[DefQon]

Quote:

 
For once we agree.  Like I said befor the best I've heard the LCD-2 was on the Mjolnir.  That is is neutral to being  a tad bit on the bright side..

We've agreed with things more than just that (just not about the b22). But hey more the power to both us for liking and preferring different things. I reckon even a standard 2 channel b22 will match with the LCD2's, haven't tried mine in a while, both my b22 is on open bench.
Quote:

We must be from the same planet! I completely agree with everything you've said here!

Listen to DefQon, folks. He's spot on.



Mike

 

[DeadEars]

I somewhat agree with this point of view, however, the LCD-2 won't put back what isn't there.  So a bright amp that's starved for harmonic texture won't sound all that great. 
 
I still prefer tubed amps with my LCD-2's.  That said, I was surprised at a mini-meet to hear how great they sounded with the Bryston BHA-1 (mine are LCD-2.1).  Tons of clean bass, a midrange that sounded "right" and a high end that was not brash or harsh.  Cymbals and piccolo's sounded just right, not splashy or screechy.  There were some bigger dollar amps there that did not do so well.  I've heard good-sounding B22's, but the 2-box unit that was at the mini-meet was a bit boring compared to the Bryston. 
 
My heavily modded Mapletree Audio amp did pretty well, even if it does sound a bit too pretty and romantic.  It delivers nearly 1.5W into the LCD's with alternate output transformers and boosted B+ on the EL84 output tubes.  But the Bryston was a big surprise to me!  By the way, the B22's sounded better to me with the Sennheiser HD600's, and the Bryston sounded less good.  So there is certainly something about synergy, you can't just buy by the numbers.

 

[PinkLed]

The Lyr is incredible with the right tubes. With the stock tubes its just mediocre. Amperex 66' PQ o-getters have been serving me well with it. Tube rolling is a nice way to get new sounds without having to spend mega bucks on a brand new rig. 

 

[preproman]

Quote:

I somewhat agree with this point of view, however, the LCD-2 won't put back what isn't there.  So a bright amp that's starved for harmonic texture won't sound all that great. 
 
I still prefer tubed amps with my LCD-2's.  That said, I was surprised at a mini-meet to hear how great they sounded with the Bryston BHA-1 (mine are LCD-2.1).  Tons of clean bass, a midrange that sounded "right" and a high end that was not brash or harsh.  Cymbals and piccolo's sounded just right, not splashy or screechy.  There were some bigger dollar amps there that did not do so well.  I've heard good-sounding B22's, but the 2-box unit that was at the mini-meet was a bit boring compared to the Bryston. 
 
My heavily modded Mapletree Audio amp did pretty well, even if it does sound a bit too pretty and romantic.  It delivers nearly 1.5W into the LCD's with alternate output transformers and boosted B+ on the EL84 output tubes.  But the Bryston was a big surprise to me!  By the way, the B22's sounded better to me with the Sennheiser HD600's, and the Bryston sounded less good.  So there is certainly something about synergy, you can't just buy by the numbers.

 
 
I second the LCD-2 / BHA-1 combo.. Same with the LCD / Mjolnir..

 

[Justin_Time]

I second the LCD-2 / BHA-1 combo.. Same with the LCD / Mjolnir..

I arrived at similar conclusion with additional shades of variation.

I started from the assumption that no piece of equipment is perfect. The ultimate reference for me is live music (The Myerson Concert Hall in Dallas) and the practical reference is my stereo system (Avid Acutus/SME V/Lyra Titan; Rowland Research consummate and Wilson Watts/Puppies 8)..

LCD2/LCD3--Things I like: coherent sound across audible range; tremendous bass impact; tight focus; front-row, you-are-there imaging. Things I don't like: constricted soundstage; a honking (hollow and echoey midrange coloration; caramel coloration over everything imparting a darkness to the sound. If you like the "strengths" and do not mind the "weaknesses" then you do not have to do any sound tailoring to your taste. You just pick the most neutral cable and amp and you're done.

