LCD-S20

Reviewer verdict

Across 18 YouTube reviews, the Audeze LCD-S20 earns a Summa score of 3.9/5, ranking #19 among Wired Earbuds. Reviewers most often praise its sound quality, comfort, build quality, while the most common criticisms concern sound quality, comfort.

The LCD-S20 is repeatedly praised for its strong, well-balanced planar sound quality, with many reviewers (96 mentions) highlighting deep, controlled bass, clear mids, and detailed treble that work well for music, gaming, and studio tasks. Multiple reviews note the easy driveability and low impedance or high sensitivity that lets the headphones perform well even with dongle DACs or modest sources, while benefiting further from higher-powered amplifiers. Comfort and build are also commonly commended (23 and 21 mentions respectively), with reviewers calling out generous, comfortable pads, a supportive suspension headband, and a robust metal construction with detachable cables. Reviewers additionally appreciate the design convenience (15 mentions) such as magnetic, replaceable pads and swivel adjustability, and many consider the S20 a strong value within its product family (15 mentions).

Criticisms center on sound presentation when underpowered or out of the box (38 mentions): several reviewers say bass and treble can be subdued or timid at low power and a mid/upper-mid peak around ~2–4 kHz can make vocals or certain tracks feel off without EQ or a stronger amp. Weight and portability are frequent comfort drawbacks (18 mentions), with many calling the headphones heavy and sometimes clampy or hot on the ears despite generally good padding. A smaller number of reviewers raise design and value concerns (6 mentions each), citing limited included accessories, costly cable upgrades, and minor usability issues like short cable length or limited headband adjustment. Build-related annoyances appear rarely (6 mentions) such as fabric that attracts dust or fiddly adjustment hardware, but overall complaints are concentrated on power requirements and out-of-the-box tonal balance.

Analysis based on 18 YouTube reviews (4h 0m of video) with 202 pros and 79 cons extracted.

Pros (202)

Cons (79)

Review sources

• 레퍼런스 끝판왕! 그래미가 선택한 작업용 헤드폰 | AUDEZE LCD-S20 리뷰 18 pros, 9 cons
• Audeze LCD-S20: la última novedad de la marca en auriculares cerrados planomagnéticos 26 pros, 0 cons
• The ultimate gaming headphone for music lovers! Audeze Maxwell review by Passion for Sound — 18 pros, 5 cons
• Audeze LCD-X Review - Punching Above Its Weight! by GadgetryTech — 17 pros, 5 cons
• But Does It Slap? The New $500 Audeze LCD S20 by Skeeb23 — 11 pros, 10 cons
• Does a $500 Hifiman Beat a $1200 Audeze? The Audeze LCD-X Review by cheapaudioman — 17 pros, 3 cons
• Audeze LCD S20 Review – SLAM Explained & Planar Magnetic Headphones Sound Test 11 pros, 8 cons
• The Audeze MM500s were tuned by a famous mastering engineer, so how is the sound? by Currawong — 11 pros, 8 cons
• Are these the LCD-X killers? Verum 1 Headphones #verumaudio #headphones 14 pros, 4 cons
• Ich habe ein SLAM in meinem Audeze LCD S20 gefunden?!? Darf ich es behalten? by Tech Boss — 13 pros, 4 cons
• Are the Audeze Maxwells still worth it in 2025? by The Techne — 11 pros, 6 cons
• The "Affordable" Option?! Audeze LCD-S20 Unboxing by avrona — 8 pros, 5 cons
• BEST HIGH END HEADPHONES FOR PS5 XBOX AND PC 2024 #review by CRIPTOCOLORLIGHTS Tech — 9 pros, 2 cons
• BEST Open-Back Headphones for Music Production (One’s Just $109!) 4 pros, 3 cons
• The best headphones under $1000 (2025 edition) by The Headphone Show — 5 pros, 2 cons
• These Headphones Stole the show at CanJam SoCal 70 ones tested! by Ryan Ho — 5 pros, 1 cons
• Almost all headphones are inaccurate. Only these are good. 1 pros, 3 cons
• BEST Open Back Headphones Tier List 2025 - What To Buy and What Not To by 10BestOnes — 3 pros, 1 cons

Frequently asked questions