Audeze makes $2,495 earbuds only an audiophile could love

Audeze built a reputation on really good (and more portable) planar magnetic headphones. Back in September the company debuted its first in-ear model: the iSine. Despite looking somewhat like a mini TIE fighter, those bulkier earbuds do a solid job of improving sound quality for people who prefer that fit to an on-ear or over-ear set of headphones. There's even a separate model made specifically to pair with a VR headset. This week, Audeze took another huge step in its in-ear lineup by announcing the $2,495 LCDi4.

Nearly $2,500 for a set of earbuds? Yes, but these certainly won't be for everyone. Audeze built a pair of in-ear headphones that feature similar technology to what is uses on the $4,000 LCD-4 over-ear model. The design of those massive audiophile-grade cans have been scaled down to a more portable package. In fact, the same ultra thin diaphragm from those pricier headphones is on display here.

Audeze says the LCDi4s feature overall distortion (THD) that's less than 0.2 percent, even when you have music cranked all the way up. What's more, each separate unit is matched within +/- 1dB of each other and there's bass response that ranges flat from 900Hz down to 10Hz, helping make that overall soundstage as wide as possible. And yes, you should probably pair these with a capable headphone amp to maximize their potential.

If you're already checking your savings account to see if you can afford a pair of the LCDi4s, they're available for pre-order now. However, Audeze says they won't ship until mid-June.