[dal9033]

Hi all,
 
I've been a Lcd2s happy owner for over 8 months, but I always feel they're congested, the soundstage is way too narrow for my taste. I'm currently using a Dacmini with them and looking for a $1000 upgrade which can improve the soundstage and make the Lcd2s more airy. 
Of course I'm not looking for something that can bring the lcd2's soundstage close to the hd800's, but I really want a significant change to my inexperienced ears  
 
So guys, as the title said, any amp in ~ $1000 range can improve LCD2s soundstage??
Or should I just buy a Lcd3 pair?? I found they're much more airy than the 2s, but I only have $1000 to spend and I'm afraid the Dacmini only, which sounds fine with the 2s IMO, cannot do justice for the 3s.
 
Which route to go?? please give me some opinions!!
Thanks for reading and happy listening!!

 

[Rawrbington]

i dont know what the dacmini sounds like.
so i cant really help in comparing to that
but i was powering my LCD2 with a couple vintage receivers and a WA2.
I ended up selling the WA2 and bought a WA6SE.
going from the 2 and the vintage marantz/sansui the first and most noticable difference was the soundstage.
 
i don't know if that helps, but figured i'd at least put it out there for you.
 
i know the Bryston amp seems to be the amp everybody's talking about with the LCD2 lately.  But i've not heard it so i  can't comment on it.

 

[dal9033]

Quote:

i dont know what the dacmini sounds like.
so i cant really help in comparing to that
but i was powering my LCD2 with a couple vintage receivers and a WA2.
I ended up selling the WA2 and bought a WA6SE.
going from the 2 and the vintage marantz/sansui the first and most noticable difference was the soundstage.
 
i don't know if that helps, but figured i'd at least put it out there for you.
 
i know the Bryston amp seems to be the amp everybody's talking about with the LCD2 lately.  But i've not heard it so i  can't comment on it.

Yes, thanks a lot for the info . I'm looking at the Wa6SE, too considering it has the high output power for planars. It shoud be great, which is way lower than the budget   But just a little bit hestitate to go with the tubes.

 

[GloryUprising]

Quote:

Yes, thanks a lot for the info . I'm looking at the Wa6SE, too considering it has the high output power for planars. It shoud be great, which is way lower than the budget   But just a little bit hestitate to go with the tubes.

 
Getting tubes has been a lot of fun actually!
 
I also like the LCD2 with Violectric V200.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

another vote for the WA6-SE here, great with LCD-2, even better if you upgrade your tubes! (the 6GL7 and 6DR7/6FD7 in particular work very well)
 
the WA6-SE is an amp with a pretty wide soundstage, should be wider than the V200's too, which some people feel can make the LCD-2 a little too congested
 
 
 
btw rawrbington, hows the WA6-SE treating ya these days?

 

[GloryUprising]

Quote:

another vote for the WA6-SE here, great with LCD-2, even better if you upgrade your tubes! (the 6GL7 and 6DR7/6FD7 in particular work very well)
 
the WA6-SE is an amp with a pretty wide soundstage, should be wider than the V200's too, which some people feel can make the LCD-2 a little too congested
 
 
 
btw rawrbington, hows the WA6-SE treating ya these days?

Agreed.  Tubes make a BIG difference.
 
I felt like the V200 was a bit more synergistic with the LCD2 vs stock WA6-SE.  But after a few tube rolls, I found that the WA6-SE wins by a healthy amount in the overall picture.  The only exception is for faster paced music where I felt the V200 is still more nimble then the WA6-SE (but only by a hair).

 

[R-Audiohead]

People have really been commenting on how good the BHA-1/ LCD-2 combo is over in the Bryston Thread.
 
It's a little more than 1K though (1.4K)
 

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

Agreed.  Tubes make a BIG difference.
 
I felt like the V200 was a bit more synergistic with the LCD2 vs stock WA6-SE.  But after a few tube rolls, I found that the WA6-SE wins by a healthy amount in the overall picture.  The only exception is for faster paced music where I felt the V200 is still more nimble then the WA6-SE (but only by a hair).

 
i use the USAF 596 rectifier with 6GL7 tubes, its a really nice combination, and way better than stock which left me a little unimpressed with the LCD-2 at first. this pairing really helped the LCD-2 be much quicker and less congested, cause i felt stock was a little too slow for the LCD-2.  the WA6-SE is already quite SS sounding for a tube amp (theres even a WA6-SE vs. Beta 22 thread somewhere on the forums). If you really wanted the advantages of tubes but more speed and precision, you could always roll a Mullard GZ-34 into the WA6-SE, which I think also sound VERY good with the LCD-2, for someone looking for a fast, neutral, accurate, and cleaner sound. 

