[Solude]

As for my LF being smashed, I am more than open to borrowing someone else's LF to give it another go but understandably not laying out another $2400 to lay it to rest one way or the other

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

For any FirstWatt just be sure you aren't sharing ground.  You have to wire L+ L-, R+ R-.
 
As for the LF v Peak, I never had both at the same time and originally based on reviews, had no intention of trying a Peak.  That said the LF with 'good' tubes is $2400+ used, $3400+ new.  At that price merely hanging with the best isn't enough, you need to slaughter the competition.  When I started my trip through amps for the LCD-2 then LCD-3 I already had the GS-1.  Brought in the WA22 and LF and compared them against each other before comparing to the GS-1.  The WA22 had arguably better tubes but the LF was just too passive, too dry and too fuzzy to keep around.  Based on what I heard, it really belonged in the sub $1000 range.  The WA22 was simply more alive, more detailed and reached further in both directions.
 
Later the B22 would top the WA22 as a similar but with better soundstage offering that in my config also had pre-amp so no brainer new best choice.  The Peak simply out classed them all.  Where the others were incremental improvements, the Peak was simply better everywhere possibly due to tube choice or maybe a change was made to the original, I don't know, I don't care.  Since I've also tried the Soloist which is like a better GS-1 and the Mjolnir which is like a Peak that's been tonally tilted up.
 
If I had to make a choice on an amp under $1000, the Mjolnir and Soloist are no brainers,  Soloist for a more passive presentaion, Mjolnir for an engaging presentation.
 
Above that the stand out is the Peak for me.  The other amps I tried above the $1000 mark were bested by the Soloist and Mjolnir.  I haven't heard a lot of other top choices though so an EC BA, Woo WA5, GS-X, Dynahi... may well crush the Peak.  I may never know, I've moved on to source swapping

 
And that's why I think there was something wrong with your LF. Not to mention the "mechanical" issues you had with that amp upon arrival. As I used to own your WA22 (with my favourite tubes) I can easily say that the LF bested the WA22 in regards to focus, clarity and detail. The WA22 comes off (in comparison here) as a bit too woolly and glossed over the details too often. And that's with the Gold Lions in the LF. Throw in the Siemens tubes and the difference is even more drastic between the two. 
 
Again, I really liked the WA22, but haven't given it any thought since the LF arrived. 

  Then there's the Peak, and my experiences were far less positive than yours. I found it too treble tipped and a bit thin overall. Not one of my favourite amps by a long shot. Funny how we can hear so many things closely like the GS-1 and LCD-2/LCD-3, but can also drastically diverge in other places.

 

[Solude]

Could well have been a board change.  If anything my Peak is bass tilted.  Easily the deepest bass of the amps I had.  At this point I've had 3 tube in it, two Syl Bad Boys 6SN7 and a CBS Hyton 5692.  Heck I even used the Peak to compare the HD800 to the LCD-3 and though I still prefer the LCD-3, I never found it bright and unlike when I had the B22 it wasn't passive and had good bass.  Chalk it up to me having the best Peak and you the best LF

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Could well have been a board change.  If anything my Peak is bass tilted.  Easily the deepest bass of the amps I had.  At this point I've had 3 tube in it, two Syl Bad Boys 6SN7 and a CBS Hyton 5692.  Heck I even used the Peak to compare the HD800 to the LCD-3 and though I still prefer the LCD-3, I never found it bright and unlike when I had the B22 it wasn't passive and had good bass.  Chalk it up to me having the best Peak and you the best LF

LoL. I'll buy that. 

 

[Dr. Roberts]

Quote:

Haven't heard the combination but have heard the Naim with other phones.
 
IMO the Naim is just average and if I remember right is designed for high impedance phones of which the LCD-3 is not.
 You can do alot better for the price.

