[cute]

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

 
Someone else who has discovered the awesomeness of the Jolida Tube Dac/Preamp!  I have been enjoying mine feeding into my Denon 2800, and using speaker taps to my LCD 3!

 

[kahldog]

Sorry  didn't mean to imply I have tried all three of these. Actually I haven't tried any of them. The only SS dedicated headphone amps I have tried are the Musical Fidelity M1HPA and the Fiio E12. The M1HPA sounded decent and the E12 was OK. My recommendations were based purely on the specifications I read on each of the mentioned headphones. The Lyr puts out a whopping 6 watts into 32 ohms I believe which is almost 4 watts into the LCD 2 quoted impedance of 50 ohms. Simply multiply the manufacturer's rated output in watts by the load they have stated for that output. Then divide that by the impedance of the headphones you plan on using and the result will be the power output of your amp into that load. If the amp is rated at 10 watts output into an 8 ohm load and the headphone impedance that you will be using is 50 ohms then it would look like this; 10x8= 80/50= 1.6 watts. The LCD 2 has a sensitive rating of 91bd/mw. The result is for 1milliwatt of output power you will get 91 decibels of sound pressure. For every additional increase of 3 decibels you need to double the output power. So to go from 91 decibels to 94decibels you need to put out 2 milliwatts. This just keeps repeating itself for every 3 decibel increase. Given the dynamic nature of music you can have some peaks as high as 130 decibel. If you amp is maxed out at that level it starts to clip and results in distortion. The music will also sound thin or anemic and possibly a tad bright with little to no bass over the full dynamic range of the recording. The right amount of power output is critical to getting the most out of your headphones. Some of the IEMs are 16ohm impedance and 112 db/mw efficient making them very easy to drive and the lower watt power amps can work fine here. The planar magnetics definitely don't fall into this category. I hope that explains why I listed the Lyr as the best bet from the list mentioned but is far from the best for the LCD's. I prefer an all tube amp running off the speaker taps with a divider network to suit. No problem hearing all the glory the LCD can put out then.

 

[jodgey4]

Ahh, I see. For other readers, to reach 130 dB with the Fazor model, you need 4W. Most recommend 120 db as a good target, which would be 0.5W. For the older non-Fazor models, double the power requirements (as they are 3 db less efficient). Audeze states 1-4W is preferable, though for Fazor models I think those bounds should be cut in half for just pure volume requirements. I'll expand on this below. The NFB-28 will do about 6W, Lyr 4W, and A28 2W... all should be plenty sufficient, especially on Fazor models. If we're just going for power, the NFB-28 wins

(I love mine, though have never heard any other amps with cans I know well enough).
 
I've never heard of someone needing 130 dB peaks, even under most people's 'loud' volumes, peaks will usually not come close even to the 120 dB goal. In fact, many use the 120 dB goal as a high achieving goal, to make sure that you can get enough clean power into your cans. When you push an amp into the higher volumes, it can cause excessive distortion. Having power overhead is never a problem in my book, so people using 100W (or what have you) speaker amps in my book might be justified... I'd love to see some THD type measurements into headphone loads. Considering how many people love it (I never hear bad things)... it's something I feel I should try.

 

[jodgey4]

And while we're on the topic, has anyone tried the Bottlehead S.E.X. with the Fazor model? Some felt the S.E.X. probably needed more power for the 2's to sound it's best, but now that the Fazor has brought more efficiency... I wonder if the S.E.X. is now a better pairing... and if you say it's a great pairing, don't tell my wallet!

 

[kahldog]

Great info. I always enjoy expanding my knowledge on these topics. The only music I have ever heard of that may hit the 130db peaks would be some classical pieces but not many of them.
What exactly is the Fazor model as I am not familiar with it? I tried something different last night on my nightly walk. I used my LCD 2's directly out of my RWAK100 and it actually sounded quite nice. Not as good as my home setup but still enjoyable. The volume control on the RWAK100 has a range of 0-75 and I was running it at about 60 which was plenty loud with great detail and nice musical tone but I could tell it lacked the air, sound stage and bass of my home setup which is the Cayin A88T with a voltage divider network. On the home setup I can't turn the volume beyond 9 o'clock. I have ordered new resistors to change the divider ratio from 3:1 to approximately 8:1 which should give me about -25db attenuation thus more useable volume control. Can't help myself. I love to try new things to see if the sound is improved. I must have looked quite GEEKY walking around with those LCD's on my head. Even my dog was giving me strange looks. That's OK as I live in Canada and we are used to seeing GEEKY things.

 

[jodgey4]

Lol, nice. I'd probably never wear mine in public, but to each his own!
 
