[klyzon]

   
 
EDIT: This is what I meant when I talk about fanboys. Schiit intentionally excluded a component that is critical to power delivery safety, but somehow their fanboys still think Schiit is right and definitely not at fault. Instead it's the user's fault for blowing their headphones (excellently said by cuiter23). I've gone through this argument several times, but all replies always end with 'Schiit is still great!' or 'The Asgard still sounds good!'. There's no point in cooking up a reply to mine, I'm done debating this.

 
 
i got the wa7 so no problem there 

 

[taxiq]

  Well, I guess you better never, ever buy an amplifier and tower speakers, because it's actually pretty easy to blow speakers up with normal amplifiers if you don't know how to match them. As another user said, the onus is on you. The'yre providing you an amp with really high power, telling you upfront exactly what power it will deliver to your headphones, and that it doesn't give a damn if your headphones can handle the power or not. I'm a big fan of this, personally. It just requires you to understand your headphones and your amp better.
 
It's not a critical device by any stretch of the imagination. Many companies put as few devices in the signal path as they can. Others put more in there so they won't ever have to deal with people's problems. It's just a design philosophy.

 
Please excuse my confusion, but the Asgard 2 manual specifically states it has a relay mute, quote from manual FAQ:  "Can I leave my headphones plugged in all the time? Yes. Asgard 2 includes a time-delayed relay mute, so you can leave headphones plugged in as you turn it on and off."      Problem solved?    
 
FWIW, am interested in an amp for my newly arrived LCD 2, which sound terrific when powered by  a preamp, but am wondering if  there is better out there, thus Schiit is on the horizon.

 

[cuiter23]

   
Please excuse my confusion, but the Asgard 2 manual specifically states it has a relay mute, quote from manual FAQ:  "Can I leave my headphones plugged in all the time? Yes. Asgard 2 includes a time-delayed relay mute, so you can leave headphones plugged in as you turn it on and off."      Problem solved?    
 
FWIW, am interested in an amp for my newly arrived LCD 2, which sound terrific when powered by  a preamp, but am wondering if  there is better out there, thus Schiit is on the horizon.

 
The amplifiers at hand are the Asgard "1" and Lyr "1"
 
Either way, I would still unplug the shut off. That click is unsatisfying.

 

[jodgey4]

   
Please excuse my confusion, but the Asgard 2 manual specifically states it has a relay mute, quote from manual FAQ:  "Can I leave my headphones plugged in all the time? Yes. Asgard 2 includes a time-delayed relay mute, so you can leave headphones plugged in as you turn it on and off."      Problem solved?    
 
FWIW, am interested in an amp for my newly arrived LCD 2, which sound terrific when powered by  a preamp, but am wondering if  there is better out there, thus Schiit is on the horizon.

Which pre-amp? Does it have a dedicated headphone amplifier? If not, any Class A amplifier that can do 500mW+ into your model would really do the trick .

 

[taxiq]

  Which pre-amp? Does it have a dedicated headphone amplifier? If not, any Class A amplifier that can do 500mW+ into your model would really do the trick .

Pass Labs X1 off the pre's RCA's by an AudioQuest  RCA to trs 3.5  cable (until Audeze's balanced cable and balanced adapter arrives.   What I am hearing from the pre is quite impressive with all my cans, EL- 8, HD 600, HD 570, but the LCD 2's are distinctly the best of the bunch.    It would seem the X1 does the trick.  
 
EDIT:  plus 3 weeks and have pickup a rag and while the X1 still does the trick the rag does it better.   How so, just providing a more richer, more dynamic, more satisfying music experience enough so that the added cost is well spent.
 
enjoyin' the music, hope you are too. 

 

[jodgey4]

Interesting... I'm surprised you get enough power. Idk how comfortable I'd feel running off the pre-outs, but I guess if it sounds good that's all that matters . Most pre-amps are designed to run higher impedance loads for stability. The high output impedance won't really change much for the planars, and the Sennheisers will warm up a bit in the mid bass. If you've got the money, http://audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/NFB1AMP/NFB1AMPEN.htm the Audio-GD NFB-1 balanced Class A amp would be the last amp you'd ever need IMHO. It's a pre-amp as well, so you might be able to replace the X1 as well. All just my thoughts , haha.

