Audeze has quietly dropped a successor to its LCD-5 flagship headphone. The LCD-5s made its debut at NAMM 2026, bringing the company’s SLAM acoustic technology (previously reserved for the US$5995 CRBN2 electrostatic) down to its planar magnetic lineup.

Specs summary

The technical fundamentals: a 90mm planar magnetic driver using Audeze’s nano-scale Parallel Uniforce diaphragm, Fluxor magnet arrays with neodymium N50 magnets and Fazor phase management. Impedance sits at 30 Ohms (up from the LCD-5’s 14 Ohms), with sensitivity rated at 90dB/1mW. Frequency response spans 5Hz to 50kHz, and Audeze claims distortion below 0.1% at 100dB SPL. Maximum power handling is rated at 5W RMS. These aren’t headphones for your smartphone. The company recommends north of 500mW of amplifier power to get them performing properly.

What’s SLAM?

So what’s SLAM? The acronym stands for Symmetric Linear Acoustic Modulator, and it’s Audeze’s answer to an age-old planar magnetic conundrum: how do you get proper low-frequency impact without compromising driver control? The technology uses precision-engineered acoustic channels built into the ring connecting the earpads to the drivers. These channels reportedly relieve pressure buildup while simultaneously modulating low frequencies, essentially acting like a gentle bass shelf. Audeze says the result is a 6dB boost extending down to 10Hz, alongside reduced distortion and improved soundstage transparency. Whether it delivers in practice remains to be heard.

Weight watchers

At 475g, the LCD-5s lands heavier than its predecessor. The original LCD-5 tipped the scales at 420g, already considered light by Audeze standards after the 690g LCD-4. For context: the HiFiMAN Susvara Unveiled clocks in at 430g, the Focal Utopia 2022 at 490g, the Meze Empyrean at 430g and the Sennheiser HD800S at a featherweight 331g. The LCD-5s won’t be winning any weight competitions, though Audeze has redesigned the earpads with curved geometry intended to improve comfort and seal. The carbon fibre and magnesium chassis construction aims to keep that mass well-distributed, with visual flourishes including tortoiseshell acetate earcup rings and copper accents.

Build materials lean premium: genuine leather, polished polymer acetate and what Audeze describes as an “ultra high-purity” OCC copper cable with directional stranding. Make of that what you will. The LCD-5s ships with a 4-pin XLR balanced cable, adapters for 6.3mm TRS and 3.5mm connections and an aluminium travel case.

Pricing? US$4500 or €4500.

Further information: Audeze

Audeze LCD-5
Audeze LCD-5s

Released
Late 2021
January 2026

Price
US$4500
US$4500

Acoustic tech
Fluxor, Fazor, Parallel Uniforce
SLAM + Fluxor, Fazor, Parallel Uniforce

Impedance
14 Ohms
30 Ohms

Weight
420g
475g

Earcups
Black Acetate
Tortoiseshell Acetate

Cable
Standard OCC Copper
“Premium” Directional OCC Copper