[MorbidToaster]

Mjolnir or BHA-1 for a budget stretcher.
 
Quote:

Guys I just bought myself a pair of second hand LCD 2.2s, and I now I'm also in the market for an amp to power these bad boys as well! I've tried reading through the 300+ pages of this thread but I don't really have the time... So, as of now, what is the best $1000 amp for the LCD 2.2? I won't really need a DAC I already have a pretty capable one, so a standalone amp is fine, but if there is a DAC/amp combo so good that I NEED to get it I would consider it Thanks in advance!
 
Side Note: I also kinda need this amp to power my other headphone, a HD650. From what I've heard amps like the Schiit Lyr and Burson Soloist the like are good options, but I like having more options

 

[longbowbbs]

Quote:

Guys I just bought myself a pair of second hand LCD 2.2s, and I now I'm also in the market for an amp to power these bad boys as well! I've tried reading through the 300+ pages of this thread but I don't really have the time... So, as of now, what is the best $1000 amp for the LCD 2.2? I won't really need a DAC I already have a pretty capable one, so a standalone amp is fine, but if there is a DAC/amp combo so good that I NEED to get it I would consider it Thanks in advance!
 
Side Note: I also kinda need this amp to power my other headphone, a HD650. From what I've heard amps like the Schiit Lyr and Burson Soloist the like are good options, but I like having more options

 
Awesome deal on AudiogoN on the Bryston BHA-1!
 
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/amplifiers-bryston-bha-1-balanced-headphone-amplifier-2013-01-21-headphones-07430-mahwah-nj

 

[MorbidToaster]

He said latest greatest but as far as I can tell from the specs he posted it doesn't have the Pre-out. Be careful and get pictures.
 
Quote:

 
Awesome deal on AudiogoN on the Bryston BHA-1!
 
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/amplifiers-bryston-bha-1-balanced-headphone-amplifier-2013-01-21-headphones-07430-mahwah-nj

 

[Argo Duck]

Jan Meier's Classic is also worth considering - Jan's best amp to date IMO. Quite a different animal from the fast but dry Concerto. Lots of power (current) for LCD2 and suits high-impedance 'phones too.
 
Would've recommended Decware Taboo (mark II) except it's just been replaced with mark III and a price rise to around $1400-1500

 
(And of course I haven't heard it yet!).

 

[Noobmachine]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, and I've kinda narrowed it down to the Mjolnir. The only problem is now I have to get both the LCD2 and HD650 re-terminated, and that's probably gonna be a bit pricey.... How much would it cost to recable them both with balanced XLR? Since the Mjolnir is quite a bit short of the $1000, I should have some left over to get the cables done. Thanks again!

 

[MorbidToaster]

I'd try to find someone in your area to reterminate your stock cables. They should both be fairly easy to make 'balanced'.
 
Quote:

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, and I've kinda narrowed it down to the Mjolnir. The only problem is now I have to get both the LCD2 and HD650 re-terminated, and that's probably gonna be a bit pricey.... How much would it cost to recable them both with balanced XLR? Since the Mjolnir is quite a bit short of the $1000, I should have some left over to get the cables done. Thanks again!

 

[Maxvla]

Audeze sells a balanced cable on their site for $80 so that is an option. Sadly no Sennheiser balanced cable for HD650. Plenty of them around though, maybe you can make a WTB thread and snag one someone never uses for cheap.

 

[Noobmachine]

Alright I just poked around and found out that cables alone will run me quite a bit, and I don't have the time or expertise to DIY them, so balanced amps are out of the picture. What single ended amps would you guys recommend?

 

[Maxvla]

Could probably get both LCD-2 and HD650 balanced cables for ~$200 total if you look hard enough for the HD650 cable. Mjolnir is $750 so if your budget is $1000 that still fits.

At worst you could buy new. Double Helix has a cable at $180 + $80 for LCD-2 cable = $260 + Mjolnir = $1010.

