Closer Examination

Audeze is one of very few companies I can rely on getting stock headphone and earphone cables right each time. The LCD-5 is no different, and the company put out a brand-new, updated cable to the previous one. I thought the standard single-ended cable I got with the LCD-2 Classic, LCD-X, and LCD-XC was plenty fine to begin with, and was expecting something along the lines of the white and black $599 premium cable with its silver-plated OCC (Ohno Continuous Cast) copper. Instead, Audeze is using a newly released copper and black $599 premium cable that does away with the silver in lieu of directional high-purity OCC copper of low resistance (<0.1 Ω from end to end) and capacitance (think pico Farads)—both highly desirable for headphone cables. There are four strands of this conductor, each comprised of several smaller strands that are collectively a 20 AWG cable.

The LCD-5 ships with a single-ended cable by default, which is seen above with the 6.35 mm TRS connector on a substantially sized housing with Audeze branding. Customers may replace it with a 4-pin XLR version that provides a balanced connection from a compatible source at no extra cost if purchased directly from Audeze; you simply have to contact Audeze customer service after the order is placed and before it ships. The four braided strands again separate into two for each channel past the in-line splitter and then go on to the output connector housing, where we see more sheathing for protection and to mark the left (black) and right (red) channels. The headphone connectors are 4-pin mini-XLR, which is a deliberate choice that has worked well for Audeze these past ~15 years. The 4-pin design from Rean also makes for a reliable and sturdy connector with a locking mechanism that prevents it from working loose, and the replaceable nature of the cable allows for custom cables, too.


I know it's been said before, but everything about the LCD-5 has been about weight-savings. The aluminium travel case with the headphones weighed about as much, if not less, than the Audeze steel economy travel case by itself. Even that was not enough to prepare me for when I took the LCD-5 out of the case, though. It's tiny and lightweight compared to just about anything else from Audeze. I have not handled the LCD-1 yet, but suffice it to say that at 420 g, the LCD-5 is a massive departure from the hefty units from before. The LCD-4, which this effectively surpasses on the Audeze hierarchy, was a heavyweight flagship in more ways than one at all of 690 g—the LCD-5 is nearly 40% lighter. Size and form factor have a lot to do with this, but everything making up the LCD-5 is brand new, including the new matte-finished carbon fiber headband that just oozes class while having large cutouts that don't detract from the design language or impact functionality.

Underneath the carbon fiber headband is a lustrous, supple premium leather support and suspension band. In typical Audeze fashion, the support band is not lower down with a noticeable gap between the two bands as with other headphones, which has your head go into the gap with the support band resisting it. The way it works is that the gap between the two is created when you actually place the headphones over your head. The leather band gets stretched horizontally first before your head applies upward pressure. The leather support band also has several holes cut into it for ventilation, thus preventing hot spots on the top of your head, while slightly adding to the mass savings. Both the carbon fiber and leather bands come together at the magnesium skeleton frame section, which has hex screws secure them in place, as well as an "L" or "R" marking for the channel. Jutting out from the bottom are two aluminium yoke rods, which nearly appear like antennas on your head, and they are capped by a threaded insert at the top. Notches are cut uniformly along the length of these rods, but those visible on this side are not deep enough to do much.


It's the other side of the yoke rods where the notches are deeper, and these help with sizing the headband by moving it up or down as needed through these discrete steps. I will go over this mechanism more on the next page, but suffice it to say that there is enough motion for these to be used with heads small and large alike.


We saw earlier how the yoke rods and ear-cup design come together to allow significant horizontal rotation, including having the ear cups fold in flat for easier transportation. The swivel also makes for a more comfortable fit of the ear cups over your ears, and two additional pivot points courtesy the C-shaped magnesium frame add some inward and outward rotation for three-axis motion thus; these degrees of freedom make the Audeze LCD-5 very amenable to comfortably fitting on your head. Once you have a good fit, be prepared to have these be stealthily attention grabbers too, with the open-back ear cups having a remarkable design that builds upon the larger A-cutouts of other Audeze open-back headphones and kicking it up a gear. The Audeze branding is at the bottom too, and the metal mesh underneath is part sparkly, part matrix simulation-like in person.


The first point of debate when it comes to the LCD-5's design is Audeze's deliberate choice to go with a tortoise-shell design acetate composition for the ear cups. This was done to keep things light yet sturdy, but many have contested it is ultimately weaker in aesthetics and "build quality" than the wooden rings used in the predecessor Audeze flagships. I put quotes around build quality because this is realistically a non-factor when it comes to the structural integrity of the headphones. What we have is a cellulose acetate sheet molded into the ear cup rings, adopting a CH3COOR molecular structure, where the R is for an unknown alkyl group. It is generally easy to machine and assemble while providing high impact and mechanical strength, increased resistance to chemicals, including skin oils, dust, and moisture, and generally good compatibility with human skin by not causing any irritations. This is an OEM-sourced part from a supplier that no doubt also provides it for makers of glass frames and screwdriver handles, and it is perhaps this association that makes the LCD-5's adoption of the acetate housing feel cheap even if it is not necessarily so in practice.

The other divisive aspect are the ear pads, which have a whole blog article dedicated to them. I highly recommend reading it as it explains why Audeze went with these highly contoured ear pads rather than the more typical Audeze pads we have seen before. In essence, these pads have a lower contact surface area, which should theoretically minimize the possibility of a poor seal. The larger, roomier space now available also dampens unwanted sound wave resonances, increases bass extension and detail retrieval, and effectively creates a sense of larger space. We'll put all these to the test soon enough. At the moment, these are only available in leather, and I hope to see vegan leather options for those who can't use leather for whatever reason. Notice that these ear pads are also attached via pressure-sensitive adhesive, which remains an Audeze point of stubbornness, as they won't compromise on the sound signature and seal, including any leakage from between the ear cups and ear pads. Audeze says they did get close with a clip-based mounting mechanism, but actual provided data supports their case of using adhesive. It won't quench the complaints of many who dislike glued-on pads, especially on flagship-class headphones. As a result of the adhesive-bonded pads, I am also refraining from removing them for a closer look at the drivers. But there is still more we can go on here, which we will get to on the next page.


On the bottom of the ear cups, placed on the back and angled towards the front, is where we find small cutouts for the cable connectors. These have the cable plugs connect easily enough, which naturally directs the cables away from your body and comfortably sets them down at the splitter on your chest, or a desk when sitting down. The Audeze LCD-5 has dual mini-XLR connectors on the ear cups, which follow a more typical layout to increase compatibility with aftermarket cables even if it's not as common as the likes of those going with 3.5 mm TRS connectors. With the two wires meeting centrally at the splitter and moving to the source, weight balance is still centrally placed as it then heads to the source. The cable is longer than average at 2.5 m, which has the LCD-5 fall flatly into the desktop—prosumer and professional—audio space. It is certainly less conducive to portable use even with a powerful enough portable DAC/amp. I will say that the combination of the LCD-5 with the premium copper and black audio cable is quite attractive, though.


Here's a teaser of things to come, but the goal of these photos is to show how much physically smaller the Audeze LCD-5 is compared to the HIFIMAN Susvara it directly competes against, as well as the Audeze LCD-X (2021) it would be a direct upgrade to. The latter is especially intriguing since we clearly see how the LCD-5 was built from the ground-up with all new parts to make for a unique design that is petite and clearly saves on mass, while still being decidedly Audeze with the headband, yokes, and ear cups all sharing some DNA.