In the opening post, Todd says he sent the first unit out, but it’s not coming back. This is why: I have been MIA on these boards for nearly seven years – but for the best of reasons. In 2010 and 2011 I went through one of my periodic upgrading spasms, and came out so happy I haven’t done...

Quote: Agreed.  The V200 is the second-best amp in the world for the HD800.  Unfortunately no one agrees on the best in the world - but it's a lot more expensive than the Violectric.

I have two Pinnacles, bought new, and neither came with a manual.

Quote: Not so much a well-kept secret, but an inconvenient truth.  Forums about "the" LCD-3 or "the" HD800 or "the" anything else are essentially wasted breath, because of variation between samples - which is real, and often significant, and sometimes dramatic.   I used to work for...

Quote: That's a little patronizing.  Seems to me Naim FC's conclusions are right on the money.  That's the value of audio forums - we don't each have to reinvent the wheel all the time.  And I speak as one with first-hand experience of tubes amps since before you were born, probably.

My original comment about Saran Wrap was not about a veil or excessive treble shelving.  IMO those are not LCD-3 problems.  Saran Wrap is highly transparent, after all.   The comment was about dynamic nuance.  I felt - in terms of punctuation and expression and microdynamics - the music felt...

Quote: There really isn't a difference - except in the case of the V200, which is deliberately different than the other products on both sides of the house.  I think all their stuff is good, but if you like the V200 you won't necessarily like their other stuff, and vice versa.  

Quote: I have the V200 (actually, two* of them) among many, many fine amps, and I keep it as a kind of bench player.  It's fourth in line after three great tube amps (the cheapest of which is four times the V200's price.)  It gives me about 95% of the best in a reliable, relatively...

Quote: No, they're a very dark brown.  Great leather, great foam.

Red Book constraints are very tight, except for the reconstruction filter.  This means that if all else is done right (a big assumption, but plenty of manufacturers are there now, after 28 years) you are basically listening to the filter - it's the only variable, if all else is well engineered...

Quote: I heard the same thing with the original version, and was very sensitive to it, and posted about it at the time (and got flamed by the fanboys) - but the LCD-3 doesn't suffer from the same problem at all.   I think the LCD-3 has other problems, though, and it will never be my...

Quote: That's interesting.  Back in the 60s when I started out with music systems there were marked national differences between what was considered neutral sound.  German systems tended to be shriekingly bright by most standards.  The world has gotten smaller since then, and differences...

Quote: Many people are into headphones because they live in apartments, with small rooms, and neighbors.  I'm one of them.  It's not either/or - or both - for us.  It's headphones or no music.  I wish more posters remembered that.  

I like "path" and "mountain trail" in your OP, because it's definitely a journey, but it's multi-dimensional rather than linear.  I found myself appreciating "a" "b" and "c" in some of my early rigs, while being aware that "d" "e" and "f" were lacking, and then I would move on and get "a" "c"...

Quote: Neutral in itself, yes, but IMO also much more transparent to tube changes than almost any push-pull amp I have had.  For instance, TF drivers and TF power tubes are a too-bright combination in practically any amp, IMO, but TF drivers and Siemens power tubes in the Leben dial it...

Quote: Yes, the pot is a DACT2.  Based on experience with the original Pinnacle I had Pete fix the gain architecture 6db below the original's "unbalanced low" setting.  That gives the volume control a useful range under most circumstances.  

Quote: Sorry, I wasn't clear - the regular Pinnacle has a five-way gain matching knob, balanced and unbalanced IEM-Lo-Hi, which was one of the things I asked Pete to leave out.  The amp is set up for a 50 - 80 ohm unbalanced phone only.  But there's a volume control as normal - maybe hard...

^^ If you've got a good R1 with the R2 pads, I'd say you were most of the way to an LCD-3.  Enjoy!

Quote: I know.  I think the HD800 is a true great, and I had no problem at all accommodating its treble, but it's undeniably the product of a long process of drifting further and further away from a natural balance.

Thanks, Frank.  Yes, overall I like the LCD-3 better than the HD800.  The HD800 has a tiny edge in terms of precision and clarity, I guess, and certainly in terms of dimensionality, but the LCD-3 comes very close in terms of the former and isn't awful in terms of the latter, and ultimately its...

Quote: Well, I'm the guy who spent ten grand to get a slightly better Pinnacle, so yes, I think the LCD-3 is well worth a grand over the Rev 2.  Totally worth it.  It's a far better phone overall.  And I've always been curious as to why we feel headphones should be so relatively cheap -...

My LCD-3 Review           I wasn’t a huge fan of the original LCD-2.  There was a lot right with it - in particular a clear and transparent midrange, and a very persuasive and welcome approach to treble balance.  But for me it was handicapped by what I heard as a slightly...

Quote: Mine was 664, also preordered.  As of right now FedEx shows it in transit.

Quote: Well put - my feelings exactly.  Also I feel the R2's bass was much, much better than the R1's.  I disliked the R1 for what I felt was a plodding, wooden quality in the bass, but - speculating here - I felt the R2's thicker pads removed that effect, possibly by lossy mechanical...

Quote: Hey, I would doubt it too.  But it does.