 
 
Thanks Nigel. I'm looking for a solid state amp to compliment my HP-4 and CS-600. The Soloist seems to be very popular but wondering how it rates compared to a Sugden HA-4. The power output varies of course but can be as high as 4 watts according to Sugden's Patrick Miller which is comparable to the Burson. It is my understanding that as opposed to the Burson, the Masterclass always runs in Class A. So difficult to decide without the opportunity to listen to both side-by-side.

 

[servantsaber]

I'm planning to get a LCD3. For dac/amp, I'm currently using Audinst mx-1, which I like very much.
Do you think Audinst mx-1 is good enough to make me dance around with LCD3 on my head?

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I'm planning to get a LCD3. For dac/amp, I'm currently using Audinst mx-1, which I like very much.
Do you think Audinst mx-1 is good enough to make me dance around with LCD3 on my head?

Sorry, far from it. You'd be wasting your $ on the LCD-3s if you drove them with that amp. On the cheap, I'd strongly recommend you look into a vintage Pioneer SX speaker amp. They can be had for similar pricing but will have the power to properly drive the LCD-3s.
 
Have a  look at what most use as long term amps to drive the LCD-3s....having very transparent headphones will only reveal what you're feeding them upstream. And don't forget about the DAC and source too. The entire chain is very important.

 

[Solude]

Nods.  For that setup you be better served with the LCD-2.  Which by the way would still be miles ahead of where you are now =)

 

[zachchen1996]

Are there any solid state amps that are better than the mjolnir for the lcd3s? Or is the mjolnir the one to get in terms of solid state?

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

Are there any solid state amps that are better than the mjolnir for the lcd3s? Or is the mjolnir the one to get in terms of solid state?

 Soloist, BHA-1, GS-X, Dark Star are all very good matches.
Careful with Mjolnir and GS-X as they are pretty ruthlessly transparent.

 

[zachchen1996]

 Soloist, BHA-1, GS-X, Dark Star are all very good matches.
Careful with Mjolnir and GS-X as they are pretty ruthlessly transparent.

I listened to the gungnir/mjolnir/lcd3 rig a meet yesterday and loved it but the gungnir/mjolnir/he-6 rig was quite disappointing. Do you use your he-6's with the schiit stack or do you use with a speaker amp? I am trying to decide between getting the lcd3's and the he-6s, which do you prefer?

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

I listened to the gungnir/mjolnir/lcd3 rig a meet yesterday and loved it but the gungnir/mjolnir/he-6 rig was quite disappointing. Do you use your he-6's with the schiit stack or do you use with a speaker amp? I am trying to decide between getting the lcd3's and the he-6s, which do you prefer?

The LCD-3's are probably the best with Mjolnir specifically. I currently use them with Mojo, saving up for J2 all the while considering
getting rid of the HE-6.
 
I prefer the LCD-3 by a good margin to the HE-6.

 

[zachchen1996]

The LCD-3's are probably the best with Mjolnir specifically. I currently use them with Mojo, saving up for J2 all the while considering
getting rid of the HE-6.

I prefer the LCD-3 by a good margin to the HE-6.

I felt the mjolnir was a terrible match with the he-6s with just 10 seconds of listening (it was just on the verge of unlistenable hahahah) maybe you just need to get a more powerful amp to make them sing?? I'm really thinking about getting one of emotiva's cheap 200$ speaker amps and get a he-6, since I'm on a tight budget.

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

I felt the mjolnir was a terrible match with the he-6s with just 10 seconds of listening (it was just on the verge of unlistenable hahahah) maybe you just need to get a more powerful amp to make them sing?? I'm really thinking about getting one of emotiva's cheap 200$ speaker amps and get a he-6, since I'm on a tight budget.

I've heard the HE-6 on my fair share of amps. The J2 is by far the best yet ( I still enjoy 'em out of Mojo), still just a matter of sound sig preference. The LCD-3's hit the spot.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 
 
I prefer the LCD-3 by a good margin to the HE-6.

 
Me too.