 

[taxiq]

 

@jodgey4  If it surprises you that a preamp would have the power, might take a look at it.  Have you?    If you haven't don't bother, consider this instead.   These HP's might need less juice than one would think.   Took the RCA's, plugged them into the output of the Yggy, and hooked up directly to LCD 2's (after first testing with some junk HP's).   Now would you be surprised that the volume, straight off the DAC, was too loud for comfortable listening (guesstimate say ~ 95db).  And that was off the SE output, the balanced is twice the voltage.  Give it a try with your DAC.
 
 Don't think much more power is needed.  Today, fired up the First Watt F3  (5W to 15W) feed by a Placette passive pre.   No power shortage, in fact needed the fine volume increments its has, i.e. playing volume is about a quarter max. and the many increments aid in setting a pleasant listening level.   Hesitate to be too euphoric regarding the results as SQ should improve with balanced LCD 2 cables.  Audeze points out that with two wires the current flow greater and the resistance less.   Am looking forward testing the new cables out.    'til then will be enjoying the LCD 2s.   By the way, I'm thinking they do need burn in.  Has that been your experience?    

 

[jodgey4]

No, I think it's really cool you can do that! Most pre-amps just aren't capable of much current output, only voltage. That's what I was talking about when I mentioned running higher impedance loads for efficiency (often 50k for SE, 100k for balanced).
 
And hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it . Adding an amp would only create a longer signal path - useful if you wanted to color the sounds though most people are against that.
 
Btw the current flow won't change with balanced unless you actually listen louder (which you can do on your X1 vs. SE), though balanced has many advantages. The resistance doesn't change on the cable, and actually, the amp's output impedance is going to double.
 
It might be that the treble on my LCD-2s smoothed out with time, hard to know. I wasn't really listening, haha. The older models were more prone to it... they've changed their burn-in procedure and materials .

 

[Deftone]

guys, top 3 amps for this headphone? tube or solid. thank you.

 

[jodgey4]

Depends on budget, lol. Gotta give more info than that!

 

[dagothur]

  guys, top 3 amps for this headphone? tube or solid. thank you.

I have heard very good things about:
Leben CS600
Antelope Audio Zodiac Gold
Audio-GD NFB-27

Haven't heard them but they're TOTL amps and I'm willing to trust Skylab's opinions.

 

[Deftone]

No budget, BUT if there is a fantastic bang for buck option i wont turn it down. 

 

 

[Deftone]

thanks @dagothur 

 

[Chuckjones242]

I have heard very good things about:

Leben CS600

Antelope Audio Zodiac Gold

Audio-GD NFB-27


Haven't heard them but they're TOTL amps and I'm willing to trust Skylab's opinions.

I have the Zodiac which is a fantastic DAC, but not a great headphone amp, especially for the LCD-2. I have used the Lyr for a couple years and more recently the Woo-SE6 with a ton of power and clearly I love tubes.

 

[buson160man]

 My lcd2s are with the older wooden encased jacks . I use as my primary headphone amp for the lcd2.2 and my akg 701 my vintage concept 16.5 receiver circa late 1970s . My unit was recapped before I purchased it a year ago and it has been a very stellar headphone amp for the LCD2s . But at least with the 16.5 you have way more power than you need and you do have to watch the level you could easily damage your hearing with this beast when used as a headphone amp. I can not go above the 9 oclock position on the volume it just gets way to loud for safe listening levels. But I do have to say that while I have heard numerous fairly powerful headphone amps I have never heard the kind of authority through any dedicated headphone amp that I have heard that I get from listening to my concept receivers headphone output. The weight and authority is pretty impressive. This beast just loafs when driving headphones and it rarely gets even mildly warm when used in that fashion.
   Of course it is not exactly portable and weighs in at a hefty 67 pounds . But for home use it makes an excellent headphone amplifier for hard to drive headphones. It would be interesting to see how the 16.5 would work with something like the hifiman HE6 . I am sure it would have no trouble at all driving that headphone to deafening levels . These old vintage monsters can make excellent amplifiers as long as they have been recapped and refurbished .