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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1277879
Audeze, long renowned for their reference grade headphones, have built their reputation on the back of planar magnetic drivers. All of their products, from the most affordable to the highest of high-end, use planar magnetics to produce soundwaves over the more commonplace dynamic drivers, that every other pair of headphones reviewed in this magazine has used. This dedication to refining and perfecting a single technology have allowed Audeze to create the LCD -1's, a pair of open backed, planar magnetic headphones with all the response and resolution of it's more expensive older brothers, combined with the portability of many of today's prosumer over-the- ear headphones. While planar magnetic headphones have been around for several decades, the technology has only recently made its way to consumer grade headphones that are affordable and sensible outside of the studio, mostly thanks to Audeze and a handful of other companies going all-in on the dynamic driver alternative. Where most headphones send an electrical current through a coil that moves a cone-shaped diaphragm to create soundwaves, planar magnetic headphones use parallel planes of magnets to manipulate a flat diaphragm, moving the air to create sound. The intrinsic differences of planar magnetic drivers typically create a cleaner sound with amazing detail and resolution—making them perfect for studio work or reproducing music in its purest form. The tradeoff, historically, is that the technology is more expensive