[philiptw]

Received my Burson Soloist SL today and did a quick A/B with my Little Dot MK3 (M8100 + 6H30Pi-EH) on my LCD-2.2. My Source was Line Out from a DX90.
 
Some have said "OTL does not work with planar, you must get a powerful solid state"
I have to say, the difference is not actually that big.. 
 
Yes the bass sounds slightly better defined on the Soloist SL, yes the mid is a bit more spacious on the Soloist SL and yes the details are nicer on the Soloist SL
 
BUT I think the Little Dot certainly does a competent job at driving the LCD2. 
 
As @mrc001 suggested earlier, I now think the whole "you need 1W to drive LCD2" is rather untrue, unless you want to blow your eardrums up!
 
 
 
If I gave the Soloist SL ~80%, the Little Dot would get ~70%
 
Musicality between the 2 amps are equally as good and it just comes down to personal preference and financial status.
 
So does the 10% difference between the 2 justify the price difference (~150-200GBP)?
 
I personally think it doesn't. If one has the Little Dot already, I would not recommend buying the Burson Soloist SL.
Unless money is no object, which I think is not the case for a significant amount of users on this forum....
 
So would I return the Soloist SL?
I am contemplating and at the moment it seems like a rather tempting option to free up 490GBP for very little degradation in sonic enjoyment..

 

[HiFiRobot]

I´m using the LCD-2 with the O2, ALO RX MK3-B, Violectric V200, ALO the National, ALO the Continental and BenchMark DAC1. And I have tried them with Burson Soloist (not Soloist SL) and some other amps can't rembember all of them. I listen to a lot of genres of Electro, Indie, Electronic Rock, EDM, Singer/Songwriter, some hiphop and some other stuff as well. Artist like Daft Punk, Florence & The Machine, Ratatat, The XX, Kid Cudi etc.
 
The Soloist together with LCD-2 was a big disappointment for me. I was very excited to hear this combo but to my ears the Soloist turned the LCD-2 into an über-analytical bookshelf speaker with the LCD warmth and punch replaced by surgeon tools. After that I realized that musicality is much more important to me than detail retrieval. Although soundstage was good with Soloist. And that pairing might very well suit a lot of people, depending on what kind of sound signature you like. It just didn't work for me at all.
 
For me the best pairing so far is Violectric V200. Which just is at another level compared to the other amps I own.
 
Next step for me is probably tubes, the sound of my ALO Continental got me interested. Alo Pan Am or Lyr 2 are top on the list currently.

 

[HPiper]

  Received my Burson Soloist SL today and did a quick A/B with my Little Dot MK3 (M8100 + 6H30Pi-EH) on my LCD-2.2. My Source was Line Out from a DX90.
 
Some have said "OTL does not work with planar, you must get a powerful solid state"
I have to say, the difference is not actually that big.. 
 
Yes the bass sounds slightly better defined on the Soloist SL, yes the mid is a bit more spacious on the Soloist SL and yes the details are nicer on the Soloist SL
 
BUT I think the Little Dot certainly does a competent job at driving the LCD2. 
 
As @mrc001 suggested earlier, I now think the whole "you need 1W to drive LCD2" is rather untrue, unless you want to blow your eardrums up!
 
 
 
If I gave the Soloist SL ~80%, the Little Dot would get ~70%
 
Musicality between the 2 amps are equally as good and it just comes down to personal preference and financial status.
 
So does the 10% difference between the 2 justify the price difference (~150-200GBP)?
 
I personally think it doesn't. If one has the Little Dot already, I would not recommend buying the Burson Soloist SL.
Unless money is no object, which I think is not the case for a significant amount of users on this forum....
 
So would I return the Soloist SL?
I am contemplating and at the moment it seems like a rather tempting option to free up 490GBP for very little degradation in sonic enjoyment..

I listen to my LCD2's on my LDMk3 a LOT. It is a perfectly capable amp for those phones. Certainly they sound better on my Lyr but using the LD is still a pleasant experience.

 

[montanari]

 audeze 2 with the soloist (conductor) and even more with a silver cable (silver widow) it s perfect for my tastes
with a good aftermat copper cable the sound is fuller but less fast with a smaller soundstage
i think with the violectric it become too dark and warm
so, again, i guess it s just a matter of taste
 
I listen from  jazz avant free modern to folk to heavy dark electronic (everything except classical)

 

[Megalomaniak]

  I´m using the LCD-2 with the O2, ALO RX MK3-B, Violectric V200, ALO the National, ALO the Continental and BenchMark DAC1. And I have tried them with Burson Soloist (not Soloist SL) and some other amps can't rembember all of them. I listen to a lot of genres of Electro, Indie, Electronic Rock, EDM, Singer/Songwriter, some hiphop and some other stuff as well. Artist like Daft Punk, Florence & The Machine, Ratatat, The XX, Kid Cudi etc.
 
