[mrcasey]

Perhaps you might consider Yulong's new A28 amp.  It would stack perfectly with the DA8, is fully balanced and will likely have a more "airy" presentation than the A18.  Cost is approx 700.00.  At least wait for some reviews.  Regarding the LCD2, I have since upgraded to the LCD3 and noticed an appreciable improvement in the high frequency presentation.

 

[FLguy]

  Perhaps you might consider Yulong's new A28 amp.  It would stack perfectly with the DA8, is fully balanced and will likely have a more "airy" presentation than the A18.  Cost is approx 700.00.  At least wait for some reviews.  Regarding the LCD2, I have since upgraded to the LCD3 and noticed an appreciable improvement in the high frequency presentation.

 
Thanks for the suggestions and info.
 
Yeah, I don't doubt that the LCD-3s sound better. Of course, they are ~2x the price also . 
 
And of course, I believe that the A28 is balanced only, is that correct?  If so, I'd need to get a different cable for the LCD-2s, and any other 'phones to be used with the A28 which could be a bit limiting for which headphones I could use with the amp (without recabling).  But then Schiit and others do this too with some models so it's not unheard of, of course.  
 
As I recall Yulong warns against XLR to RCA converters with their gear. Not sure whether there would be any issue(s) with using an RCA to XLR converter. Seems like it might defeat some of the benefit of the balanced design of the A28 also.
 
Plenty more food for thought .  I appreciate the input & ideas though!

 

[DarKen23]

 
Perhaps you might consider Yulong's new A28 amp.  It would stack perfectly with the DA8, is fully balanced and will likely have a more "airy" presentation than the A18.  Cost is approx 700.00.  At least wait for some reviews.  Regarding the LCD2, I have since upgraded to the LCD3 and noticed an appreciable improvement in the high frequency presentation.

Thanks for the suggestions and info.

Yeah, I don't doubt that the LCD-3s sound better. Of course, they are ~2x the price also . 

And of course, I believe that the A28 is balanced only, is that correct?  If so, I'd need to get a different cable for the LCD-2s, and any other 'phones to be used with the A28 which could be a bit limiting for which headphones I could use with the amp (without recabling).  But then Schiit and others do this too with some models so it's not unheard of, of course.  

As I recall Yulong warns against XLR to RCA converters with their gear. Not sure whether there would be any issue(s) with using an RCA to XLR converter. Seems like it might defeat some of the benefit of the balanced design of the A28 also.

Plenty more food for thought .  I appreciate the input & ideas though!

If I read correctly, the A28 has a more neutral presentation over the A18's warmness.

As for the balanced topic, if you went with a Mjolnir, you'd have to go balanced anyways as well.

I still feel that you should get the Mjolnir if the LCD will be your primary headphone. Were talking about an amp with a completely different character, it was tailored for the LCD.

 

[FLguy]

If I read correctly, the A28 has a more neutral presentation over the A18's warmness.

As for the balanced topic, if you went with a Mjolnir, you'd have to go balanced anyways as well.

I still feel that you should get the Mjolnir if the LCD will be your primary headphone. Were talking about an amp with a completely different character, it was tailored for the LCD.

 
Yeah, that's what I've been able to gather about the A28 also.
 
And yep, I think that's the fundamental question at this point - whether I will keep the LCD-2s and find an amp that work better with them (such as the Mjolnir perhaps), or return the LCD-2s and go with an amp that is more flexible, usable with good results with multiple headphones.
 
For what it's worth, I wouldn't describe my issue with the A18/LCD-2 combination as excessive warmness across the board. a) It seems to affect mostly the highs and upper mids, and b) it sounds to me more like some kind of drive issue (although I could be wrong in this).
 
To my ears at least, the effect sounds kind of like what you get if you use low impedance headphones with an OTL tube amp - rolled off highs, with significantly reduced energy or air.
 
Just for fun, I think I'm going to have enough time to try the A18/LCD-2 combination with a balanced cable and see if that changes anything before I have to decide whether to change the headphones or the amp.

 

[DarKen23]

If I read correctly, the A28 has a more neutral presentation over the A18's warmness.


As for the balanced topic, if you went with a Mjolnir, you'd have to go balanced anyways as well.


I still feel that you should get the Mjolnir if the LCD will be your primary headphone. Were talking about an amp with a completely different character, it was tailored for the LCD.

Yeah, that's what I've been able to gather about the A28 also.