In Dec. 2013, Audeze began including the Fazor waveguide from the X and XC cans in the 2's and 3's as well, which increases efficiency from 90 db/mW to 93. Here's Tyll's article about the topic. http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/audeze-lcd-x-fazor-and-fresh-listen-current-lcd-2-and-lcd-3 .There's much more to it on the sound debate side of things, but I won't get into that here, it's the wrong thread for that. The Fazor guides do make amping more easy, so any amp that has been reported to sound good but potentially lack power now might be more feasible.

 

[Poladise]

  I must have looked quite GEEKY walking around with those LCD's on my head. Even my dog was giving me strange looks.

 
haha love it

 

[DarrenLays]

  Ahh, I see. For other readers, to reach 130 dB with the Fazor model, you need 4W. Most recommend 120 db as a good target, which would be 0.5W. For the older non-Fazor models, double the power requirements (as they are 3 db less efficient). Audeze states 1-4W is preferable, though for Fazor models I think those bounds should be cut in half for just pure volume requirements. I'll expand on this below. The NFB-28 will do about 6W, Lyr 4W, and A28 2W... all should be plenty sufficient, especially on Fazor models. If we're just going for power, the NFB-28 wins

(I love mine, though have never heard any other amps with cans I know well enough).
 
I've never heard of someone needing 130 dB peaks, even under most people's 'loud' volumes, peaks will usually not come close even to the 120 dB goal. In fact, many use the 120 dB goal as a high achieving goal, to make sure that you can get enough clean power into your cans. When you push an amp into the higher volumes, it can cause excessive distortion. Having power overhead is never a problem in my book, so people using 100W (or what have you) speaker amps in my book might be justified... I'd love to see some THD type measurements into headphone loads. Considering how many people love it (I never hear bad things)... it's something I feel I should try.

 
 
 
Isn't the "recommended safe listening level" like ~85 db?  I feel like most music wouldn't peak that high unless you were already listening at well over safe listening levels, but I'm not sure
 
Does the NFB-28 have a good sub-bass extension?  I read some reviews about the Yulong A28 and a few mentioned it has a dip in the sub-bass compared to other amps they owned.

 

[jodgey4]

Yes, safe levels are 85 dB, and even that's a little loud IMHO. But peaks in music, depending on compression, can be much higher, there's a good thread about this (dynamic range in digital audio = bits, if you're wondering how on earth this is related). http://www.head-fi.org/t/731964/10-bits-of-sample-depth-is-more-than-enough-for-audio-with-tests-that-you-can-perform-to-prove-it-to-yourself
Like I said... I couldn't make any valid comparisons to other amps. Ask in the NFB-28 thread... Sorry!

 

 

[Sound Eq]

quick question can the all national drive the audeze lcd2 rev2 good, and what sound signature it has, and how is the bass on it

 

[kahldog]

Hi,
I just tried the Continental V2 with my LCD 2's and it drove them without any problem whatsoever. Apparently the National and the Continental have similar output power so you should not have any problem. What have you been driving them with currently? If it is solid state it will more than likely sound the same. If it is tube based then it might not sound as warm. I must point out that IMHO the LCD 2 sounds best with an amp that can drive 3-5 watts into the LCD's impedance load.

 

[DarrenLays]

I just received my Schiit Lyr, man... I've never enjoyed my time with my LCD-2's this much.
 
I previously had an O2 + ODAC, and I feel as if the Lyr made the soundstage better, and the bass more resonant + present.
 
 
My friends are obsessed with double blind tests, and measurements + placebo effect etc, and won't shutup about telling me it's in my head + o2 measures better and without blind tests I can't say it sounds better.
(Even though it does to me, which is all I care about)
 
 
I understand measurements etc are important, but I prefer my personal opinion + preferences and enjoying my hobby over measurements.

 

[Argo Duck]

^ Good for you. My job is all about measurement, its validity and reliability, but I haven't found anything in complex, multifactorial settings that approach a perfect closed system with absolute predictability as a given.

My suspicion (but that's all it is) is listening is just exactly one of these complex phenomena!

Enjoy the Lyr - what tubes?

 

[DarrenLays]

^ Good for you. My job is all about measurement, its validity and reliability, but I haven't found anything in complex, multifactorial settings that approach a perfect closed system with absolute predictability as a given.

My suspicion (but that's all it is) is listening is just exactly one of these complex phenomena!

Enjoy the Lyr - what tubes?

 
 
The stock GE ones,
 
man it's so pretty looking as well!
 

 

[Argo Duck]

Oh yeah the GEs are pretty nice. You're in for a treat from some of the other options - Lyr is very responsive to tube rolling.

Watch your wallet though!