[deadie]

  Thank you very much for the review, deadie.  It's the first one I've read on this preamp/amp.
 
I'm interested in using this to drive a pr. of Hifiman HE-5LEs.  They show all the warts in poor recordings, meaning they can be a bit tizzy in the highs at times if it's on the recording.  I'm guessing this amp would power them without difficulty.  I was a little surprised that you heard no hint of warmth but rather just a clean, transparent sound.  Being Class A all the way, I was expecting some warmth and/or lushness to be in there somewhere. 
 
I'm glad they worked well with your orthos.  Congrats on your purchase.  If you have anymore comments as the burn-in progresses, please share them with the community.  TIA.

 
Good points.  I readily admit I don't have most neutral ears on the block given my preference towards warm McIntosh sound (to balance out the HD800).  That said, the fact that I still liked the C-2 Class A's sound profile despite preferring a given tilted warm sound, tells me that the C-2 must still be warm-ish, it's just a bit more clean than the Mac house sound.
 
I really love how it plays with my UERMs.  So clean, such a black background, and pure sound.  The Hugo in comparison is a bit richer, voices are more satisfying, but it's a ton more money.  The Centrance M8 is a fair bit duller than the C-2, but actually has more boom punch, just quite cloudier.

 

[WhiskeyJacks]

   
I don't recall any version of the audio-gd DAC would use dual Sabre DAC chips. There was a Wolfson version of the NFB-10 which may have used dual WM8741 chips.
 
The latest NFB-6 may be a better option compare to the old NFB-10 as it has better USB input. The people in the Chinese forum are saying the NFB-6 also drives the HE-560 very well.

Yes I found out this dac/amp has the Dual 8741 chips, and is fully balanced, which I was thinking it would not be honestly because of the lettering after the the model 10se. SO, I am thinking about grabbing this or the 10.33, because I heard from a few people now that it is a great mix with their HE560s. I am thinking about trying out the 10se and hopefully being happy. I guess I can use it as a DAC only as well.

 

[i019791]

   
Good points.  I readily admit I don't have most neutral ears on the block given my preference towards warm McIntosh sound (to balance out the HD800).  That said, the fact that I still liked the C-2 Class A's sound profile despite preferring a given tilted warm sound, tells me that the C-2 must still be warm-ish, it's just a bit more clean than the Mac house sound.
 
I really love how it plays with my UERMs.  So clean, such a black background, and pure sound.  The Hugo in comparison is a bit richer, voices are more satisfying, but it's a ton more money.  The Centrance M8 is a fair bit duller than the C-2, but actually has more boom punch, just quite cloudier.

Is it possible to post impressions with the jumpers for warmer sound on, especially with HD800 ?

 

[zilch0md]

+1

 

[BillJGW]

Thanks deadie for all of your insights.  I'm in total agreement with you on the older McIntosh gear as I've heard many different preamps and power amps of that vintage. It's not uber-revealing but is pleasant to listen to and is non-fatiguing.
 
From other comments, the C-2 Class A has jumpers that can make it sound warmer?  I wasn't aware of this.
 
Edit: Doh!  Found it.

 

[deadie]

Is it possible to post impressions with the jumpers for warmer sound on, especially with HD800 ?

 
Ah right, I forgot to mention this.  I had Kingwa set the jumpers at the factory to 1) "warm" setting and 2) normal gain.  
 
He advised me that higher gain would provide boost, but at potential cost of higher noise floor.  That's likely not be a big deal with the HD800 but I wanted this amp to be as silent as possible with my IEMs, and it indeed performs well in this regard.
 
I'll be sticking with these settings for a while, but will follow up when I adjust the jumpers.

 

[deadie]

Thanks deadie for all of your insights.  I'm in total agreement with you on the older McIntosh gear as I've heard many different preamps and power amps of that vintage. It's not uber-revealing but is pleasant to listen to and is non-fatiguing.

