Audeze Debuts The LCD-i3 Planar Magnetic IEM
Audeze is well-known for their use of planar magnetic drivers in a wide variety of headphones, and more recently in a couple of in ear models. One of their most popular and successful models was the iSine 20, which incidentally, the LCD-i3 is replacing. It’s great to see Audeze investing time and effort into further developing planar magnetic technology for use in in-ear-monitors, and it’s only a matter of time until we see even more manufacturers have a stab at it.
Audeze aimed to not just replace, but further refine the iSine 20, and one of their methods of doing so was to adopt the Magnesium housing and grill design found on the much costlier ($2495) LCD-i4, which, according to Audeze, “reduces unwanted resonance and offers improved resolution over the iSINE 20“.
The iSine 20 was also available in two pricing options depending on the included accessories. For $549 you could get essentially just the iSine 20, a few eartips, and the carrying case. However, for an extra $50 you could get the Cipher cable included, which one could argue is an absolute must. You see, whilst the iSine 20 sounded pretty mediocre with just a regular single-ended cable, the Cipher cable included it’s on DAC chip and, by using various DSP and equalisation effects, could alter the signature of the iSine 20 into something pretty remarkable.
The LCD-i3 comes with a price bump of $300 over that of the iSine 20 with the Cipher cable, but the LCD-i3 includes both the Cipher cable as well as the Cipher Bluetooth module.
Other specs include an impedance of just 20-ohms, a sensitivity of 110dB/mw, and a frequency response range of 10-50kHz.
The estimated date of availability for the LCD-i3 has been said to be August 23 2019, but you can already place your order on Audeze’s website at a price of $899 which includes free standard shipping anywhere within the United States. 
