Audeze’s new SLAM-loaded LCD-5s headphones offer “mastering-grade reliability”

Audeze has expanded its flagship LCD headphone series with the LCD-5s. Loaded with the company’s trademark SLAM technology, the LCD-5s are designed to provide the “most accurate” planar magnetic listening experience to date, and thanks to claimed <0.1% distortion and 5Hz – 50kHz frequency response, they’re said to offer “mastering-grade reliability”.

The LCD-5s are the latest Audeze headphones to feature SLAM (Symmetric Linear Acoustic Modulator) technology. For a quick primer, SLAM tech was designed to “revolutionise headphone bass performance”, with precision-engineered channels across the ring which connects the earpads to the drivers. These are meticulously tuned via “advanced simulations, precision measurements and critical listening” to deliver the “ideal” low-frequency response.

• READ MORE: “The best sound in gaming just got better”: Audeze’s SLAM-equipped Maxwell 2 headset is set to supercharge your gaming sessions

Audeze’s SLAM tech first appeared in 2024 for the brand’s CRBN2 headphones, while last year’s LCD-S20s offered SLAM at its most affordable price point yet.

Other efforts to improve clarity on the new LCD-5s cans come in the form of low-profile Fazor waveguides, which further reduce diffractions and aid Audeze’s efforts for minimal noise disruption.

In terms of the LCD-5s, the headphones also feature newly sculpted leather earpads for a comfier fit, focusing on improved contact and minimising irritating seams. The body is also extra lightweight 420g, thanks to its carbon fibre and magnesium chassis.

Guitarist Julian Lage even describes the experience of wearing the headphones as “almost invisible” due to their lightweight design. In essence, these should make those day-long studio sessions a little easier to manage with minimal strain on your ears and neck.

“At Audeze, our mission has always been to bring listeners closer to the truth of the recording,” Audeze CEO Sankar Thiagasamudram explains. “With LCD-5s, we’ve refined every aspect of the listening experience – from driver performance to comfort and industrial design – to deliver the most lifelike and emotionally engaging planar magnetic headphone we’ve ever created.”

If you’re keen to experience SLAM at NAMM, attendees are free to try out the LCD-5s in person this week. If you head to Anaheim Convention Center’s North Hall, Audeze are set up at stand #15304.

The LCD-5s are available now for £3,999/$4,500.

Learn more at Audeze.

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