 
Definitely. 
 
For more context... I also own the Emotiva Mini-X amp, 50wpc, originally bought to use the speaker taps to power the LCD-2 v1.  This was fairly disappointing in that the Emo is noisy and dry sounding.  It gave the LCD-2 more output, but it was shouty and not musical.  
 
But that was before I learned about Mac preamps.  Now having owned the C35 and C31V, I admit I love the coloration it brings to the party.  Putting a Mac preamp between my DAC and Emo amp sounds considerably better, but again, still quite noisy.  The Mac itself is not silent and the Emo just makes things worse.  But this combo gives better richness to the music, sufficient power, just abundant hiss.
 
With the first gen Schiit Lyr, I was hoping to get gobs of lush power.  Instead, however, it was tons of sorta mushy thick power.  And I went through 3 sets of tubes, from stock, to something else, to the Gold Lions.  Interesting experiment, but wasn't for me.  I do wonder how the gen2 product fares.
 
That's why I got the C-2 - I assumed its quality components would make for a quiet amp and I was right.  This amp is a good clean platform to hear the impact of other sound shapers such as my Mac preamps, or the musicality of the Chord Hugo.
 
Ultimately, though, the C-2 is still a value, bang-for-buck play.  For _both_ the HD800 and LCD-X, I believe the Aurelic Taurus MkII to be the right amp at the least painful price.  Tremendous power & bass, very musical, silent enough.  
 
Regarding other amps, IMO, the GSX sounds stellar but is too expensive with too long lead times.  The MHD-100 would be my lotto winnings headphone amp.   Best quality sound, looks, and value retention.

 

[BillJGW]

Man, deadie, am I glad you posted this stuff about the Emo mini-X amp.  I was halfway considering this amp because of it's low cost but was concerned about it being at the very bottom of the Emotiva line.  Guess I can cross it off the list.

  For more context... I also own the Emotiva Mini-X amp, 50wpc, originally bought to use the speaker taps to power the LCD-2 v1.  This was fairly disappointing in that the Emo is noisy and dry sounding.  It gave the LCD-2 more output, but it was shouty and not musical.  

 

[i019791]

   
 
Ultimately, though, the C-2 is still a value, bang-for-buck play.  For _both_ the HD800 and LCD-X, I believe the Aurelic Taurus MkII to be the right amp at the least painful price.  Tremendous power & bass, very musical, silent enough.  
 
Regarding other amps, IMO, the GSX sounds stellar but is too expensive with too long lead times.  The MHD-100 would be my lotto winnings headphone amp.   Best quality sound, looks, and value retention.

And where would you position the Audio gd M9 ?

 

[zilch0md]

Hi deadie!
 
Quote:

   
Definitely. 
 
For more context... I also own the Emotiva Mini-X amp, 50wpc, originally bought to use the speaker taps to power the LCD-2 v1.  This was fairly disappointing in that the Emo is noisy and dry sounding.  It gave the LCD-2 more output, but it was shouty and not musical.  
 

 
+1  
 
Been there done that - reaching the same conclusion. 

 
Quoting one of my posts in the speaker amp thread from August 2013:
 

I'm with you on all of that, as I've been using the Emotiva > LCD-2 without resistors for about a month now, without issues.  I am not, however, completely satisfied with the Emotiva itself being a bit bright for my tastes, even with the shelved highs of the LCD-2, and a wee bit harsh, too.    
I've been running the Decware ZSTAGE tube buffer to take the edge off the treble, currently using an NOS Siemens 12AU7, having tried rolling several tubes already. 
 
[snip]

 
In the end, I got rid of both the Emotiva Mini-X and the Decware ZStage, as my LCD-2 rev.1 was a lot happier with the CEntrance DACmini CX, which even outperforms the Burson Soloist with the LCD-2, in my opinion - another amp I ended up selling after several months.
 
