Most of the uber-pricey in-canal audiophile earphones we review are custom-molded models with multiple drivers. Unlike competing pairs in this price range, such as the JH Audio Roxanne, the $1,299 Audeze Euclid earphones aren’t custom-molded, and each earpiece offers a single driver. That said, it’s a planar magnetic driver, which you won’t find in the Roxanne, and the sonic performance is impressive. If you have the budget and are looking for reference-level in-ears, either for critical listening in a studio or at home, the Euclid earphones deliver a mids- and highs-focused sound signature that highlights the details in mixes.
Planar Magnetic Drivers
The Euclid’s black earpieces look very much like custom-molded in-ear monitors, except for the custom molding part—they terminate in eartips that feel every bit the same as those found in $60 earphones. The nozzle leading to the canal seems at least somewhat wider than some in-ears provide, and this can help with fit and audio performance. The outer panels have carbon fiber surfaces with the Audeze logo emblazoned over it, which creates an interesting floating A visual effect.
We found the in-ear fit to be relatively snug. The over-ear cabling helps secure things, though it still can’t compare with custom-molded in-ears.
Internally, each earpiece houses a planar magnetic 18mm Neodymium driver, delivering a frequency range of 10Hz to 50kHz and an impedance of 12 ohms.
The earphones ship with a solid haul of accessories, starting with a detachable MMCX-braided cable. There’s also a generous array of Comply foam and SpinFit silicone eartips in various sizes, as well as an earwax cleaning tool and a shirt clip for the cable. The clamp-shut hard-shell Pelican 1010 travel case is on the heavy-duty end of the case spectrum, with a carabiner attached for good measure. A mesh fabric drawstring bag for more casual toting is also included.
The cabling, though of superior quality, is a little short. Sitting at my desk with the cable plugged into my testing stereo receiver barely three feet away, there’s hardly any slack. Most of the models we test tend to be longer, even if only by four or five inches. Also, for this price, there’s no reason Audeze doesn’t include a quarter-inch headphone jack adapter. Plenty of users will be connecting to a stereo receiver or pro audio gear in a studio to use earphones like these, and larger headphone jacks are the only way to do this. Most of the competing models I’ve tested over the years include an adapter by default. It’s not that they’re expensive, it’s just an annoyance to not have one as part of the package.
Audiophile-Level Performance
The audio testing discussed in this section was conducted with high-resolution files on an iMac playing through a Universal Audio Apollo interface feeding a McIntosh C31V Audio/Video Control Center (which has a headphone jack), but we also used the earphones with a variety of sound sources during testing.
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the earphones deliver powerful, articulate low-frequency response paired with clean high-frequency response. It’s possible to distort the drivers on this track without necessarily creeping into uncomfortably high volume levels, but it’s close enough to levels you shouldn’t be listening at that we’ll say it’s not a deal breaker.
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Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Euclid’s general sound signature. Through the Euclid, the drums sound full and round, but not necessarily heavy in any way—some listeners will find them a little lacking in the bass department, but this is what a flat-style response sounds like. The highs do seem to be dialed up, as the tape hiss is brighter and more present than it is normally, and Callahan’s baritone vocals get a solid helping of low-mid richness, but they are also quite crisp and bright around the edges. The acoustic strums and higher-register percussive hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with ideal clarity.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives ideal high-mid presence, allowing it to retain its punchy attack, but it’s the vinyl crackle and hiss that takes a real step forward in the mix, instead of being relegated to the background like it usually is. It seems there is some perceptible added brightness here that adds clarity to the overall mix, but doesn’t add any sibilance to vocals. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat, however, are delivered with a subtle depth in which we hear their range, but not their power. Engineers wanting to check mixes can do far worse, but the challenge will be that the Euclid’s mids- and-highs-focused sound signature is light years away from the bass-forward sound signatures that most affordable in-ears offer.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, and jazz tracks like “Pharaoh’s Dance” by Miles Davis, bring out the best the earphones have to offer, for my ears at least. The planar magnetic drivers want to reproduce naturally occurring lows from orchestras and drums recorded in large rooms, and they excel at bring out the detail in mids and highs in these scenarios. Modern mixes with deep electronic bass seem less suited for the Euclid’s capabilities. But that evaluation is more from a music lover/listener’s standpoint—as an evaluation tool, the earphones offer excellent clarity throughout the frequency range that can prove invaluable.
For Critical Listening
There’s no denying the audio quality of the Audeze Euclid—these earphones sound excellent. The pricing and the design decisions, however, are a bit perplexing. Planar magnetic technology is wonderful, and there are plenty of advanced materials in play inside these earpieces, but these are the most expensive planar magnetic earphones or headphones we’ve tested in recent memory, by a wide margin. In the planar magnetic realm, we’ve also enjoyed the $600 Audeze iSine20 in-ears and the the $700 HiFiMan Ananda over-ears. While we truly enjoy the Euclid’s sound signature and think other audiophiles will, too, we wish there was a custom-molded option at this price, or that this non-custom model was less expensive.