I had to do a lot of careful selection of cables and amps to preserve or reinforce what I like and minimizing or eliminating what I do not like.

Cable--I found that silver cables are best at preserving/re-inforcing the strengths and reducing/eliminating the weaknesses--to my ears-- of the LCD2/3. Tighter, better controlled bass, wider soundstage; still tight focus but more realistic image (about third row) and much less darkness in the sound. Best QPR silver cables I found were by Toxic Cables: Silver Poison (OCC silver + gold cable); Silver Widow (Litz silver cable). OCC coper re-informed bot the strength and weaknes of the LCD.

Amps-- Vioelectric V200: very clean midrange; good sound stage; good bass impact; no more honking; just minimal darkness left. Bryston BHA-1: similar to V200 but even better bass impact and slightly better improvement in all department. But there is a peculiar lack of excitement to the sound compared to the V200 and especially relative to the next amp. Schiit Mjolnir: add more sparkles to the sound. The LCD came alive, especially compared to the Bryston, but at a price: the sound is fatiguing in the long run--perhaps too much of a good thing. RWA Corvina: Another step up; great bass impact (in balanced mode); wonderful midange; more natural imaging; and very detailed, musical treble. Unfortunately, too much of the darkness remained but if you are a fan of the caramel-colored sound, you'd love this combo. GSX-1 Mk2: overall probably the best sound I got from the LCDs. The darkness is gone without any detrimental effect on the inherent strengths of the LCDs. However, I wished there were a tiny bit more bass impact. I have good success using the LCD2/3 with the Peak/Vocano, Cavalli LF and Woo WA5-LE. But I prefer to give these amps more discussion space that I have today.

 

[AManAnd88Keys]

Quote:

Cable--I found that silver cables are best at preserving/re-inforcing the strengths and reducing/eliminating the weaknesses--to my ears-- of the LCD2/3. Tighter, better controlled bass, wider soundstage; still tight focus but more realistic image (about third row) and much less darkness in the sound. Best QPR silver cables I found were by Toxic Cables: Silver Poison (OCC silver + gold cable); Silver Widow (Litz silver cable). OCC coper re-informed bot the strength and weaknes of the LCD.

I don't want to go off topic, but the Silver Poison and Silver Widow are both Silver+Gold cables.

 

[commtrd]

I don't want to go off topic, but the Silver Poison and Silver Widow are both Silver+Gold cables.

Well that's great to read in regards to the Toxic Cables since I just paid $460 for a Silver Widow with the Neutrik connectors. Really anticipating getting the cable and hopefully it will put the finishing touches on my LCD2.2s.

 

[DemonFox]

Quote:

Quote:

I second the LCD-2 / BHA-1 combo.. Same with the LCD / Mjolnir..

I arrived at similar conclusion with additional shades of variation.

I started from the assumption that no piece of equipment is perfect. The ultimate reference for me is live music (The Myerson Concert Hall in Dallas) and the practical reference is my stereo system (Avid Acutus/SME V/Lyra Titan; Rowland Research consummate and Wilson Watts/Puppies 8)..

LCD2/LCD3--Things I like: coherent sound across audible range; tremendous bass impact; tight focus; front-row, you-are-there imaging. Things I don't like: constricted soundstage; a honking (hollow and echoey midrange coloration; caramel coloration over everything imparting a darkness to the sound. If you like the "strengths" and do not mind the "weaknesses" then you do not have to do any sound tailoring to your taste. You just pick the most neutral cable and amp and you're done.

I had to do a lot of careful selection of cables and amps to preserve or reinforce what I like and minimizing or eliminating what I do not like.

Cable--I found that silver cables are best at preserving/re-inforcing the strengths and reducing/eliminating the weaknesses--to my ears-- of the LCD2/3. Tighter, better controlled bass, wider soundstage; still tight focus but more realistic image (about third row) and much less darkness in the sound. Best QPR silver cables I found were by Toxic Cables: Silver Poison (OCC silver + gold cable); Silver Widow (Litz silver cable). OCC coper re-informed bot the strength and weaknes of the LCD.

