Seattle Meet at Bottlehead MARCH 5,2011 - Page 2

I hope there is an LCD-2 at the meetup. I've been eyeing them for a while, but wouldn't want to plunk down cash without a listen.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Equus 

As for an LCD-2/HE6 comparison, I know we have a growing population of LCD-2's up here, but I can't remember if there's an HE-6 in the area.

LCD-2 at the meet is almost guaranteed.  In multiple flavors even. 

I have the original style headband and cups (one of the first production runs) with ALO 8-wire cable.  Curbfeeler I think has a newer pair with stock cable, Seamaster won a pair with ALO 8-wire cable at the last meet, Markj has a pair, and I think MuuMuu has a pair too.  There's probably more than I'm forgetting or unaware of too.

The question is mostly going to be what source and amp you want to hear them out of.  Fun!
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparktography 

I hope there is an LCD-2 at the meetup. I've been eyeing them for a while, but wouldn't want to plunk down cash without a listen.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Equus 

The question is mostly going to be what source and amp you want to hear them out of.  Fun!

Yup, that seems to be the critical issue with them. My theory for today is that they like an amp with a high damping factor. They sound great on Curbfeeler's Benchmark DAC1, which has an output impedance of 0.1 ohms - most likely meaning it uses lotsa feedback, which we try to avoid in our amps. Consequently the LCD-2s don't sound their best with our current headphone amps. I'm going to kick around some ideas with PJ about a circuit with which to test my theory. Seems like a worthwhile notion to develop a range of specialized amps based upon the drive requirements for the various types of premium cans around.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Equus 

LCD-2 at the meet is almost guaranteed.  In multiple flavors even. 

 

I have the original style headband and cups (one of the first production runs) with ALO 8-wire cable.  Curbfeeler I think has a newer pair with stock cable, Seamaster won a pair with ALO 8-wire cable at the last meet, Markj has a pair, and I think MuuMuu has a pair too.  There's probably more than I'm forgetting or unaware of too.

 

The question is mostly going to be what source and amp you want to hear them out of.  Fun!

Sweet! I'll bring my D4 as that's what I'd most likely listen to them on anyway so I'd want to see if there is synergy.

It's beginning to look like Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  At each meet, more and more people's headphones are replaced by the LCD-2s.  Eventually these meets are going to just be LCD-2 meetups.  At least they are great headphone to listen to.  At the last mini-meet I was actually shocked by how different their soundstage changed when hooked to different amps.  

Also, if I was looking to buy a current headphone, the LCD-2 would be the most temping but I still see myself with a Stax if I ever sell my current setup.  Can't see that happening anytime soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc B. 
Yup, that seems to be the critical issue with them. My theory for today is that they like an amp with a high damping factor. They sound great on Curbfeeler's Benchmark DAC1, which has an output impedance of 0.1 ohms - most likely meaning it uses lotsa feedback, which we try to avoid in our amps. Consequently the LCD-2s don't sound their best with our current headphone amps. I'm going to kick around some ideas with PJ about a circuit with which to test my theory. Seems like a worthwhile notion to develop a range of specialized amps based upon the drive requirements for the various types of premium cans around.

 

Sweet.  That would definitely be a neat thing to look forward to.  There are definitely some setups that really don't work on the LCD-2.  They aren't exactly your average bear, and I find them sensitive to stuff in the chain.  For instance, I've been messing around with a variety of power cords and a loaner Weiss DAC 202 from Joe, and the differences between different equipment is pretty apparent.  Even for someone like me, who was a skeptic about power cables and other tweaks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparktography 

Sweet! I'll bring my D4 as that's what I'd most likely listen to them on anyway so I'd want to see if there is synergy.

Cool.  I'm sure you could borrow one of the pairs out of our rigs to check it out.  No experience with the D4 at all, but it sounds pretty dang good out of my D10.  Conversely, I didn't like it out of the Meier 2Move I have, so it's definitely worth auditioning first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamoneagain 

It's beginning to look like Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  At each meet, more and more people's headphones are replaced by the LCD-2s.  Eventually these meets are going to just be LCD-2 meetups.  At least they are great headphone to listen to.  At the last mini-meet I was actually shocked by how different their soundstage changed when hooked to different amps.  

 

Also, if I was looking to buy a current headphone, the LCD-2 would be the most temping but I still see myself with a Stax if I ever sell my current setup.  Can't see that happening anytime soon.

Haha...yeah...I think we have a pretty high headfier-to-LCD-2 ratio...add in anyone who makes it up from Portland, and I'm sure that ratio just goes up.  Like I mentioned, I think they have some interesting transparent qualities that really give you the ability to listen to stuff in the chain...amp, source...even interconnects and power cables, if you believe in the latter two changing sonics.  Even for a fairly untrained ear like mine.

I might actually get a Stax system one of these days as a change of pace.  I really like the LCD-2 and the current rig, so it wouldn't be a direct replacement.  That the LCD-2 doesn't require a specialized amp was definitely a plus in its favor for me.

I will be happy to support the notion of the importance of all of that stuff at the meeting - source, amp, cables, etc. The short answer is Paul Stubblebine's response to "What is the most important component in the system?"

"Everything."

I do think that one can start to make some distinctions about what aspect of each of those components affects the sound in what way with some experience. Gathering that kind of experience is, to me, one of the ways to figure out how get the best performance you can out of a given system. Maybe at this coming meet we can try a couple of equipment swapping demos to demonstrate some of these ideas.

The Chilly Hilly bike ride around Bainbridge Island is Sunday Feb 27th.  It'd be brilliant if the meet happened on Sat the 26th.  :)

I'll be riding the Chilly Hilly on the 27th so I'll already be up there that weekend.

Bainbridge Island is kind of a pain to get to.. Why can't we have it in Seattle?

Greetings everyone!

My first post to head-fi, besides a sales post, but i was curious what happens at a meet?

Ricky

Welcome rickyricky!

Main thing that usually happens at meets is that people bring gear over to give others a chance to listen to a variety of things.  So, for instance, I'll be bringing my SB Touch->Assemblage DAC 2.7->Stacker II->LCD-2 rig so people can get a chance to listen to it.  Mostly a good chance to get together and hear a bunch of different equipment in different configurations and to pick the brains of folks.  And to just chat...I don't have a whole lot of people outside of head-fi that I can talk to about audio rigs without them looking at me like I'm a space alien.

So it's a great opportunity if there's something that you always wanted to hear or something that you'd like to check out before buying.  Or if you just want to check out what's out there and how it sounds to your ears.  Also a great place to get opinions on different components, if you're curious.

Hey ethan,

any chance i can crash at your place again like last time?.. :)

Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem.  Would give you more time with the Stacker too. 

bwahaha...and just when i was starting to get over separation anxiety  :P