Audeze has a new gaming headset called the Penrose, which will cost $299.99 when it is released in September, but the company is knocking $50 off if you preorder it before then.
"The Audeze LCD-GX is quite simply the best-sounding gaming headset we’ve ever tested. It outclasses other high-end headsets like the Sennheiser GSP 670, the Astro Gaming A50, and even the Audeze Mobius in audio depth and clarity, which should be expected for $900. It’s wildly expensive and doesn’t have any unique processing tricks like other high-end gaming models, but for the pure listening experience, you won’t find a better headset. The LCD-GX isn’t for everyone, but if you have a very discerning ear and very deep pockets, this is the headset to get, and an Editors' Choice."
"Planar-magnetic headphones are usually quite expensive but Audeze is a Californian company, based in Santa Ana, and is a pioneer in this field and now it has launched a stripped-down pair of planar-magnetic headphones at a price that’s about as low as it's possible to go with this advanced headphone technology. All the headphones that Audeze makes are designed and assembled at its factory in California."
"The LCD-GX($899) is probably one of the more interesting headphones I have come across recently. They are Audeze’s high-end “gaming” headset; complete with a red color scheme, and a boom-mic. I definitely did not know what to expect from it going into that first listen, but all I can say for now is that what I got was much, much more than just a gaming headset."
Planar magnetic drivers are known to produce close to zero distortion and very detailed sound. Mobius are amazing when it comes to listening to music and playing games, giving you incredible details throughout the frequency range.
Audeze evidently takes the needs of its pro customers seriously, because the LCD-1s major hugely on detail and resolution. It helps that there’s so much space to work with – an impressive amount even considering the open-back design – and instruments are placed so definitely within it.
However, after spending time with the Audeze LCD-GX and the Burson Conductor 3X amp, I might start to turn my nose up at lesser headsets. With a combined RRP of just north of $5,000 AUD, it’s clear that in some cases, money does buy happiness.
There’s a night scene in Battlefield I, a solo recon mission in a sleepy French village filled with enemy soldiers. Alone, you crawl head-down through a backyard, hoping to make it to that old red barn before anyone sees… wait. STOP. Is that a dog growling… behind you?
We can so easily picture George Martin wearing LCD-Xs back in the day at Abby Road. (He would have loved them.) Or Max Martin for that matter, who, BTW, now has more #1 Billboard singles than anyone in history, save for Lennon and McCartney. But we digress:
"Mobius Headphones (Audeze, $399.99) — Dads immersed in virtual worlds such as “Call of Duty” or “Doom Eternal” and in need of a more robust gaming headset will appreciate the enveloping aural assault provided by the Mobius. Planar magnetic drivers in each cup promise superior sound quality and when combined with its head tracking, three-dimensional sound technology, the package makes for a potent, almost dizzying experience when in the throes of multiplayer battles."
I’ll be the first to admit that when I first saw the launch of the Audeze LCD-GX headphone/headset, I was quite skeptical. This was a $899 open-back headphone, made for gamers, with a red and black trim and a giant boom mic. It almost felt like it was a money grab to me, especially after they already had just released the Audeze Mobius at the time, which I was an early adopter for. But time went by and I started hearing some good feedback for it. I was also impressed that they got the weight down to a more manageable and wearable weight, something that I feel is the biggest flaw of the Audeze LCD series lineup. I can’t wear any of them for more than a 30 minutes without physical pain! At least until this one came out….
In terms of design, we have to say that Audeze’s iSINE LX takes the top spot. It features a new, innovative design that hasn’t been seen in headphones before — which is why we think it’s one of the best headphones out in the market today.
Audeze, based out of Orange County, is an audio company with a very particular focus. Not concerned with speakers or amps or earbuds, it instead focus on a headphones, and ones of a very specific kind. It’s cans use planar magnetic drivers (as opposed to conventional dynamic drivers), in order to achieve a greater range of sound than other approaches can match. The result? “Extremely low levels of distortion and very high-fidelity over the entire frequency range,” according to Sankar Thiagasamudram, the co-founder & CEO. “It’s a very clean-sounding headphone.”
