
</tr></tbody></table>
[Source: http://www.tonepublications.com/macro/the-audeze-lcd-3-headphones/]
<p>The LCD-2 isn’t cheap, at $1,145, but it delivers the goods – providing a natural sound quality that but a few of the world’s most rare (and even more expensive) headphones have been able to achieve.* Many have compared the LCD-2s – and rightfully so – to Magnepan speakers, and they share a somewhat similar design, also being planar magnetic.* And, like the Magnepans, the Audeze headphones are designed and built in the USA.</p>
<p>Fast-forward to 2013, and we now have the LCD-3, which at first blush, looks almost identical to the LCD-2 in terms of form factor, but closer inspection reveals driver cups made of Zebrano wood and improved ear cushions.</p>
<p><strong>Evolution not revolution</strong></p>
<p>Queuing up Matthew Sweet’s <em>Girlfriend to</em> compare the LCD-2 to the LCD-3 side by side with the ALO Studio Six amplifier, driven by the dCS Vivaldi stack, allows both to be powered simultaneously and instantly reveals the subtle, but significant, differences.* If you’ve got a system capable of resolving the difference, the LCD-3 is well worth the nearly $2,000 price tag.</p>
<p>Sweet’s vocal layering on this record, especially the title track, is not only clearer, but better defined in terms of image placement, better separated from the backing vocal tracks.* And there are definitely another jangly guitar or two buried in the track that are now perfectly clear.* The rest of the album plays out thusly – upon switching back to the excellent LCD-2, it now feels slightly cloudy and somewhat veiled in comparison.* The LCD-3 brings you that much closer to the music.</p>
<p>Lloyd Cole’s <em>Don’t Get Weird on Me Babe, </em>(from the same time period, featuring Sweet throughout) uncovers a similar epiphany.* The solid bass line in “She’s a Girl and I’m a Man” now has more body, more depth, and more soul.* Closer inspection on a number of other bass heavy tracks from Daft Punk to Supertramp reveals a similar level of low frequency resolution: amazing for a good pair of speakers, but even more captivating from a pair of headphones.* Those formerly complaining about headphones not having convincing bass response will have to drink a cup of shut the hell up; the LCD-3s are fabulous.</p>
<p><strong>Deep tracks</strong></p>
<p>The more familiar you are with your system and your record collection, the easier it will be to justify a pair of LCD-3s.* Every type of music literally comes alive with these phones.* They play jazz, rock, classical and hip-hop with equal dexterity, never missing a beat.* Livening up the mood with some Marilyn Manson, from the <em>High End of Low, </em>clearly underlines that the LCD-3s can rock – hard.* Tracking through “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies,” the LCD-3s paint a soundscape that goes way beyond your ears, as the track builds, getting heavier and heavier, and as Manson says “I’m a country that you never, never, never, never, never want to visit again,” it sends a chill down your spine and you begin to wonder if he’s going to pop up from behind the listening chair and slash your throat.* Yeah, it’s that real.</p>
<p>Playing the late Michael Burks’s “All Your Affection is Gone” clearly demonstrates the ease at which the LCD-3s can unravel a slightly compressed recording, delivering a healthy dose of pace and timing.* Burks’s blazing lead guitar stays well out in front of your head, with the driving bass line firmly anchored, feeling almost if it’s at waist height in comparison.* An equally lusty performance is delivered via the MoFi pressing of Johnny Winter’s <em>Second Winter, </em>leading with the opening track, “Memory Pain.”* Winter’s stormy vocal outbursts fail to throw the LCD-3s a curve, expressed with the necessary dynamics, neither distorting nor compressing.</p>
<p>Again, building on the strength of the LCD-2s, the LCD-3 has a lighter planar diaphragm and more powerful magnets, prime contributors to the newer model’s even greater sense of airiness and effortlessness.* The LCD-2 was a benchmark for vocal clarity, and the LCD-3 takes this to an entirely different level of timbral accuracy.* Julee Cruise’s delicate vocals in the <em>Floating Into the Night</em> feel foggy yet defined at the same time, even though this track is awash with studio processing.</p>
<p>Elvis Presley’s classic “Don’t Be Cruel,” reproduced in monophonic majesty, from <em>The Complete Elvis Presley Masters</em> box<em> </em>set, illustrates just what the LCD-3s are capable of reproducing with such a simple, stripped source.* Every breath and inflection is brought to life with an ease that is rarely, if ever, experienced with headphones.* Even this mono recording takes on a depth and presence normally reserved for the best stereo recordings.</p>
<p>High frequency grain and harshness, often the downfall of even some of the best headphones, are simply not present with the LCD-3s.* It’s not all that discernible with the LCD-2s until you go back and forth repeatedly.* And this makes for incredibly long listening sessions without fatigue – another roadblock to headphone listening just disappeared.</p>
<p><strong>What are you waiting for?</strong></p>
<p>You know you want a pair of these babies.* We’re keeping the review sample for our reference fleet of phones and it will now be our ultimate reference.* The LCD-3s have no limitations beyond your source components and source material.* They get out of the way of the music like nothing else we’ve yet heard.</p>
<p><span>Audeze LCD-3 Headphones</span></p>
<p>MSRP: $1,945</p>
<p><a href="http://www.audeze.com" target="_self">www.audeze.com</a></p>
<p><strong>Peripherals</strong></p>
<table width="100%" align="left" class="easy-table easy-table-default "><tbody readability="7.5"><tr readability="3"><td>Analog Source</td>
<td>AVID Acutus Reference SP/Tri-Planar arm/Lyra Atlas Cart, Indigo Qualia phonostage</td>
</tr><tr readability="4"><td>Digital Source</td>
<td>dCS Paganini stack, Sooloos Control 15, Aurender S10</td>
</tr><tr readability="4"><td>Preamplifier</td>
<td>ARC REF 5SE, Burmester 011, Robert Koda K-10</td>
</tr><tr><td>Cables</td>
<td>Cardas Clear</td>
</tr><tr readability="4"><td>Accessories</td>
<td>Furutech DeMag, DeStat, GIK acoustic treatments</td>
</tr></tbody></table>
[Source: http://www.tonepublications.com/macro/the-audeze-lcd-3-headphones/]