The Soloist together with LCD-2 was a big disappointment for me. I was very excited to hear this combo but to my ears the Soloist turned the LCD-2 into an über-analytical bookshelf speaker with the LCD warmth and punch replaced by surgeon tools. After that I realized that musicality is much more important to me than detail retrieval. Although soundstage was good with Soloist. And that pairing might very well suit a lot of people, depending on what kind of sound signature you like. It just didn't work for me at all.
 
For me the best pairing so far is Violectric V200. Which just is at another level compared to the other amps I own.
 
Next step for me is probably tubes, the sound of my ALO Continental got me interested. Alo Pan Am or Lyr 2 are top on the list currently.

 
Yep, I agree with you, I dont like the Bursons with my LCD2.2, not being a matter of power but tone, I guess in a few weeks I'll have my V281 at home

 

[buhd4life]

Anyone heard the LCD-2rev2's with the project ember kits? I was thinking of getting one as an alternative to the Lyr2 but wanted to hear some opinions/feedback first. Would be using my Aune T1 as a DAC for the mean time!

 

[Justin_Time]

I´m using the LCD-2 with the O2, ALO RX MK3-B, Violectric V200, ALO the National, ALO the Continental and BenchMark DAC1. And I have tried them with Burson Soloist (not Soloist SL) and some other amps can't rembember all of them. I listen to a lot of genres of Electro, Indie, Electronic Rock, EDM, Singer/Songwriter, some hiphop and some other stuff as well. Artist like Daft Punk, Florence & The Machine, Ratatat, The XX, Kid Cudi etc.


 


The Soloist together with LCD-2 was a big disappointment for me. I was very excited to hear this combo but to my ears the Soloist turned the LCD-2 into an über-analytical bookshelf speaker with the LCD warmth and punch replaced by surgeon tools. After that I realized that musicality is much more important to me than detail retrieval. Although soundstage was good with Soloist. And that pairing might very well suit a lot of people, depending on what kind of sound signature you like. It just didn't work for me at all.


 


For me the best pairing so far is Violectric V200. Which just is at another level compared to the other amps I own.


 


Next step for me is probably tubes, the sound of my ALO Continental got me interested. Alo Pan Am or Lyr 2 are top on the list currently.

 


I fully concur. The Soloist performance with the LCD2/3 was belows my expectations given many glowing reviews I have read here.

If you have been in this game long enough, however, you know that no audio component is perfect--shocking! So you often have to try various combinations of DAC/amp/cable/headphones to get to your favorite sound.

As good as it is, the LCD2.2 and LCD3 still suffer from a pervasive coloration over most of the audible range: a caramel coating that sweetens the sound. This is a euphonic coloration that many love but some--myself included--find a little "dark." I personally perceive this coloration as a slightly muffled honking akin to the sound made when you talk with your hands cupped around your mouth.

At a relatively affordable price range, I also found the combination LCD/Silver Poison or Silver Widow/V200 to produce excellent sound with much reduced caramel coating. You get a clearer, more opened sound with excellent bass impact (tight and punchy) and wide dynamic range (contrast between low and high volume), The Schiit Moljnir adds much needed sparkles to the LCD sound, which many will find exciting but may be fatiguing in the long run for others.

If you are willing to invest more money into the system, I found two SS amps that can do an oustadining job with the LCD: the Bakoon HPA-21 with a (surprisingly) warm but vividly detailed and smooth midrange and excellent bass. My favorite SS amp with the LCD is the GS-X Mark2. What you get is a very smooth midrange nearly free of the caramel (dark) corolation. Gone is the slightly muffled honking. What you get is feathery, silky details, palpable presence and outstanding bass, tight and impactful.

Two tube/hybrid amps also work great with the LCD. Both amps produce highly musical sound with the LCD. The Woo WA5-LE (with upgraded parts and tubes) delivers a clean, dynamic midrange supported by a thunderous bass--one of the best I have ever heard. The other amp, the EAR HP-4, has a sweet, musical and yet detailed and dynamic sound with the LCD with plenty of tight bass and excellent impact. I did not try to roll the tubes as the HP-4 designer insisted that the amps was tuned with the stock tubes and sounded best with them.

While these 4 amps are expensive ($3000-$5000) they make good investment if you have many pairs of headphones or plan on getting different ones. My personal experience is that these amps perform exceedingly well with the GradoPS1000, HD800, TH-900, Ultrasone 8 and 10, HE-500 and HE-6--yes all these four amps, even the diminutive Bakoon, can drive the HE-6 to a very satisfying volume! They also minimize the harshness/raspiness in the PS1000, with tend to sound like screeching banshees with lesser amps.

 

[Argo Duck]

^ Nice notes. This "caramel coating" may be what Audez'e referred to recently (with reference to the LCD3/LCD3F changeover) as "burnished".

