Folks:
Over on the “Speaker-Amps-for-Headphones” thread I recently directly compared several speaker and HP amps with my LCD-3s (source was the Emotiva XDA-1 DAC, fed FLAC files via optical from my PC). For those who haven’t followed the discussion over there, and would be interested in reading my totally jaded opinions, here are the links to the reviews of each amp, in order of my preference, from least preferred to loved the best:
Emotiva Mini-X A-100 (Speaker amp, $220):
http://www.head-fi.org/t/649107/speaker-amps-for-headphones/360#post_9592686 (Post 363)
Schiit Mjolnir:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/649107/speaker-amps-for-headphones/360#post_9592686 (Post 364)
Burson Soloist (Conductor):
http://www.head-fi.org/t/649107/speaker-amps-for-headphones/360#post_9595932 (Post 372)
TBI Millenia (Speaker amp, $600 including resistor box (required)):
http://www.head-fi.org/t/649107/speaker-amps-for-headphones/495#post_9674922 (Post 499)
Odyssey Cyclops (Speaker amp, $1295):
http://www.head-fi.org/t/649107/speaker-amps-for-headphones/600#post_9694245 (Post 608)
For those not interested in reading all of that, in the end I used some TV analogies to summarize each of the amps in the comparison test:
- The Emotiva is like a cheap 1960s color TV. Bright and over saturated in some places, muddy in others, harsh and glaring throughout.
- The Mjolnir is like a 2D 1080P (or maybe even 4K) HDTV that only reproduces black and white (and to be fair, shades of gray) in 2D. The details are there, but lifeless, cold, unreal.
- The Burson is like watching on a 2" screen, or on a 40" screen from 30 feet away. Fine for background, but not at all involving.
- The Millenia like is a high quality 1080P or 4K set, with basic 3D capability. It isn't quite like being there, but it is pretty damn good for an electronic reproduction.
- The Cyclops is like being there. Period.
Of course, these are all just my opinions, so feel free to dismiss them, ignore them or argue with me… otherwise this board becomes a bored.
Oh, and anybody who thinks the LCD-3s are lacking treble, or are overly mid-centric, have too small a sound stage, etc., hasn't heard the latest drivers with the right amp. With the Cyclops, these cans are unbelievably good, one of the best high-fidelity music reproductions I have heard in 40 years of listening to audiophile equipment.