And yep, I think that's the fundamental question at this point - whether I will keep the LCD-2s and find an amp that work better with them (such as the Mjolnir perhaps), or return the LCD-2s and go with an amp that is more flexible, usable with good results with multiple headphones.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't describe my issue with the A18/LCD-2 combination as excessive warmness across the board. a) It seems to affect mostly the highs and upper mids, and it sounds to me more like some kind of drive issue (although I could be wrong in this).

To my ears at least, the effect sounds kind of like what you get if you use low impedance headphones with an OTL tube amp - rolled off highs, with significantly reduced energy or air.

Just for fun, I think I'm going to have enough time to try the A18/LCD-2 combination with a balanced cable and see if that changes anything before I have to decide whether to change the headphones or the amp.

I agree, an overly warm sound isn't apparent with the A18, I think that's another beauty of the A18. However, if you were to do a direct comparison of the A18 to a neutral amp, the difference would be clear.

Fwiw, if I had an LCD, I'd never even consider a 'warm' amp, that's just me though.

 

[FLguy]

I agree, an overly warm sound isn't apparent with the A18, I think that's another beauty of the A18. However, if you were to do a direct comparison of the A18 to a neutral amp, the difference would be clear.

Fwiw, if I had an LCD, I'd never even consider a 'warm' amp, that's just me though.

 
From what I can tell, there are those who would debate whether the A18 is warm, or to what extent (which is part of how I got here), but that aside...
 
Back to the question asked by the OP, I agree - I think we both feel and would recommend that the combination of A18 & LCD-2 is not ideal. So far at least... I'll provide an update if I find that using a balanced output and balanced cable changes things appreciably. (I'm not expecting a miracle, but we'll see!)

 

[mrcasey]

   
Thanks for the suggestions and info.
 
Yeah, I don't doubt that the LCD-3s sound better. Of course, they are ~2x the price also . 
 
And of course, I believe that the A28 is balanced only, is that correct?  If so, I'd need to get a different cable for the LCD-2s, and any other 'phones to be used with the A28 which could be a bit limiting for which headphones I could use with the amp (without recabling).  But then Schiit and others do this too with some models so it's not unheard of, of course.  
 
As I recall Yulong warns against XLR to RCA converters with their gear. Not sure whether there would be any issue(s) with using an RCA to XLR converter. Seems like it might defeat some of the benefit of the balanced design of the A28 also.
 
Plenty more food for thought .  I appreciate the input & ideas though!

 
The A28 is both balanced and single ended.  1 4 pin port for balanced only. 2 1/4 inch ports for balanced "left and right channel" or single ended "high and low impedance".  

 

[project86]

A28 on the way, we shall see if Yulong has another winner on his hands.

 

[FLguy]

   
The A28 is both balanced and single ended.  1 4 pin port for balanced only. 2 1/4 inch ports for balanced "left and right channel" or single ended "high and low impedance".  

 
Ah, thanks for the info!
 
Of course, so far we (I at least) don't know whether the A28 will sound different, and if so, in what ways... Looking forward to Project86 and other's reviews.

 

[mrcasey]

Forgot to mention that both 1/4 inch jacks also accept 3 pin  connections.  

 

[DarKen23]

A28 on the way, we shall see if Yulong has another winner on his hands.

Nice, I look forward to your review as always.

I think the A28 has a tall hurtle to go over with the questyle amp on the market.

 

[Viper2005]

Nice, I look forward to your review as always.

I think the A28 has a tall hurtle to go over with the questyle amp on the market.

I considered the questyle, but they don't have a 4 pin balanced version of their amp... And I'm not buying two of the amps to get the dual mono! For that price I can get a GSX II .

 

[Viper2005]

Double post

 

[DarKen23]

Nice, I look forward to your review as always.

I think the A28 has a tall hurtle to go over with the questyle amp on the market.

I considered the questyle, but they don't have a 4 pin balanced version of their amp... And I'm not buying two of the amps to get the dual mono! For that price I can get a GSX II .

so let me get this right, you've considered spending 1k on this amp but you won't because you refuse to shell out a few bucks on a xlr?

 

[mrcasey]

Nice, I look forward to your review as always.

I think the A28 has a tall hurtle to go over with the questyle amp on the market.

Isn't the Questyle a lot more expensive than the A28 (like 2.5 times the price)?  Not sure they belong in the same category for direct head to head competition.  It would be a sad day indeed for Questile if the A28 equals it.