Audeze’s Euclid in-ear planar magnetic headphones are extraordinary. And at $1299/£1099, they’d better be. These are intended to be god-tier audiophile-grade in-ears for music and the like, but this is Digital Foundry – so we’ve focused on their performance in our testing regime. Is it ever worth spending so much on in-ears for this purpose – and are there any cheaper alternatives worth considering?
We’ll provide that information soon, but let’s start at the beginning: who is Audeze anyway? This Californian firm isn’t a mainstream gaming brand like your Corsairs or Razers, but the company has earned a reputation for great-sounding planar magnetic headphones and gaming headsets that justify their premium price points. Indeed, we’ve named Audeze’s Penrose and LCD-GX as some of the very best in their categories. The Penrose, Penrose X and HyperX-branded Cloud Orbit S are full-fat gaming headsets, supporting modern consoles and PC, while the LCD-GX is an ultra-premium audiophile headset that could also be used for gaming – a descriptor that’s closer to the nature of the Euclid in-ears.
However, even trying these headsets didn’t quite prepare me for the Euclid – it’s one thing to plunk a comfortably massive over-ear headset on and get great sound, but quite another to shrink the same tech down to a size that’ll fit in your ears.
Quite how this is possible without making serious sacrifices I’m not sure, but the engineering here is impressive to say the least. The relatively modest in-ears contain an 18mm planar magnetic transducer, with magnets and waveguide, an impressive feat of miniaturisation that doesn’t seem to sacrifice much in the way of audio quality. Of course, as this is a closed-back in-ear design, you won’t get quite the soundstage or immersion factor of open-back and/or on-ear headphones, but you get at least some measure of that sound stage, accuracy and bass response that distinguishes planar magnetic headphones from dynamic headphones.
The Euclid in-ears are supremely comfortable in use, with plenty of tips in various materials – including silicone and foam – and sizes ensuring you’ll find a combination that matches the geography of your pinnae and ear canals. I found that my left ear was a slightly different size to my right, but happily this was easily catered for.