A Reference-Class Headphone That Won’t Bug Your Housemates
Since the release of the Audeze LCD-X, audiophiles have been asking the company to make a closed-back reference headphone. The LCD-XC is their answer. The XC uses the same transducer and diaphragm as the LCD-X but closes off the back of the ear cup. The most obvious benefit of a closed-back headphone is that it prevents sound from leaking out of the ear cups and disturbing your neighbors.
Because it shares many construction qualities with the X, the XC delivers a similar level of detail and transparency, while also offering a slight boost to bass response, thanks to its closed-back design.
Closed back for natural isolation
The LCD-XC is a closed-back headphone, meaning that the back of each ear cup is sealed shut. One benefit of a closed-back headphone is that they naturally block incoming noise, lowering the ambient noise floor that your music has to compete with.
Sonically, closed back designs generally deliver more bass, as the soundwaves can’t escape out the back wall. That’s particularly true for the XC: the bass response is extended, tight, and clean. It excels at handling complex and busy rhythmic passages that lesser headphones would reproduce muddily.
Fazor Phase Management
While planar magnetic headphones offer a lot of advantages over dynamic drivers, they also present their own problems. Diffraction of sound off the magnets can cause different frequencies to arrive at different times, resulting in changes of phase. And when sound waves created by multiple magnets collide, wave interference occurs (that’s a bad thing ).
Audeze has attempted to solve these problems with a proprietary technology called Fazor Phase Management . Fazors are triangular elements that cap each magnet. They act as guides for the sound, maneuvering waves from the drivers and preventing them from interfering with each other. The result is cleaner sound, greater resolution, and better imaging.
Build and comfort
Fully assembled in Audeze’s Orange County factory, the LCD-XC bears the fruit of hand-crafted attention in every stitch. The perforated leather headband distributes weight evenly, while the metal extenders and yokes allows the ear cups to accommodate various head sizes. The ear pads are made of deep, plush memory foam for luxurious all-day enjoyment.
Product highlights
Style: Over-ear, closed-back
Transducer type: Planar Magnetic
Magnetic structure: Proprietary magnet array
Phase management: Fazor
Magnet type: Neodymium N50
Diaphragm type: Ultra-thin
Transducer size: 106 mm
Maximum power handling: 5W RMS
Maximum SPL: >130dB
Frequency response: 10 - 50,000Hz
THD: <0.1% @ 100dB
Impedance: 20Ω
Sensitivity: 100 dB/1mW (at Drum Reference Point)
Minimum power requirement: >100mW
Recommended power level: >250mW
Weight: Maple: 1.5lbs (690g) / Carbon: 1.67lbs (760g)
What’s included
LCD-XC closed-back planar magnetic headphones
1.9m 1/4'' to dual 4-pin mini-XLR cable
Professional travel case (not included with Creator Package)
User guide and warranty card