California is not known as a carmaking state, but every carmaker is here. And few have been in Silicon Valley longer than Volkswagen Group with its Electronics Research Lab. There they try to crack the code on loading
cars up with social media, connected navigation, portable integration, and more without distracting you to death.

I spent a day with wide-ranging access to the VW lab, in conversation with its director, Peter Oel. I came away with the impression that VW, like the rest of the industry, feels the tech cat is out of the bag and we aren't going back to a day when our cars are digital ghettos. That's also because carmakers know that high-touch technology is a key way they'll clobber their competitors, but they also keep their eye on the rear view as the government makes more and more noises that sound like distraction regulation.

It's important to note that the VW parent company doesn't keep its brands on equal tech footing. Our most recent review of a VW was the 2012 Volkswagen CC, which could use a swift kick in the pants when it comes to tech. The company's pricey Porsche models do much better but it's the Audi products that steal the show like this 2012 A6 we gave an Editor's Choice to.

By almost any standard, Mark Zuckerberg has had a week to remember. Yesterday, he started his day off by ringing the Nasdaq bell and taking his social-networking company public, raising $16 billion in the process. Earlier in the week, his longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan graduated from medical school. And today, just for good measure, the two shocked a bunch of friends and family with a surprise wedding in the Facebook CEO's backyard.

A look at Zuckerberg's Facebook page reveals that he is now "Married to Priscilla Chan." That was not the case yesterday, the day that the company went public in a spectacularly hyped IPO that may have ended up a bit of a dud.

"Zuckerberg and 27-year-old Priscilla Chan tied the knot at a small ceremony at his Palo Alto, Calif., home, capping a busy week for the couple," a guest authorized to speak for the couple told the Associated Press. "The person spoke only on the condition of anonymity."

The AP reported that the guests had been under the impression they had been called together to celebrate Chan's graduation. After they arrived, they found out that the event was, in fact, a wedding ceremony.

"Everybody was shocked," the guest told the Associated Press.

I've written about the Audeze LCD-2 headphones in this blog before, but now I'm going to cover the LCD-3 model, Audeze's best headphones. At first glance the two don't look all that different, but the LCD-3s sport real zebrawood earcups and have thicker and softer real lambskin leather cushions to coddle your ears. This is a fairly heavy (550-gram) set of headphones, but they're comfortable to wear for hours at a time. Details of why the LCD-2s and LCD-3s sound different aren't forthcoming from Audeze, other than the drivers, which use similar technology, are different. I can't say the two sound hugely different, but the LCD-3s are definitely more transparent and clear. Are they worth double the price? No, the LCD-2 model remains in the line and gets you 80 percent of the LCD-3's sound, but if you want the very best, get the LCD-3s.

Rather than use standard headphone drivers that operate like miniature woofers or tweeters, the LCD-3s, like the LCD-2s, use a large, 6.17-square-inch thin-film planar magnetic driver to make sound. The Audeze circular flat diaphragm is sandwiched between rows of neodymium bar magnets. When audio signals pass through the diaphragm it moves in and out to produce sound, but thanks to its large size and superlow mass the planar magnetic drivers generate significantly lower distortion than conventional headphone designs. The LCD-3's headphone cable is detachable, via locking connectors, and is therefore user-replaceable.

During the course of the review I brought the LCD-3s to a recording session to use as monitors, and they blew my mind. As impressive as they were at home -- and they are exceptional -- it was great to have the opportunity to hear the sound of a blues band playing live in the studio, and then hear their music over the LCD-3s. I have never heard a set of headphones that got even remotely close to the sound of live music the way this one does. To put the LCD-3's sound in perspective, I borrowed the engineer's Sennheiser HD 650 headphones ($650), and it was really shocking how much better the LCD-3s were. The HD 650 is a great set of headphones, but it sounded small, thin, dynamically compressed, and its stereo imaging was relatively flat next to that of the LCD-3. Both headphones were played with the same Grace Design m901 headphone amplifier.

The engineers and musicians at the session all took turns checking out the LCD-3s, and they were all knocked out by the sound. They weren't audiophiles, but they all heard the difference great headphones can make.

Back at home I used Schiit Lyr and Hifiman EF6 (review in the works) headphone amps for the bulk of my listening tests. The LCD-3's dynamic punch is simply the best I've heard, bass definition and power are phenomenal, stereo imaging is remarkably open and spacious. No dynamic headphone at any price comes close to the LCD-3's sound. Some audiophiles think the Stax SR-009 ($5,250) is the best sounding headphone on the market; I don't agree. Yes, it's even more transparent and clear, but the SR-009 lacks the LCD-3's power, dynamics, natural midrange, and potent bass.

What's the ultimate headphone amplifier for the LCD-3? That honor goes to Ray Samuels' Dark Star balanced amp. I briefly had it at home, and its brute-force dynamic impact, out-of-head imaging, and transparency all improved the sound of the LCD-3s. I also love the design; the Dark Star is a drop-dead gorgeous, handmade amplifier.

The LCD 3 headphones are available directly from Audeze for $1,945, or from its worldwide dealers.