KAUSTHUB RAVI & SIVANESH NATARAJAN
HELPFUL TOOLS FOR
YOU TO MIX AT HOME
Just before this lockdown period, I was looking at options that would let me mix from places
that weren't a fully-fledged studio. This led me to a few options that I would like to share -
Audeze LCD -1 !
OPEN-BACK FOLDABLE
HEADPHONES
FUTURE FAVOURITES
Perfect monitoring solutions
for home setups have always been a case of chasing the dragon
for most of us. Recently, I came upon the idea to invest in a
great set of headphones to aid in mixing. As someone who is
used to mixing in a studio with acoustic treatment and a great
pair of monitors, it seemed impossible to be able to mix on
headphones. The imaging, the fatigue of wearing a pair, bass
judgement all seemed to be plaguing issues with a lot of the
pairs I tried. I also looked for a pair that wasn't too flat and
boring. I always believe in my monitoring having a slight bit
of character so that I can enjoy the music I am working with.
The Audeze LCD-X is a headphone that recently caught my eye
as it was being used by some top mastering houses across the
world. Engineers like Tchad Blake swear by it. But in addition
to being huge and heavy, this is an insanely expensive pair
of headphones and I was looking for something a bit more
attainable. The LCD-1 is the newest addition the LCD line
from Audeze. It essentially got similar drivers to the LCD-X
but in a smaller form factor. It uses the same planar magnetic
drivers with Audeze’s patented FluxorTM magnet structure.
The plastic construction makes it extremely light but they feel
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quite durable with the great build quality. The leather earpads
are extremely com-fortable and since they’re extremely light
along with being open-back headphones, you can wear them
for a long time without sweating into the cups or feeling the
fatigue. It also comes with a fan-tastic carrying case that it
folds into. Oh, and the impedance is low enough that they
sound pretty good plugged into a laptop output without
needing much external amplification!
The sound of these headphones are fantastic. It is quite a
neutral sound. First impressions might seem a bit sharp on the
mids but with a little bit of burn it, it settles in quite nicely.
The quick re-sponse of the planar magnetic drivers makes for
an insanely detailed representation of your audio. The imaging
is extremely precise and accurate. While the soundstage might
not be expansive and huge, it is quite adequate for mixing/
mastering. The LCD-1’s frequency response is quite conducive
to mixing. The detail in the midrange is amazing. Some
people might find the mid-range/highs a tad recessed but its
something that you can get used it and once you do, you find
out that it makes the headphone a little less fatiguing to work
on for extended periods. The bass is super tight, accurate and
controlled, it never sounds loose or rumbly at the same time
they don't sound too boosted so if you're looking for hard-
hitting bass these aren't for you.
In addition to all of this, Audeze offers a plugin called the
Reveal. It is quite similar to Sonarworks in the sense that it
flattens out the response even further to help be a better mix
tool. Slap an instance at the end of your stereo out chain and it
makes a decent bit of a difference. I found that mixes translate
quite well through this monitoring chain. The LCD-1 has been
one of my favourite pur-chases to date and I highly recommend
it to engineers looking for a trustworthy pair of headphones as
a mix tool.