[Frank I]

I asked Kingwa questions on the bass and never did get answers. only thing he told me was to wait for the revies on the amp for the lCD2. I am sure it is a language barrier but it is described as soft. To me soft means limited bass and dynamics.

 

[Philimon]

Nevermind. Found answer to my question.

 

[TRiN]

Quote:

I asked Kingwa questions on the bass and never did get answers. only thing he told me was to wait for the revies on the amp for the lCD2. I am sure it is a language barrier but it is described as soft. To me soft means limited bass and dynamics.

 
Quite keen on getting one of these. Exact wording as on the product webpage which I'm trying to grasp:-
 
Quote:

Its sound a bit softness, warm and relax, allow users pleasant for long time listen. Its sound on the musical side but it the detail and dynamic are still reproduced.

 

[mtntrance]

I read through the C2 SA info on the website.  I am not able to tell the benefit of the C2 from the C2 SA or vice versa except that the C2 allows a choice of different OP Amps.  Can anyone educate me a bit?

 

[Mad Max]

I imagine C-2 SA is slightly better because it uses the diamond differential circuits instead of relying on opamps, but I wouldn't know, you really should be asking Kingwa.

 

[BournePerfect]

So far I like it better with my k702s than I did my old modded m-stage, fwiw. These new akg's aren't even fully broken in either. And the bass is INCREDIBLE, deep as anything, very tight, controlled, with outstanding subtleties in the bass as well. I was floored when I listened to Billie Jean last night, and had never heard such details and dynamics from a headphone before! Keep in mind both my C-2 SA and my k702s each need at least 200 more hours burn-in too!  :O
 
-Daniel

 

[GreyArea]

OK, I'm subscribing.

Thanks for your initial impressions, Daniel. It's interesting that you prefer it to your m-stage. I hear that both stock and modded, the m-stage is quite a musical amp (in contrast to the BCL it's supposed to be based on).

Couple of questions:
I notice you own some other quality gear.

What source are you using with it? Ref9?
I'd love to hear how it compares to your Meier Concerto. I know there's a massive price difference but I'm still intrigued.

Thanks in advance.

 

[BournePerfect]

I should clarify some things because these haven't exactly been apple-apple comparisons.
 
First, when I had the M-Stage, I was 'only' feeding it with a uDac. My k702's had around 1000 hours of burn-in (they changed at 150, 250, 300, and about 800 believe it or not). The m-stage was browndog/op627 modded with full burn-in as well, about 200 hours. It was an absolutely wonderful combination, I felt like the synergy was there in all aspects. The bass was incredible, the harshness was GONE, and I thoroughly enjoyed almost all music genres on it, except for my beloved Killers (think rock/pop/electronic 80s throwbacks). Rap and grunge were insanely good too. For comparisons sake I enjoyed all of this better than I did on the DT 880/600s, 990/600s, D2000s, HD555s, and (lol) AD700s.
 
Now I have a completely burned in Reference 9 (500+ hours), a new K702 (only 130 hrs, not NEARLY enough IME), and the C-2 SA, which only has around 100 hours burn-in. And as I understand it, most Audio GD gear needs between 300-500 hours to completely burn-in.
 
What I can say right now, is that the dynamics of this set-up is truly amazing to me. I'm certain that the Ref 9 is probably responsible for a lot of this as well...thus more of an apples-oranges comparison unfortunately. The clarity, seperation, dynamics, and...tonality is definitely improved over my former setup. However, as of this second, the bass is not quite as tight (it'sthisclose) as it was on the Matrix. I'm prone to believe this is because the C-2 SA still needs some burnin...and the Akg's still need a lot as well. The k702's are still a bit shrill at this time as well, but I know for a fact from experience that this will eventually go away for the most part with more burn-in.
 
-Daniel 

 

[BournePerfect]

Oh I forgot to mention that I no longer have the Concerto...I think I need to update my equipment page lol. When I had the Concerto, I only had some DT 880/600s at the time with that. For me and my ears though...the m-stage/k702 combo completely trounced that pairing. But I think most of that can be attributed to me prefering the akg over the beyers anyway. And both were being fed by the lowly uDac.
 
-Daniel
 
PS: I am using Decware pure silver interconnects, and Decware power cords for both my dac and amp.

 

[GreyArea]

Daniel,

Thanks again.

I'm a 880/600 user so maybe it's time to invest in some 701/702s and see if I prefer them too!
I'm thinking that my power-hungry beyers will lap up the juice provided by the C2 SA.
Having said that, the Matrix is supposed to handle high impedance phones very well.

Sigh... I'm auditioning a Lehmann Black Cube Linear and Graham Slee Solo UL next week with my beyers and hd600s.
Now I've seen this new audio-gd unit, I'm wondering whether to drive to Harrow to audition one at ampcity.
If I can find somewhere that stocks a Matrix, I'll have the wherewithal for an epic write-up.

I havn't found anyone who's compared Audio-gd gear to Lehmann or GS.

 

[BournePerfect]

I don't think you could go wrong with either of them frankly. The nice thing about the Audio GD though, is that you will never have to worry about having enough power-even for orthos. The C2-SA also provides a lot of voltage swing-I'm sure it'll do great with the 600 ohm Beyers as well. I wish I still had mine to test with it. Keep in mind that if you buy the k702s...BURN THEM IN!!! At least 300 hours (no joke) before forming an opinion of them-they are terribly harsh out of the box, and the bass is lacking considerably as well. Even if you don't believe in burn-in, the K702 WILL change your mind! That being said, I found the DT 880s to sound VERY similar to the k702s when both were properly amped and broken in. My .02
 
-Daniel

 

[g5tar]

any more impressions on this amp?

 

[g5tar]

Quote:

I read through the C2 SA info on the website.  I am not able to tell the benefit of the C2 from the C2 SA or vice versa except that the C2 allows a choice of different OP Amps.  Can anyone educate me a bit?

the C2-SA is more powerful
 
: from the audio gd website
 
C2-SA    [size=x-small]25 ohm: 6000MW[/size]
[size=x-small]              50 ohm: 6000MW
              100 ohm: 3000MW
              300 ohm: 1000MW[/size]
 
C2[size=x-small]          62 ohm: 1000MW 
              100 ohm: 1000MW[/size]
 
correct me if i'm wrong, the C2-SA seems to big a good choice for the Orthos- Edwin at Audio GD says people are having good luck driving the he-6....more impressions on this amp would be great- i've been driving my 650s with ease- sounds superb
 
 

 

[oqvist]

Do Audio GDs description of the C-2 SA conform with your ears? "[size=x-small]Its sound a bit of softness, warm and relaxed, allows users to pleasantly listening for a long time. Its sound is on the musical side but the detail and dynamics are still reproduced.[/size]"
 
g5tar any noise issues with the LCD-2? How is that combo working for you? Was you able to compare it to the Gilmore Lite?

 

[BournePerfect]

I thought that description fit very well, which is why I think even tube-lovers would enjoy this amp-esp with the HE-6. I was pairing it with my Ref 9 while I had it too! I wish I still had my broken in k702s at the time because I felt like that would have made a very good pairing, esp for those who think the akgs are to harsh/bright. My .02
 
-Daniel

 
Quote:

Do Audio GDs description of the C-2 SA conform with your ears? "[size=x-small]Its sound a bit of softness, warm and relaxed, allows users to pleasantly listening for a long time. Its sound is on the musical side but the detail and dynamics are still reproduced.[/size]"
 
g5tar any noise issues with the LCD-2? How is that combo working for you? Was you able to compare it to the Gilmore Lite?