Creating a thread for the LCD-GX headphones by Audeze
@Torq or @taronlissimore I can’t create an Official Thread so if this warrants that feel free to move it =) I’ll post up some pictures here in a second of something neat I found out about this and another products synergy 
So, I have been gaming with these on my PC @Jvincent3 and I played a couple of games of Destiny 2 and COD: MW (5) and I really enjoy the cinematic sound these can produce! they are exceptional at consuming tv shows/movies, and gaming (I actually prefer them for RPGs and cinematic games, but they are no slouch for Player vs. Player modes either). Jvincent3 can speak on the sound of the mic =) if he so desires… baring my naturally un-enjoyable voice lol
I have been pairing them 90% of the time with the new Schiit Hel, which is awesome!!! and bonus it fits with all accessories for both the LCD-GX and the Hel in the Audeze case that comes with the LCD-GX…which makes for portable gaming, conference calls, or what have you on the go very plausible (if you don’t mind caring around a Audeze faux pelican case lol).
and top down view (you can flip the Hel to have the volume knob slot into the cable section for an even more secure solution, but the case closes and secures the Hel in place either way)
The mic so far has seemed pretty solid. We had a bit of a volume issue in the beginning but I would attest that more towards @TylersEclectic trying to speak quietly as to not wake up his family more than anything. Once that was adjusted it sounded very good, I would put the quality up with the best freestanding gaming mics out there (blue yeti, lower end Rhode etc.) For an all in one headset I was rather impressed. The Hel LCD-GX combo seems to be a great option for gaming focus setups!
Well, I’m shocked this headphone hasn’t gotten more love… it is rather exceptional for the price and it’s versatility… I’m writing up a quick…something… regarding it. Here are some pics as a tease 
It can’t be good. It’s not purple.
Oh man! if it was purple it would be amazing!
That’s a fine looking set of headphones. I think it looks rather cool for an Audeze set. Mind you they are aimed at the gaming market.
I think they messed up by aiming at the gaming market…I have a write up about these I’m working on…they are ridiculously efficient…they sound great right out of my phone! Also, they are very smooth sounding.
I am looking forward to it. I am looking for a new HP just for work, and I had this in mind.
or the Stellias and use my Jetti Mic. (I know, big leap there)
ofcourse the Stellias would be use for daily music as well.
My main thing is comfort, I am wearing this Planar’s all day for work and is killing me LOL
These have one of the best if not the best FR of any full size LCD, especially under a grand. LCD2 and 2C are less even sounding than the GX, which quite clearly fixes the peaks at 1k and 10k and dip at 4k that are so characteristic of the full size LCD tuning. It’s very impressive and a couple dB more efficient than the LCD2 to boot. You do give up a bit of bass dynamics I think here, but weight is much improved and so is the frequency response. It’s worth noting the mic is basically identical to the Mobius, and totally unusable without an interface that can supply it with 4-5V of plug-in power aka mic bias voltage, which means you need a Rode VXLR+ and a USB mic interface for example, or at the very least one of those Syba adapters I’ve been taking about on Twitter that uses the CM119 chip.
I believe @Max_Settings is still working on his review, and I’m going to try to convince Audeze to forward his review units to me so I can compare it with the X and MX4 also.
Thanks @metal571 very good information here! I am not to in too the mic so it might work out… Is the mic detachable?
Yes. Mic is integrated into one of the cables in the box, but you also get the standard, and quite nice, braided Audeze cable in addition to the mic-infused cable so it will function like any other full size LCD headphone if you never use the mic at all
Awesome, Thanks for the 411.
I’m not sure I understand what you would need an interface for the microphone. Is it because it is too quiet without one? Also, do you know if it is good quality overall (e.g.: good enough for a podcast or something)?
Not if you plug it into your average motherboard mic input. And that goes for just about all 3.5mm mics. Just something to keep in mind in general
Hmmm… I have been using it with my iPhone, Aero 15 laptop, and Xbox… plus discord… every person I asked, said I sounded ok and had no complaints… but, the best sound came from pairing it with the Schiit Hel for both mic gain and amp power.
The headphone itself is like Metal said a very good listen, it is just smooth! Reminds me a little bit of the smoothness of the U12t but lacking in the detail in comparison.
Don’t say that to me ! You know the U12t is my favorite out of all the IEMs and headphones I’ve tried !
It’s not as detailed but it to me has a similar smooth factor to it…I recommend try g before buying…but it has turned into my favorite Audeze headphone…yes the 4s are better, but they also demand massive power…the X is “boring” in comparison to me at least…
LCD-GX doing more than just games
The Audeze LCD-GX is a much “not” talked about headphones… I begin to wonder why… as it is one of the best sounding headphones, I’ve heard in its price bracket, plus it’s probably the lightest Audeze LCD headphone in the series. Then add in the versatility that the added microphone cable brings to the mix, plus the pelican style case, you have a very scalable flexible solution for not only gaming but for music and conference calls/work from home scenarios (which at this time is a very desirable feature). The pelican case is good for taking these on the go for LAN parties or traveling on the go gaming…which to be fair, it isn’t the most portable solution, but a secure one!
Starting off with how it was marketed, which I have to admit when I purchased these that is all I was going to use them for and now I’m kind of regretting not using these more heavily in my rotation of other aspects of my Audio life!