 

[GloryUprising]

Quote:

 
i use the USAF 596 rectifier with 6GL7 tubes, its a really nice combination, and way better than stock which left me a little unimpressed with the LCD-2 at first. this pairing really helped the LCD-2 be much quicker and less congested, cause i felt stock was a little too slow for the LCD-2.  the WA6-SE is already quite SS sounding for a tube amp (theres even a WA6-SE vs. Beta 22 thread somewhere on the forums). If you really wanted the advantages of tubes but more speed and precision, you could always roll a Mullard GZ-34 into the WA6-SE, which I think also sound VERY good with the LCD-2, for someone looking for a fast, neutral, accurate, and cleaner sound. 

I got a 596 inbound from Woo. 
 
I'm currently running a Mazda 5R4GY (brown base, double halo getters) with 6EM7 tubes.
 
I've been hearing good things about 6GL7s and was thinking of getting a pair.  Do they use the same adapter as the 6EM7 or do I need different ones too?

 

[Dubstep Girl]

same adapter.

 

[Clemmaster]

The Audio-GD SA-31 substantially increased the soundstage of all my Hifiman's. There's no comparison with the M-Stage I used to drive them with.

 

[barid]

Quote:

i dont know what the dacmini sounds like.
so i cant really help in comparing to that
but i was powering my LCD2 with a couple vintage receivers and a WA2.
I ended up selling the WA2 and bought a WA6SE.
going from the 2 and the vintage marantz/sansui the first and most noticable difference was the soundstage.
 
i don't know if that helps, but figured i'd at least put it out there for you.
 
i know the Bryston amp seems to be the amp everybody's talking about with the LCD2 lately.  But i've not heard it so i  can't comment on it.

 
Any other comparisons between the WA2 and WA6-SE with the LCD2's?......one of these days I'll get around to pulling the trigger on one or the other

 

[paradoxper]

I think both BHA-1 and Mjolnir could help change the tonality of the LCD-2's a bit. They're aggressive amps,
with good details and good sound-staging. Although, I don't find, say, the LCD-3 to be an HD800 through either amp, for example.
 
Your best bet would be to upgrade to the LCD-3. To retain that Audez'e sound, visceral bass,beautiful mids, with the addition
of that added airyness that you're searching for.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

 
Any other comparisons between the WA2 and WA6-SE with the LCD2's?......one of these days I'll get around to pulling the trigger on one or the other

 
 
my WA2 cannot drive the LCD-2s effectively. It's an OTL amp which means it was designed for headphones with high impedance like 300 ohm senns and 250/600 ohm beyers. however, some members have been able to drive them well out of the WA2 with no issues, on my model, i personally encounter clipping before i get to a reasonable volume level (on LCD-2 and other low impedance, regardless if they're orthos or dynamics). of course, i've noticed i can achive higher volumes on them using tubes with less voltage gain (since they need current not voltage). so if i use the stock 6AS7G or 6080s, i can get a more decent volume without distortion, however, it is still far from optimal. i believe Jack has revised the WA2 several times and it actually had more gain in the past or something, theres still no clear explanation however.
 
 
the WA6-SE as mentioned, drives them very very well, being really loud at 9 o clock with 6GL7 or 6DR7 tubes.

 

[Rawrbington]

for versatility i'd go WA6SE.
its a great sounding amp
and I am still really enjoying it.  It sounds great with all my headphones.  which is the breaking point between the 2 and the 6SE.  2 has an awesome pre, sounds fantastic with tubey glory.  just not as flexible accross different loads
 
When the WA2 is paired with headphones and it works, it works very well.  VERY WELL.
But yeah the low ohm stuff doesn't always work very well.
 
I think if i had T1's or HD800's id probably still have the WA2
but i got LCD2 instead
 
 
DG,
Is your WA2 by chance quieter than your 6SE?