Amps-- Vioelectric V200: very clean midrange; good sound stage; good bass impact; no more honking; just minimal darkness left. Bryston BHA-1: similar to V200 but even better bass impact and slightly better improvement in all department. But there is a peculiar lack of excitement to the sound compared to the V200 and especially relative to the next amp. Schiit Mjolnir: add more sparkles to the sound. The LCD came alive, especially compared to the Bryston, but at a price: the sound is fatiguing in the long run--perhaps too much of a good thing. RWA Corvina: Another step up; great bass impact (in balanced mode); wonderful midange; more natural imaging; and very detailed, musical treble. Unfortunately, too much of the darkness remained but if you are a fan of the caramel-colored sound, you'd love this combo. GSX-1 Mk2: overall probably the best sound I got from the LCDs. The darkness is gone without any detrimental effect on the inherent strengths of the LCDs. However, I wished there were a tiny bit more bass impact. I have good success using the LCD2/3 with the Peak/Vocano, Cavalli LF and Woo WA5-LE. But I prefer to give these amps more discussion space that I have today.

 
What you did there was very helpful thank you very much. I have the Burson HA-160DS arriving today and I can't wait to see how it all works but if it doesn't you gave me a lot of different options to consider so either way this is going to work. 
 
Have anyone of you tried either the SR-71a or Portaphile 627 with the LCD's? I'm thinking of just going portable but I need one that is strong enough to push the LCD's and my soon to be Fostex cans to full potential. Needs loads of power and a good bottom end. Bass adjustments are a serious plus (to me). ALO RxMk3 is high on the list as well. Apex Glacier too.
 
Help me out here gang.
 
 
Thanks,
 
 

 

[preproman]

Quote:

GSX-1 Mk2: 

 
 

  What's that??

 

[DemonFox]

My Burson came in finally (woot) HA-160DS say hello... 
 
 
 
 

 
 
First impression is this thing is clean. Not matter what volume I cranked this little sucker to it handled it with zero problem. No cracking or nasty highs and sloppy bass over here. Clean clear crisp smooth sound. I would like a little bit more focus in the lower end, the sub-bass with the LCD's doesn't need a lot of help but a little more umph would have gone a long way. So far so good!! The only other mid-level I've had was the EF5 from Hifiman and this is a better amp plus the DAC isn't half bad so I'm pleased so far. 
 
 
Thanks,
 
 

 

[kothganesh]

Quote:

 
What you did there was very helpful thank you very much. I have the Burson HA-160DS arriving today and I can't wait to see how it all works but if it doesn't you gave me a lot of different options to consider so either way this is going to work. 
 
Have anyone of you tried either the SR-71a or Portaphile 627 with the LCD's? I'm thinking of just going portable but I need one that is strong enough to push the LCD's and my soon to be Fostex cans to full potential. Needs loads of power and a good bottom end. Bass adjustments are a serious plus (to me). ALO RxMk3 is high on the list as well. Apex Glacier too.
 
Help me out here gang.
 
 
Thanks,
 
 

I have the SR 71-B as part of my portable rig (paired to the CLAS -dB) with the LCD 2.2. Its a very, very good amplifier and adds to the strengths of the 2.2.

 

[myap2328]

May I know what are the minimum to get these cans running, to at least a decent level. Modi/Magni? O2/ODAC? Or 
have anyone heard of the iFi iCan/iDac or Graham Slee Novo and MicroMega MyDac?

 

[OPR8R]

Quote:

May I know what are the minimum to get these cans running, to at least a decent level. Modi/Magni? O2/ODAC? Or 
have anyone heard of the iFi iCan/iDac or Graham Slee Novo and MicroMega MyDac?

Audeze says 1W (@50ohms)  is bare minimum.  More than that would be better/best.

 

[myap2328]

Audeze says 1W (@50ohms)  is bare minimum.  More than that would be better/best.

Yea, but any names you know?

 

[DefQon]

40watts @ 8ohms. Is that enough for the LCD2's?