Right off the bat, gaming with the LCD-GX is very FUN! I wouldn’t say it’s the best for “competitive” play…but, it does the job and is better than most gaming headphones that I’ve tried. It excels at single-player games, providing an immersive experience that is hard to compete with. Not to say it isn’t good for FPS games or multi-player, it is very good for this, but usually, these games focus on treble for accuracy tends to make general gaming headphones not as enjoyable overall across genres.
Another thing that these excel in is watching movies! That planar “slam” comes into play! I would say overall for gaming they are very immersive and bring a solid performance to those looking for more out of their gaming headphones. While the LCD-GX is good out of most sources, I think that pairing them with a little more power can really flesh them out.
Now, you don’t need anything crazy with these but, if you have a portable DAC/amp like the iFi Nano Black Label or iFi Hip DAC/amp, or similar portable DAC/amp, then you can benefit from pushing more power to these and get a fuller sound out of them. I have used these direct from my Xbox controller to directly plugged into my Nintendo Switch and laptop. I have yet to be disappointed by them powered by any of these options.
To be noted though, they also scale very well with a more dedicated system, such as my favorite pairing the Schiit Hel (which is also relatively portable) to the SPL Phonitor XE!
So, to be clear, it isn’t necessary to have endgame amps to pair with these to get their full potential but, the LCD-GX handles scaling up to higher-end gear for both gaming and music quite well.
As I’ve scaled up through some of my amps I noticed for gaming, it factors into the enjoyment, but, really as you scale up the food chain of amps and DACs a difference in the quality of music performance becomes more recognizable, which is understandable, as with gaming, you are not as focused on the audio. Not that it isn’t gaining benefits in gaming with better performing and dedicated amps, but, more that, your focus is usually elsewhere while gaming.
Where the benefits in sound with music, on the other hand, is a more focused endeavor. Music becomes more controlled with more power, allowing for engagement with the music to be effortless. Now, I find that it doesn’t take much to get these to full potential. The iFi amp/DACs mentioned above provide enough power to be fully enjoyable. I will say my favorite pairing is the Schitt Hel as a nice desktop solution that also provides gain for the mic output! Having the gain for the microphone on the Schiit Hel is a nice way to control how loud your microphone is from an analog standpoint that makes it very easy to dial in performance.
Ok another surprise for me was how good these sounded straight out of a dongle DAC and my iPhone11! It lacks some of the slam, plus feels a little lean, but overall, quite capable and enjoyable…plus phone calls are now an option with them. I was using a random aftermarket dongle DAC but I also utilized the stock Apple dongle. Both performed about the same with no major differences to talk about.
Which leads to me to my other use of the LCD-GX, they make excellent work from home conference call headphones and microphone system. I use them with my laptop for contacting friends and family/co-workers straight from the headphone/microphone out port. I especially enjoy pairing the LCD-GX with the Schiit Hel when sitting at my desktop setup, even though I have more powerful amps, DACs on hand.
While I wouldn’t recommend them for a noisy environment, they do exceptionally well inside the confines of a home, or private office. I will plug them directly into my laptop/iPad/iPhone and randomly plop down around the house or outside on the porch, to chat with friends and family via Facetime/phonecall/Skype/Zoom, yes some people are like “what the heck is on your head?!?!?” lol, but usually, I get those look cool, what are they? Then the disbelief at the cost happens from my non-audiophile friends/family/co-workers come in, but they just don’t get it ha!
So moving onto what makes these “gamer” headphones, also why they are so diverse, the microphone cable that they come with is more or less why they get tagged/shoved into the gamer corner why I think they are ignored by more serious headphone enthusiasts. Which, just as a heads up you can order the cable direct from Audeze and use it with any headphone that uses the same connectors.
So does a microphone turn a headphone into a “gamer” headphone…. Well no, it just lets you have an easy way to talk using a headphone. That being said, the microphone on the cable of the LCD-GX is very capable, I’ve tested it with both phone calls, web calls, gaming and discord with no issues. Everyone I’ve asked said I sounded normal and had no issues with it. While testing it for myself, it works well but can pick up ambient noise pretty easily. This can be troublesome, but not a deal-breaker and controllable with software or gain control via amps like the Schiit Hel. I can honestly say overall an excellent solution, and one of the better headphone mics I’ve used.
Comfort and aesthetics, two things that I find while not necessarily required for performance, factor heavily into the enjoyment of a thing and well the LCD-GX I feel is both comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. Though I would like some different rod options for customization reasons ha!
The red grill behind the main grill just pops and matches with a lot of the gear I mentioned above. I found my preference for pairing them, both in sound performance and aesthetics in the Schiit Hel…it’s as if these two were planned together…hmmm…But that is an inquiry for another day.
I’ve spent hours listening to music, conference calls/meetings then swapping over to gaming, all while never taking them off, I was surprised how easy these are to keep on my head without any hotspots or discomfort, a pretty remarkable feat.
Due to the design of the magnets, these are some of the most efficient planar magnetic headphones I’ve come across. I’m quite content with them straight out of my cellphone. Add in the diversity of the microphone cable and you have a pretty diverse headphone, capable of jumping around different tasks with ease. I honestly find these more enjoyable than the LCD-X even though they are less capable.
At the end of the day, I feel like this excellent headphone is being misjudged and overlooked purely due to being misaligned as “only” a gamer headphone when in reality it is a sleeper hit!
