Audeze LCD-3
Audeze’s warm planar flagship: dense, rich, and physically substantial. A smooth, powerful counterpoint to bright neutral.
Our take
The LCD-3 is a warm, weighty planar: full low end, thick mids, and a smooth top that trades a little air for zero harshness. It is not lean or clinical. It is rich and forgiving, and it wants a real amp to open up. EQ can add treble air if you want it.
Measured on a Head Acoustics HMS II.3 artificial head — raw response, left/right averaged, normalized to 0 dB at 1 kHz. From the Sonic Temple Archive(2008–2014, one unit per model). Honest limits: seating variance runs ±0.4 dB in the mids to ±3.9 dB above 12 kHz, and open headphones read bass-light on this fixture — don’t read fine treble detail as settled. How we measure →
Common questions
Straight answers — the same ones our measurements support.
Does the Audeze LCD-3 need an amp?
Yes. Planars like the LCD-3 want clean current; a phone will not do it justice.
Is the LCD-3 heavy?
It is, metal and wood build. Comfort is about clamp and weight distribution, not sound.
LCD-3 vs LCD-2?
The 3 is more refined and a touch more open up top; the 2 is warmer and darker still. Same family voice.
If you like the LCD-3
Close on the graph, or a deliberate step in one direction.