[gearofwar]

Hey guys, i'm wondering if there are any sonic differences between wood and aluminum version? does anyone here have both of them to compare? Thanks

 

[Ampeezy]

Hey guys, i'm wondering if there are any sonic differences between wood and aluminum version? does anyone here have both of them to compare? Thanks

I don't have both for a comparison, but date of manufacture being equal, it is the exact same driver. It is just a cosmetic difference

 

[rodgerdodger]

I don't have both for a comparison, but date of manufacture being equal, it is the exact same driver. It is just a cosmetic difference

identical in everyway. Fr graphs prove this as well. In my opinion better as no wear and tear cracking wood etc

 

[PinkyPowers]

The wood looks much better while the metal will last longer and take more of a beating.

Still, I'll take wood. If it's not cracked already it should hold up for years.

 

[MissChristie]

I do have one question though, do you guys think the Schiit Magni 2 will power the LCD-2s well? I used to have a Schiit Mjolnir 2 which was stellar with my 2.1s.

I use mine with a Magni 2 (non-uber) and it powers them just fine. I won't go into subjective impressions vs more expensive amps because quite frankly, I don't have much to compare to other than my Fiio e18 and Fiio e6, which are relatively less expensive and designed for portable use.
 
Looking at the Magni 2's output impedance vis-à-vis the LCD2, the Magni 2 has an output impedance of "less than 0.2 ohms" (quoting the Schiit website) compared to the LCD2's 70 ohm headphone impedance. As 0.2 is far less than 1/8th of 70 then, as the general impedance formula dictates, we can conclude that the amp is more than capable of supplying adequate power. There is a bit more involved with planars I believe, as there are electromagnets to factor in, but considering the ultra tiny impedance ratio, it hardly matters. You can read more about the impedance ratio formula here: http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/headphone-amp-impedance.html
 
Congratulations on your deal! I haven't heard the older model LCD2s but if they are anything like my late-2015 revision ones, you got them for an absolute steal! (Though I'm sure that you are quite aware)

 

[chillaxing]

All I can say is that 2.1 system better have been worth it!

 
IMO a well setup 2.1 system in a treated room will out do any headphones any day of the week.  But not many of us have a extra room to do that.
 
Having a setup in the living room in a open floor plan is not the ideal room
 
With all the money that I've spent on personal gear, i would rather put it in a 2.1 system if I had the right opportunity.  I don't, so I have headphones a system in my car

 

[jodgey4]

  Looking at the Magni 2's output impedance vis-à-vis the LCD2, the Magni 2 has an output impedance of "less than 0.2 ohms" (quoting the Schiit website) compared to the LCD2's 70 ohm headphone impedance. As 0.2 is far less than 1/8th of 70 then, as the general impedance formula dictates, we can conclude that the amp is more than capable of supplying adequate power. There is a bit more involved with planars I believe, as there are electromagnets to factor in, but considering the ultra tiny impedance ratio, it hardly matters. You can read more about the impedance ratio formula here: http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/headphone-amp-impedance.html

Ummmmm maybe I'm missing some context, but output impedance of the amp has (9 times out of 10) nothing to do with its ability to output power. The Magni can put out probably about just over 500mW into 70ohms, which should be enough to get you going with the LCD-2s. Output impedance affects electrical damping, and can effect frequency response if the headphone's impedance isn't flat (most planars are flat, so this isn't an issue).

 

[MissChristie]

  Ummmmm maybe I'm missing some context, but output impedance of the amp has (9 times out of 10) nothing to do with its ability to output power. The Magni can put out probably about just over 500mW into 70ohms, which should be enough to get you going with the LCD-2s. Output impedance affects electrical damping, and can effect frequency response if the headphone's impedance isn't flat (most planars are flat, so this isn't an issue).

Sorry, I've been a few days without sleep. I basically was trying to answer someone's question that no one had seemed to get around to answering yet and looked up some numbers and formulas so that I could provide more than "It sounds gud!!!!" as an answer. My primary point that I was trying to (and obviously failed miserably to) convey was that they were an adequate match based on those specs and that formula as I know that mismatched amps can, as you stated, cause huge discrepancies in sound characteristics. But, if planars as you stated have flat impedance, and that doesn't affect gear matching as much, then I probably wasted a bit of time. As I had switched majors from engineering to computer networking 2 semesters into college, I'll be the first to admit that I know little in the ways of electrical physics.
 
Thank you for pointing it out as I'm always looking to expand my knowledge and definitely should be doing more research before answering the technical questions. But first, off to bed for some much needed rest.

 

[jodgey4]

Sorry to hear, get some sleep! And personal testamony should go a long ways IMO - that's really what matters at the end of the day .

 

[Sonic Defender]

@MissChristie, don't worry about it, it is commendable that you are working at increasing your understanding of the technicalities behind this hobby. I'm still trying to learn much of this, all modesty aside it is true, the technical underpinnings of good sound aren't without a learning curve. That said, I think more is made of impedance mismatching than should be, and unless the mismatching is rather extreme, the audible effects should be modest at worst, and in some cases actually perceived as pleasant.
 
My first real experience with this was with a Grado HF2 and a first generation Schiit Valhalla amp. On paper, and based on research here it should have sounded bad. I e-mailed Jason at Schiit and he and I chatted about it and I told him I was actually really enjoying the combination and I was worried that I had tin ears and just couldn't hear this horrible driver looseness that was supposed to kill the sound. He admitted that on paper there certainly could and should be some loss of dampening factor, but according to Jason he had several friends who were customers with a Valhalla and low Z headphones and even among some recording engineers in that group, people were actually enjoying the sound.
 
Recently I picked up a La Figaro 339 OTL amp. It is spectacular with the HD600, but it sounds very good with an LCD2F, my ONKYO A800 which is 32ohm and a 100db sensitivity can. The other night I also used a Yamaha MT220 with it, again, a very low Z, high efficiency heaphone and it also sounded very nice. Now this could just be me of course, but I suspect while that explains some of it, I still believe this whole output mismatching thing is overblown and in blind listening tests the mismatching would be more difficult to detect even among those who swear mismatching is the bane of headphone listening. IMO of course, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[jodgey4]

Agreed! Learning is always awesome .

 

[Ampeezy]

The wood looks much better while the metal will last longer and take more of a beating.

Still, I'll take wood. If it's not cracked already it should hold up for years.

Also, the Bamboo composite is very resilient. The only cracks I have witnessed in this forum have been with the rosewood variant ime.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Just received my replacement pair today, sounds great from my OTL amp. Nice thick texture and weight to the sound, just what I like.

 

[PinkyPowers]

Impedance imbalance is more of a worry with IEMs. I think full-size cans handle it much better.

 

[sikki-six]

Impedance imbalance is more of a worry with IEMs. I think full-size cans handle it much better.

I'd say it has more to do with the impedance of said headphone, be it IEM, full-sized or whatever. Low impedance amp output works with most stuff. If you have a pair of headphones with low impedance + amp with high impedance the mid-bass etc. might get a boost.