If sound is everything, I would suggest sticking Audeze's Euclid earphones in your soundhole. The sound is delicious. Because when trying to describe audio quality, it's important to keep using different adjectives, and sticking a high-res audio file in your Euclid buds always results in "nom, nom, nom, nom."

But I'm not sure I'd recommend a $1,300 pair of earbuds out of the goodness of my heart. If you want to use wireless Bluetooth 5.0, you need a $130 adapter around your neck.

In other words, to be honest, they are only suitable for a tiny niche of audiophiles. In general, if you want a high-end audio experience, you will spend a fortune on over-the-ear audiophile headphones (opens in new tab). Open-back headphones may only really do their full auditory business when you sit alone in a quiet room and blast "War on Drugs" or "Rage Against the Machine" directly into your eardrums.

I haven't heard many people who prefer high-end audio ask for in-ear headphones.

So when I heard that Audeze was putting their experience with planar magnetic (PM) drivers into earphones, I was eager to try them out. I'm a fan of the soon-to-be-retired LCD-1 over-ear PM headphones, and the 18mm-diameter Euclid drivers somehow still manage to deliver much of the detailed audio that is the hallmark of this technology.

Unfortunately, perhaps because of their size, they lack the warmth one gets from a well-worn set of large planar magnetic drivers. My experience with over-the-ear PM headphones is that they need to be worn and driven for an extended period of time to hear audio that is too sharp and detailed, as if they were fresh out of the box.

I have spent a lot of time testing the Euclid and have yet to reach that level, and to this day the treble remains a bit thorny. However, despite the flat EQ, the bass response is good and detailed, and the tone separation is excellent. For example, one can hear the reverberation and movement of Ludovico Einaudi's piano as well as the actual sound.

But while that may be great for mastering tracks, it is not particularly pleasant for long-term music listening.

However, when it comes to games, it is a different story. The separation of detail and timbre goes a long way in bringing the game world to life. It also provides spatial clues as to where the bad guys and gunshots are coming from.

In the Steam deck "OlliOlli World" (opens in a new tab), the rattling of board wheels sounds completely separate from the chilling jazz-hop soundtrack, and in "Hitman 3," only the footsteps of a curious security guard can be heard to avoid can.

And despite initial concerns that the Bluetooth 5.0 implementation would not have the connection speeds to support wireless audio without the time lag that Twitch games really need, the Euclid Bluetooth adapter is lightning fast.

This makes it a very good earphone for gaming. However, you don't need a set of buds at this price level to get something very close to this sound quality from a particular game; the Creative Outlier Pro buds offer an impressive auditory experience for a fraction of the price, and the JBL Quantum TWS (open in new tab) is a The JBL Quantum TWS (opens in new tab) has the ease of use that makes it a simple Steam Deck accessory that requires very little thought.

The Euclid, on the other hand, has too many real-world sticking points to make a reasonable recommendation, even ignoring the expensive elephant in the room.

The Bluetooth adapter's battery life of 8 hours is problematic, but of course you can switch to a wired connection as soon as you run out of power. But even if power is not an issue, one still has to deal with the adapter's cable between the two buds. If worn on the front of the neck, it would be too heavy, and if worn on the back, it would get tangled in the collar of the clothing and put pressure on the fitting of the buds.

And I had a hard time fitting them anyway. While none of the other wireless buds I tested certainly struggled to fit comfortably in my small ears, the Euclid proved difficult to find long-term comfort, even with three different silicone tips and a high-end Comply foam tip.

However, colleagues using the same earbuds had no fit issues, so we feel this is a personal issue.

However, I will always come back to price. At the price of a good gaming PC (opens in new tab), a gaming laptop (opens in new tab), or a pair of Steam Decks, the Audeze Euclid's excellent audio is not enough to overcome practical issues. Frankly, for wired earbuds, I'd put my money on the $400 LCD-1 over-ears, and for wireless earbuds, I'd put my money on JBL or Creative's Buds.