I have been a big fan of Audeze headphones for years and have enjoyed auditioning and reviewing almost everything in their line. Their open-back LCD-X [Tape Op #119] and MM-500 headphones are used daily in my studio for mixing, and I recommend them to anyone looking for an accurate playback complement or alternative, if necessary, to control room monitors. There is some debate on whether you should use open-back headphones when tracking. I do it all the time, and the bleed is negligible when used at a reasonable volume. For example, if a singer brings in their own pair of closed-back headphones and is having pitch issues, I hand them a pair of my open-back Audeze headphones, and more often than not the issue is resolved. Almost everything in the Audeze line of products up to this point has been an open-back planar magnet design, but they are now offering some closed-back designs, such as the LCD-XC and their new, budget-friendly, LCD-S20.
At $499, the LCD-S20 is a planar design that utilizes Audeze’s patent-pending SLAM (symmetric linear acoustic modulator) technology, first introduced in 2024 on their insanely high-end CRBN2 open-back electrostatic headphone. The technology amounts to a series of tuned acoustic chambers to “selectively enhance low frequencies and enable more free and accurate diaphragm movement.” On the LCD-S20’s closed-back design, this tech aims to bring the listener more accurate sound staging with natural and realistic low frequencies.
The LCD-S20s are comfortable. Although there may be some concern that these headphones are heavy, once they are on I almost forget that they are there. They are built on the same chassis as their Maxwell gaming and spatial audio headset and have some cool features such as user-removable/replaceable magnetic earpads – such a great idea! The drivers are a 90 mm planar magnetic design and feature Audeze’s patented Fluxor™ Neodymium N50 magnets, Fazor™ waveguides, and Uniforce™ voice coils. The claimed frequency response is 10 Hz to 40 kHz. Another smart feature is that the LCD-S20 has a single-sided cable that can be connected to either the right or left side of the headphones to accommodate the user's positioning preference.