[dubharmonic]

I've been struggling with how to find a solid DAC/amp/headphone combination that fits my taste. Listening at a noisy trade show for a few minutes doesn't give a reasonable impression. It's taken weeks to wrap my head around what I like do or don't like about a particular piece of equipment. When spending over $1K, I'd rather not just throw darts at a wall, ya know? How do you guys do it?

 

[quan61092]

IMO, LCD2 rev.1 is not that hard to handle, it's much easier for amp to drive, but that doesnt mean LCD2 can perform a song well with any kind of amp (about the amp power to drive the headphone, i'm pretty sure because on the same dac, amp, LCD2 is easier to deal with, than the HE560)

 

[Ampeezy]

Balanced cables just came in and right off the bat, resolution seems to have gone up...just a clearer image. Soundstage is relatively the same, treble has improved the most as it sounds more detailed, and this is probably the reason for the clearer sound. Bass is even more juicy 

 

[DavidA]

   
Sure, whatever you want to call it they seem to have what I'm looking for that is different. I will certainly by auditioning them before I buy but I'm more concerned about long-term comfort which can't be derived from a short audition.

Glad you will have a chance to audition, here in Hawaii there are no places to demo/audition.  For me the weight of the LCD-2 is the largest issue, it hard to enjoy the music when you neck is starting to hurt.

 

[DavidA]

  I've been struggling with how to find a solid DAC/amp/headphone combination that fits my taste. Listening at a noisy trade show for a few minutes doesn't give a reasonable impression. It's taken weeks to wrap my head around what I like do or don't like about a particular piece of equipment. When spending over $1K, I'd rather not just throw darts at a wall, ya know? How do you guys do it?

When I first started with headphones I was like you and didn't really know what sound signature I would like and the only headphones I had at the time were very old, a Stax SR-34 and HD-455, both from back in the 1980's.  First headphone I bought was the M50s since it was well liked on Amazon and many compared it with other headphones so it gave me a frame of reference.  After a few months I decided to get the HE-400 seeing that it seemed to have the sound signature that I was looking for.  While it was close, it didn't do some genres of music well so my search continued, next up was the HD-650 as it was one of the most popular in the under $500 range and is used by many as a bench mark for comparisons.  Now the process of finding a DAC and amp followed, started with M/M stack, and went on from there.
 
After 2+ years I've come to the conclusion that I like many different headphones for their own unique sound signatures and various DACs and amp in how they interact with each headphone.  What headphone I use usually comes down to what genre of music I want to listen to at the moment, I look at it as finding the right tool for the job.

 

[thefitz]

  IMO, LCD2 rev.1 is not that hard to handle, it's much easier for amp to drive, but that doesnt mean LCD2 can perform a song well with any kind of amp (about the amp power to drive the headphone, i'm pretty sure because on the same dac, amp, LCD2 is easier to deal with, than the HE560)

The LCD2 is much easier to drive than the HE-560.

 

[DavidA]

 
The LCD2 is much easier to drive than the HE-560.

Agree with you on this, found it hard to believe when I first noticed it.

 

[thefitz]

 
Agree with you on this, found it hard to believe when I first noticed it.

Why is that?

 

[DavidA]

 
Why is that?

I thought that the HE-560 would be fairly similar to the HE-400i and I was quite surprised that there was such a large difference in how much I need to turn up the volume pot to get the same listening level. The LCD-2 and HE-400i are fairly close in sensitivity, so just assumed that the HE-560 was just a little less sensitive based on the specs but in real life its quite a large difference.

 

[offprint]

  I am very interested in making the LCD2 my next purchase and an upgrade to the HD600/650. I am only hesitant regarding the long-term comfort. I sometimes use headphones at my desk for multiple hour sessions and I don't know if the weight is something I can handle. 
 
MrSpeakers Alpha Dogs were already on the higher-end of weight and supposedly these are even heavier. I have read that the leather-free pads are a little bit better in the comfort department though. 
 
Did anyone have similar reservations as me before purchasing and would like to share their experience?

 
The Lohb strap and vegan pads will improve comfort considerably. the former being absolutely crucial for prolonged sessions. The cans were nearly unbearable after the first hour or so because of the pressure it puts on the top of my head.

 

[wellers73]

I just bought a pair of LCD-2s - a brand new 2016 version. I'm surprised at how well the headphone output of my Rogue Sphinx integrated amp powers them. The specs say it outputs about 1W in 32 ohms, and this seems to work ok for the LCD-2. I'm listening with the volume knob around 11 or 12 o'clock. 

 

[dubharmonic]

I just bought a pair of LCD-2s - a brand new 2016 version. I'm surprised at how well the headphone output of my Rogue Sphinx integrated amp powers them. The specs say it outputs about 1W in 32 ohms, and this seems to work ok for the LCD-2. I'm listening with the volume knob around 11 or 12 o'clock. 

I had similar reactions with the Schiit Magni 2. It's not always volume that suffers from a weak amp, it's also the character of the sound.

 

[wellers73]

I had similar reactions with the Schiit Magni 2. It's not always volume that suffers from a weak amp, it's also the character of the sound.

Agreed. I feel like I'm getting a good sound character, but still probably not hearing the LCD-2s at their full potential. I'll likely upgrade at some point, but I need to give my wallet a break for the time being!

 

[Alchemist007]

  Is it possible the signature change is also partly SQ difference?  Between my UD-301 headphone output and Ember there is a difference in how the bass is presented, to me its a SQ difference since the bass is tighter and goes lower with the Ember but one could also say its a signature change.
 
When I had my original Magni there was a definite difference is SQ to me between the Magni and Ember, the sound from the Magni was thin, lacked sub bass, was one note type of bass and was a bit harsh in the highs.  This could well be different with the Magni2

I'm thinking this is what people are actually thinking about. Maybe they just don't like the sound signature of those pieces of hardware with the LCD. If you can crank it up though, it's definitely going to be loud enough.

 

[MissChristie]

Just want to chime in with my 2 cents RE: Magni2 with LCD2. In my own experience, I found the magni2 to pair well . It provides plenty of power and I feel the LCDs sound full and lush out of it. But as stated, that is my own admittedly subjective take on it. As Koolpep expressed, not everyone concurrs.