Found a stock HD650 cable with 2x3pin XLR for $100: http://www.headphone.com/accessories/sennheiserhr-balanced-stock-hd650-cable.php

 

[Noobmachine]

Could probably get both LCD-2 and HD650 balanced cables for ~$200 total if you look hard enough for the HD650 cable. Mjolnir is $750 so if your budget is $1000 that still fits.

At worst you could buy new. Double Helix has a cable at $180 + $80 for LCD-2 cable = $260 + Mjolnir = $1010.

Found a stock HD650 cable with 2x3pin XLR for $100: http://www.headphone.com/accessories/sennheiserhr-balanced-stock-hd650-cable.php

The thing is that shipping alone is $50 for the cable, and if I'm getting 2 of them from different sources plus shipping for the Mjolnir would end up at a +$150 :/ I'll do a little more browsing, if I can find some cables cheap locally I'll get the Mjolnir. In the meantime I'm considering other single output amps

 

[Barry S]

The thing is that shipping alone is $50 for the cable, and if I'm getting 2 of them from different sources plus shipping for the Mjolnir would end up at a +$150 :/ I'll do a little more browsing, if I can find some cables cheap locally I'll get the Mjolnir. In the meantime I'm considering other single output amps

The LCD2 and HD650 sound amazing out of the Mjolnir--really a good match. I'm sure you could find someone to reterminate both of your stock cables without a problem.

 

[Maxvla]

Ah. I didn't notice your location. Surely there is someone on a Singapore audio board you can meet up with to re-terminate your cables for cheap.

 

[varyV]

Hey guys...Gone through dozens of pages so far looking a suitable match for a potential LCD2 in my near future, one that would also play nice with the HE-500. I'm currently using the RSA Intruder to power my he-400s in balanced mode and this amp is pretty powerful, but I'm not sure if it can drive the LCD2s to their full extent. I also have the Hifi-m8 on pre-order, but that comes towards the end of q1. So, I'm stuck here in the meanwhile, looking at amps for the next level of my headphone travels. Budget is not much...I'm looking at ~$600 for an amp and dac. So far, I've shortlisted the search to the Project Sunrise II (around $250) and the Schiit Lyr. From reviews, the Sunrise compares very favorably against the Lyr, but I'd like to know if someone has had personal experience with both?

I would also like to keep the footprint/weight as light as possible (I'm away at college and there's not a ****-ton of room around). Any opinions on the amp/dac would be very welcome.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Hey guys...Gone through dozens of pages so far looking a suitable match for a potential LCD2 in my near future, one that would also play nice with the HE-500. I'm currently using the RSA Intruder to power my he-400s in balanced mode and this amp is pretty powerful, but I'm not sure if it can drive the LCD2s to their full extent. I also have the Hifi-m8 on pre-order, but that comes towards the end of q1. So, I'm stuck here in the meanwhile, looking at amps for the next level of my headphone travels. Budget is not much...I'm looking at ~$600 for an amp and dac. So far, I've shortlisted the search to the Project Sunrise II (around $250) and the Schiit Lyr. From reviews, the Sunrise compares very favorably against the Lyr, but I'd like to know if someone has had personal experience with both?

I would also like to keep the footprint/weight as light as possible (I'm away at college and there's not a ****-ton of room around). Any opinions on the amp/dac would be very welcome.

 
For affordable amp/dac combos one place to look is Audio-gd - Compass 2   http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/Compass%202/Compass2EN.htm

 

[Noobmachine]

Quote:

The LCD2 and HD650 sound amazing out of the Mjolnir--really a good match. I'm sure you could find someone to reterminate both of your stock cables without a problem.

 
Quote:

Ah. I didn't notice your location. Surely there is someone on a Singapore audio board you can meet up with to re-terminate your cables for cheap.

 
Just discovered BTG Audio, and I should be able to get a dual balanced XLR for each type of headphone for $250 plus shipping Looks like I'm getting a Mjolnir, I'll be back with impressions soon if everything goes well, thanks guys!