I keep hearing good things about the GS-X mk 2, but plan to see how Ragnarok fares first. Tube-wise I'm more than happy with a (pure tube) Decware Taboo mk2 which can be tuned over a wide range, including toward neutral, dynamic ("vivid") and resolving of low-level detail and dynamics.

 

[Justin_Time]

^ Nice notes. This "caramel coating" may be what Audez'e referred to recently (with reference to the LCD3/LCD3F changeover) as "burnished".

I keep hearing good things about the GS-X mk 2, but plan to see how Ragnarok fares first. Tube-wise I'm more than happy with a (pure tube) Decware Taboo mk2 which can be tuned over a wide range, including toward neutral, dynamic ("vivid") and resolving of low-level detail and dynamics.

Aidee,

Thanks for I your comments.

The GS-X is not a good amp. It is a great one!

From my experience with SS amps, only the Bakoon is on the same level, with better warmth in the midrange -- the GS-X can sound sterile sometimes with poor recordings--but the GS-X has more punch in the bass . The Bakkon may need a bigger power supply.

With tube amps I have owned or heard, only the Apex Pinnacle sounds slightly better than the GS-X Mark 2 overall--at a whopping 10 grands, it better.

Please report on the Ragnarok when you can. I am very curious.

Cheers.

 

[Argo Duck]

^ Will do. Could be a while though. I plan to wait for Yggdrasil first. Cheers!

 

[mmlogic]

  Long-time LCD-2 owner here (version 1).  7500 posts into this thread and I'm going back to page 1 from Skylab.  Just picked up a used Leben CS300.  All I have to say is: Oh sweet lord, the music!
 
I've played the LCD-2 through a bunch of headphone amps, including a balanced Cavalli EHHA (strong tight sound, very precise) and recently from the headphone out on my Benchmark-2 Dac (very clinical, a touch fatiguing).  The temptation with the LCD-2 is to want to analyze the music.
 
Now listening to the Benchmark feeding the Leben and with great performances all I hear is music. All the detail is there, but instead of hearing how separate and distinct all the instruments are, I hear how they all fit together and how great the musical phrasing is.
 
A few highlights:
 
Skip, Hop, and Wobble (by Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg, & Edgar Meyer) - one of my all-time favorite recordings by 3 of the greatest studio musicians out there.  Gorgeous, tasty phrasing all day. You can see the three of them sitting there jamming
 
Let It Bleed (Rolling Stones) - layers and layers of sound. The groove is completely infectious
 
Live at Ronnie Scott's (Jeff Beck) - wow. Sitting in the front row for this incredible ensemble performance
 
A Love Supreme (John Coltrane) - always loved this performance, but holy crap! Pushed play on this and didn't notice anything else for the next 35 minutes
 
The First Time (Roberta Flack) - one of the best written songs ever. Put the LCD-2's on my wife to listen to this and she just closed her eyes and smiled for the whole song
 
 
 
So, thanks Skylab. Short of some tube rolling, I'm not going to touch a thing with this setup.  Just sit and listen to great music.  Who needs sleep anyway.

You took the words right out of my mouth stringgz, I'm also a long-time LCD-2 owner, I've tried many amps these years (Tabbo3, Beta22, Soloist, Mjolnir, V200, SoloUL, LittleDot6... ), no one came close to CS300 in reproducing live like music.
 
To me there are two kinds of headphone amp, CS300 and the others.  

 

[willmax]

Hi guys, I just acquired a LCD2.2 from a fellow head-fier. Now I tell you it is a bit daunting

 to have to plow through 500 pages of amp recommendation for the LCD2
Can someone please tell me/ or point me to the right post about what is the consensus on the best sub $500 (new) $400 (used) amp or DAC/amp combo for the LCD2.2?

 
I've been thinking about Yulong D100 MKII, Asus Xonar E1, Asgard 2, Qinpu A-6000 mkii.
 
 
Any help would be appreciated. 

Cheers
 
Edit: Forgot to mention, I'm mainly after solid state, Qinpu only exception above.

 

[sludgeogre]

  Hi guys, I just acquired a LCD2.2 from a fellow head-fier. Now I tell you it is a bit daunting

 to have to plow through 500 pages of amp recommendation for the LCD2
Can someone please tell me/ or point me to the right post about what is the consensus on the best sub $500 (new) $400 (used) amp or DAC/amp combo for the LCD2.2?
 
I've been thinking about Yulong D100 MKII, Asus Xonar E1, Asgard 2, Qinpu A-6000 mkii.
 
 
 
Any help would be appreciated. 

Cheers

I'm using the Asgard 2 and I absolutely love it.

 

[TontonJoK]

The alo pan am with Russian tubes is just about love too

 

[willmax]

  I'm using the Asgard 2 and I absolutely love it.

Thank you, the Asgard 2 looks tempting.