First, the Carbon is a terrific amp and will put pressure on a lot of $1k+ amps given its quality. It is bested by the Crimson IMO in dynamic's. The Crimson's increased power reserves gives it an ability to manage music with large scale presentation. Orchestral, Metal, music with a lot of power faired better with the extra reserves from the Crimson. I did not find big differences with Folk or intimate Jazz as these tend to require finesse and both amps had that in spades. The LAu takes the power up to another level but would likely be most useful for less efficient headphones. For example, the Abyss 1266 and the HE-6 can both be driven effortlessly from the LAu while taking the Crimson to its limits. The LC would not be a good match for those headphones. If you are not using them, then there will be a lot of sonic similarity between all three. The Crimson and LAu will have higher quality internals that a higher price tag allows for so there are some additional sonic advantages to be squeezed out with higher end cans. I like all three very much. The Crimson is my favorite simply because of its bang for the buck status in my own head. YMMV.
Thanks for your detailed answer!
Unfortunately i have the Abyss AB-1266 and have placed an order on the Carbon, just because of the convenient size and price.
And i know i should order a Gold, but my thaughts go like; it will have like 4,5 times greater power than my current Hugo that have 320mW @47 Ohm, but im struggle with my wallet if i should buy a Rolex Submariner or a Crimson. But eaven if i buy the Crimson it will bottom out with my abyss maybe, so i need the Gold probably;(
Hard task
I actually prefer the President....
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