Audeze recently released their second headphone pointed at the gaming community, the Audeze LCD-GX! In addition to this one being geared toward audiophiles, it is also pointed toward the gamers that are super serious about their sound. So how do these ones sound, and are they capable of improving your gaming performance? Let’s take a closer look with this Audeze LCD-GX Review!

Serious Gamers ONLY! – Audeze LCD-GX Review

In the Box

-Audeze LCD-GX headphones

-GX cable with microphone with 3.5 mm connector (TRRS)

-Splitter (3.5 mm TRRS to dual 3.5 mm TRS for audio and microphone)

-LCD Series cable without microphone with 6.35 mm connector

-3.5 mm to 6.35 mm adapter

-Documentation

Design

Look and Feel

The Audeze LCD-GX headphones are savage! The matte black, magnesium housing  contrasts in a fun and energetic way with the red metal grill underneath it. It gives the headphones a more mature look than many gaming headphones, yet still maintains the flashiness that gives it personality and flavor. The headphones have weight in my hand, yet are actually quite a bit lighter than other LCD Series models. However, they maintain the feeling of extremely high quality and durability, that makes me feel confident in the product as a whole.

Comfort and Fit

I was extremely impressed with the Audeze LCD-GX’s comfort and fit. The combination of the lighter earcups with its improved, better fitting headband makes them more comfortable than ever before, with a weight of 17.4 ounces. Additionally, the angle of the metal extender to the magnesium yolk lets the length of the perforated leather 2-tiered headband sit wider across my head. As a result, the weight feels more evenly distributed. Combined with a flexible and durable band, the LCD-GX will fit a wide variety of head shapes and sizes.

Drivers

The Audeze LCD-GX has planar magnetic drivers made up of the Fluxor N50 neodymium magnets in its proprietary magnet array. As a result, the headphones are more efficient than they’d be otherwise, as well as have lower distortion. Additionally, these headphones utilize Audeze’s Uniforce ultra-thin diaphragms. Audeze recommends using these headphones with an amplifier and DAC to get the most out of the headphones.

Cables

The Audeze LCD-GX comes with two cables, one which has a built in microphone and one without. Both cables attach to the headphones via mini-XLRs to each earcup. The microphone cable terminates to a 3.5 mm connector and has a built in mic mute switch. Additionally, the microphone is directional, noise attenuating, and has a gooseneck style for optimal positioning. On the other hand, the standard cable has individually insulated conductors which are braided together and terminate to a 6.35 mm connector. 

Microphone Quality

The microphone of the Audeze LCD-GX comes with a built in windscreen. It sounded clean and clear, with a sense of presence and articulation. 

Sound

Low Frequencies

The low frequencies of the Audeze LCD-GX have a feeling of articulate clarity and space, however have sort of a lightweight body. A small boost around 60 Hz provides punch and energy. Additionally, a sense of clarity in the sub region gives kick drums, bass synths, and other low frequency rich instruments reach. However, the lows feel slightly light in the mix compared to a boost at 150 Hz. This boost provides the beater of kick drums nice thud, but it generally lifts the low end upward and gives it more of a sense of specificity than thickness. 

For example, when I was listening to the song Lazarus by David Bowie, the beater of the bass guitar had lots of clarity and articulation in its various notes. It merged and had a friendship and commonality with the kick drum providing groove. Additionally, the kick’s beater felt thuddy and had a good sense of movement. This movement wasn’t weighted downward, although it had a subtle and nuanced reach toward the sub region with a little extra punch than the bass guitar.

Middle Frequencies

The midrange of the Audeze LCD-GX had a full feeling of thickness, yet maintained articulation. A light cut around 1 kHz created a sense of separation between rich, harmonically rich midrange instruments from those with more high-mid energy. Followed by another cut between 3 and 4 kHz, the high-mids had a sense of easiness and space. However, these cuts were among boosts at both 2 kHz and 5 kHz, which helped to bring a sense of presence back to the high-mids. As a result, the high-mid response has a sense of character over realism, but also helps to provide a great sense of clarity to vocals, footsteps, and attacks.

For example, when I was listening to the song No Dad by Taylor Hollingsworth, the electric guitar had a feeling of fullness and harmonic complexity, as well as articulation and texture in its distorted crunch. Additionally, Taylor’s vocal had presence above that texture, although its shape was unique and had character. It seemed to have an emphasis in the mouth of the vocal and the chest of the vocal rather than the throat.  

High Frequencies

The high frequencies of the Audeze LCD-GX feel articulate and textural, with a pretty, aesthetically pleasing nuanced sense of extension. Boosts in the lower treble around what sounded like 6 kHz brought forward attacks of drums, strings, and vocal consonants. Another boost in the upper treble around what sounded like 8 kHz brought clarity to the texture of cymbals, percussion, strings, and vocals. However, then a cut at the base of the upper octave around what sounded like 10 kHz made the audibility of air quieter in the mix than usual. Rather, the feeling of air was more powerful than the audible sense of air. As a result, this gave the high frequency extension and reach a pretty sense of subtlety and nuance.

For example, when I was listening to the song Mercy Now by Mary Gauthier, Mary’s vocal felt forward and present, brining the recordist/mixer’s compression forward in a warm and pretty way. Her consonants were clear, however the air that the vocal usually has was quieter. Additionally, the attacks of the acoustic guitars, mandolin, fiddle sweeps and drums had accents in the mix. Lastly, the mix as a whole had a sense of lift and life in the high-highs, bringing extension to the vocal, acoustic, and drums. 

Soundstage

The soundstage of the Audeze LCD-GX has a pretty, aesthetically pleasing yet subtle sense of lift and height. It’s depth has a good sense of contrast because its high-mid and lower treble presence and harmonically complex middle midrange. Lastly, its width has a feeling of solidity in the middle, with seems to act like a gravitational field where high-frequency instruments can move at the edges. It’s extension in all three dimensions is subtle, yet audible, which makes the soundstage a bit less dramatic than others in the LCD Series.

For example, when I was listening to the song Quizas Quizas Quizas by Pink Martini, the highs of the shaker, guiro, and hand drum have subtle extension, and contrast well from the vocal, strings, and most dramatically from the bass below. Additionally, there is a good sense of intimacy in the vocal which contrasts well from the further off guitar, strings, and piano. Lastly, the sense of width is the most interesting. The bass holds down the middle, proving a strong and phase coherent phantom center. The biggest contrast is in the percussion which dances off to the sides, but the strings, horns, and guitars feel like they are drawn in toward the middle.

Overview

Overall, the Audeze LCD-GX has a nice thick midrange with a beautiful subtlety and nuance in its high-end. It has presence, texture, and thuddiness, which will help in gaming scenarios, as well as a clear and clean sounding microphone. Lastly, it is comfortable, with the best fitting headband, extender, and yolk of any in the LCD Series so far. 

The Audeze LCD-GX is available for the best price here:

Audeze LCD-GX at Audio46

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