---
 

  [snip]
 
With the first gen Schiit Lyr, I was hoping to get gobs of lush power.  Instead, however, it was tons of sorta mushy thick power.  And I went through 3 sets of tubes, from stock, to something else, to the Gold Lions.  Interesting experiment, but wasn't for me.  I do wonder how the gen2 product fares.
 
[snip]
 
 

 
+ 1
 
Been there, done that, too, again reaching the same conclusion as you!  

 
Back in 2011, I upset some Lyr fans by posting to the Schiit Lyr appreciation thread - reporting that my 15V-powered Stepdance portable amp sounded more detailed and transparent (with almost as good dynamics), as a Schiit Lyr that I had borrowed from another Head-Fi member for 30 days. Like you, I tried 3 additional sets of tubes, including some expensive Mullard NOS, but to no avail - the original Schiit Lyr sounded "woolly" with the LCD-2 rev.1, and we're not even talking about a particularly high-resolving headphone.  Jason Stoddard very graciously offered to inspect the Lyr, paying for postage both ways, and even gave me a "better" pair of tubes, but pronounced it to be in perfect working order. I stood my ground, calling it as I heard it, and the furor finally died down...
 
 
Conclusion:  I'm going to be paying attention to your recommendations, deadie.
 

 
You've really got me going on this talk of using vintage gear with the HD800...
 
Thanks,
 
Mike

 

[deadie]

And where would you position the Audio gd M9 ?

 
Alas, I have not heard the Master 9, whereas I base my other amp impressions on numerous listening sessions.  I'd love to hear the M9, though, and hope to come across it at a meet.
 
Since we're talking about other amps... I've also owned and returned the Questyle and Senn's own amp.  The latter, is as you'd expect, a great match with the HD800.  Quite powerful in balanced mode, very musical, just the *right* sound.  I ultimately returned it b/c it wasn't so great with other cans and it's too expensive to be a mono-can-amp.
 
The Questyle is much more polarizing.  It has a number of fans on this forum, but it just didn't do it for me, not sure why.  

 

[deadie]

Conclusion:  I'm going to be paying attention to your recommendations, deadie.

You've really got me going on this talk of using vintage gear with the HD800...
Thanks,
Mike

 
Doggone it Mike, if only I was aware of your impressions, then I could have saved myself the expense of the Emo and the Lyr!  

 
But, and you may agree, this is as much for the journey as anything else.  I very much appreciate my current gear, and most importantly, I know why.  If I went straight to buying the MHA-100 or a Liquid Gold, it would be satisfying but with still kind of a hollow feeling.   
 
Schiit gear is somewhat of a bummer head scratcher to me. I've owned the Lyr, Modi, and Magni and sold them all.  I've heard the Mjolnir at numerous meets, and heard the Rag prototype twice, most recently this past May at THE Audio Show.  Just may not be my thing.  I love Jason's story and definitely support USA made products, so I'm kinda bummed at not being entirely jazzed by the products.  That said, I still need to hear all the v2 stuff.
 
Bringing this back to the new C-2, after owning the Compass and C2C a few years back, I wasn't drawn back to Kingwa's products until reading about the Master 9.  Then he came out with the C-2 Class A, and it all just resonated with me.    

 

[BillJGW]

Deadie, do you have any interest in being a guinea pig for the rest of us here and trying out your C-2 Class A in various jumper configurations (warm, not warm)?  No pressure or anything, heh-heh.

 

[deadie]

Deadie, do you have any interest in being a guinea pig for the rest of us here and trying out your C-2 Class A in various jumper configurations (warm, not warm)?  No pressure or anything, heh-heh.

 
I definitely plan on posting impressions with different jumper settings.  Kingwa has told me the amp will require a good amount of burn in.  I'm just enjoying the amp right now and am getting used to its sound profile before trying to discern the effects of the gain / warm jumpers.

 

[BillJGW]

Sounds like a plan.  Looking forward to your impressions.