[Lohb]

 
I guess I don't understand the interest in the expensive dedicated headphone amp route. I have gone that path and gotten reasonable results which sounded pretty good and quite enjoyable. But this path has come nowhere near the sound from a full power amp equipped with a proper voltage divider network. My first experience was with a 10 watt/ch Sophia Electric and my LCD's. I picked up the Sophia for $350.00 and they can be had for less. The voltage divider cost me about $300.00 to build. You can buy a prebuilt Robinette Box for about $75.00 $100.00. This blew me right out of my chair. I could not believe what I was hearing. I have had a $75,000.00 full stereo setup that could not touch this setup.
Audeze states that the LCD 2 can withstand 15watts of instantaneous power for milliseconds but they recommend between 3-5 watts of power. Remember that amp manufacturers quote their rated power output into certain loads. For example 10 watts into 8 ohms will only give you approximately 1.5 watts into 53 ohms but does that make those LCD's sing. I find the LCD's very warm and this is accented more by using tubes. I tried the Musical Fidelity M1HPA which is supposed to put out 1.1 watts into 32ohms. Still a bit underpowered for the LCD's.
People worry about the noise floor coming off the speaker taps and not having enough volume control to work with. The voltage divider network solves both these problems. The Sophia was dead quiet and I could max the LCD's out at about 10 o'clock on the volume. A good class A biased solid state would sound good as well.

When you say "a proper voltage divider network" it is basically same idea as resistors over speaker taps to give the speaker amp better volume control dial-in ?
 
I'm also with you there that boutique amp pricing does not necessarily reflect quality but profits spread over a much lower volume of units vs mainstream speaker amps which benefit from economies of scale which reduce the cost to the buyer....and flat impedance with planars opens up that whole area of new/vintage speaker amps. You could probably match the SQ of a Leben etc at 1/4 of the price with a speaker amp if you have enough knowledge of speaker amp company house sounds.

 

[jodgey4]

 
When you say "a proper voltage divider network" it is basically same idea as resistors over speaker taps to give the speaker amp better volume control dial-in ?
 
I'm also with you there that boutique amp pricing does not necessarily reflect quality but profits spread over a much lower volume of units vs mainstream speaker amps which benefit from economies of scale which reduce the cost to the buyer....and flat impedance with planars opens up that whole area of new/vintage speaker amps. You could probably match the SQ of a Leben etc at 1/4 of the price with a speaker amp if you have enough knowledge of speaker amp company house sounds.

A proper voltage divider network does a few things, it gives you better volume control, less noise, and adjusts the impedance seen by the amp so it can operate it better conditions. There's quite a few fantastic designs out there, for cheap you can build a really great box that will really open up your options to almost any speaker amp on the market.

 

[kahldog]

That is partially correct on the voltage divider network. Typically it is 2 resistors per channel with one in series and the other in parallel. If your amp has 8 ohm output then a 6 ohm in series and a 2ohm in parallel per channel would satisfy your amplifiers output impedance requirement of 8 ohm. It would also lower the noise floor as background noise, hum and hiss would be much more noticeable with headphones as opposed to speakers. This configuration would attenuate your speaker output by about -12db giving more useable volume. I have only done this with planar magnetic headphones that require more power. If you do a google search on the Robinette Box there is a lot of great stuff on there as well as a voltage divider calculator which calculates the resistors required for your amp output and headphone impedance.

 

[AN94Master]

Hey is the e12 with the x5 good enough for the LCD 2? My brother just gifted me the headphone but I don't have the budget for an expensive amp(just bought a TV).I have been using the momentum for an year, and I don't have any experience with amps.

 

[goldendarko]

Yes, it works surprisingly well actually. I use the X5 with the E12 for my LCD-3's and it rivals more expensive desktop amps IMO

 

[DarrenLays]

What do you think would be better guys?
 
Schiit lyr + schiit bifrost, or NFB-28? or Yulong A28?
The nfb-28 is fully balanced and around the same price as the bifrost+lyr used. (~750 for both)
 
To an extent I want to think NFB-28 because it's balanced and the lyr+bifrost aren't, but I have seen many people say balanced isn't worth it, and some say it is.
 
I found a great price for a Yulong A28 (or atleast I think it's a good price) Does anyone have any experience with it + the LCD-2?

 

[kahldog]

Schit Lyr by a long shot will be your best bet of the three you mentioned although they all have respectable power the Lyr is at the top and gives you the benefit of tube sound. The Yulong would be your second best bet.

 

[kahldog]

I used the E12 with my RWAK100 and my LCD 2. At first I thought it was OK then I preferred the sound directly out of the RWAK100. It wasn't until I used my LCD 2 with my Sophia Electric Baby I knew what they were capable of. In comparison the sound of most portables is anemic compared to a higher powered amp. If it is portable that you are after Cayin has a new model out called the C5. Might be worth a try and is in the price range of the E12.  

 

[DarrenLays]

 
Schit Lyr by a long shot will be your best bet of the three you mentioned although they all have respectable power the Lyr is at the top and gives you the benefit of tube sound. The Yulong would be your second best bet.

 
 
Wouldn't the fact that the Lyr isn't balanced and the other two options are make it a lesser option?

 

[kahldog]

Well I am not really sure on that as I know very little about balanced operation nor have I ever tried it. I must read up on this and give it a try one day. What are the benefits of balanced or single ended? I would really like to know as my addiction needs another avenue to pursue.

 

[montanari]

Usually with a balanced amp, and dac as well, the headphone sound louder and it open a bit in the treble region
Technically I don't know

 

[kahldog]

Balanced VS. Single ended - Poll
See this thread for an explanation from a Benchmark engineer and others. If I am getting the drift correctly they are recommending single ended.

 

[TontonJoK]

Balanced or not balanced...

It's not a night and day difference, just subtle

 

[jodgey4]

I have heard that the NFB-28 will sound better on the balanced output than SE b/c every step before that is balanced so there's no conversion... or something like that. I'll try it one of these days. @kahldog, I didn't know you had tried all three (NFB-28, A28, Lyr)... what didn't you like about the NFB-28? Just curious

 

[jhljhl]

Try a jolida fx dac/preamp III with a decware taboo.  Transparent and dynamic.