Audeze LCD-MX4

A special "hybrid" creation from the crowd-pleasing headphone company

When I visited New York earlier this year for the CanJam headphone expo, Audeze had one of the busiest booths. No surprise here. Ever since the company started, their cutting-edge planar magnetic models have been a hit with the hardcore headphone crowd. And that show was the first chance many of us had to try their LCD-MX4 headphones — a "hybrid" model that mashes up two of Audeze's most popular planar magnetic designs.   

The streamlined diaphragms and voice coils used here were borrowed from the company's LCD-X model. They are suspended within the same powerful magnet array found in their flagship LCD-4. The result? The LCD-MX4 perform efficiently and deliver accurate, consistent sound across a wide-frequency range.

Audeze's most efficient over-ear headphones

It takes a lot of power to drive most Audeze headphones, but the MX4s are a lot more flexible. Of course, you'll still get the best performance from a separate headphone amp. But these headphones are efficient enough to work with a portable music player or pro audio interface.

Professional-grade sound

I brought up audio interfaces for a specific reason — Audeze told me that these headphones are found in some famous recording studios. Quite a few heavy-hitter engineers use these MX4 headphones to mix and master music for some mega-star artists.  

When Audeze first approached these engineers, many told them “thanks, but no thanks.” They simply didn't use headphones as part of their normal workflow or music-making process — that is, until they finally gave these MX4 'phones as spin. Now a number of these industry pros absolutely love Audeze's precise impulse response, dynamics, and large soundstage.

How planar magnetic drivers work

Audeze cultivated this wide-open soundstage with their signature planar magnetic drivers. Unlike the dynamic drivers found in most headphones, planar magnetic drivers rely on a really thin diaphragm with a large surface area to generate sound.

A flexible circuit is etched across the entire surface of the diaphragm, which is suspended within a magnetic field. When the circuit receives an audio signal, it causes the diaphragm to move back and forth — moving air and creating sound.

Extra-strong magnet array

Each driver in the MX4 headphone uses a double Fluxor™ magnet array to move the diaphragm. Audeze put this patent-pending, custom magnet structure on both sides of the diaphragm. The magnets are laid out in an asymmetrical pattern, so that they attract to each other at an angle. 

This creates an unheard of amount of magnetic flux, so the diaphragm starts and stops incredibly quickly.