[Currawong]

I had the Cambridge 840c for a while and it was quite good.

 

[MacedonianHero]

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Quote:

So I got my Cary Xciter DAC and I like it very much with my LCD-2s. Listening to it right now with my Concerto amp.
 
Here are some thoughts between the Xciter and PS Audio DLIII (now sold):
 
1.) PS Audio is a warmer DAC...no doubt. Hearing the Cary, the PS Audio seems a bit muddy. The treble too far back and the sound stage is 20% smaller on the DLIII.
2.) Bass impact...well mid-bass goes to the DLIII for impact as it's a warmer DAC, but not as clean.
3.) Mids: more up front on the Cary.
4.) Treble: Better extension....no doubt. Cymbal shots sound like cymbals...not a drum machine (like they did on the PS Audio).

Not a HUGE difference...but audible enough. With the LCD-2s, they seem more open, which is a very good thing IMO.

Music: Brothers in Arms (25 year anniversary), Jazz at the Pawnshop Vol. 1, and DSoTM (30th Anniversary version)

That was using my Marantz CD player as a CD transport going SPDIF into the DAC.

USB: No comparison. The Cary eats the PS Audio for breakfast. When I get a few computer programs working, the PS Audio studders...its not the PS Audio DAC's fault, it's my computer's issue. But no studdering on the Cary. Most likely due to the asyncronous USB with buffering and re-clocking in it's own time domain on the USB signal to effectively take the jitter out of the equation. Very surprised on the difference.

Overall: Worth it! 

Hi P
 
You didn't say how the Cary usb compared to the Thingee usb through the Cary.
 
E

Hi E:

Sorry, but I sold the Thingee on Saturday for a local deal. I was hoping to hold on to it for when my Cary arrived on Monday, but the local deal was too good to pass up. Sorry buddy.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I had the Cambridge 840c for a while and it was quite good.

Exactly, I would think pigwave's money be better spent on an amp upgrade from the Little Dot instead of the source.

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

Quote:

Hi P
 
You didn't say how the Cary usb compared to the Thingee usb through the Cary.
 
E

Hi E:

Sorry, but I sold the Thingee on Saturday for a local deal. I was hoping to hold on to it for when my Cary arrived on Monday, but the local deal was too good to pass up. Sorry buddy.

So then you don't know if the Cary's usb implementation is any better than the Thingee......  that sucks.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

So then you don't know if the Cary's usb implementation is any better than the Thingee......  that sucks.

Sorry, I had to jump on the sale. A bird in the hand as they say...
 
But it is a whole lot better than the PS Audio DLIII was. I found the Thingee did a great job (better than the DLIII), but not as good as the Cary....if that helps.

 

[Vaipec]

Hello,
I do have the BCL usb, the hd800 and lcd - 2 are pushing the simple BCL dac to the limit. I do have a Levinson cd player (390s) back home, 10.000 km's away, and before I decide to bring it, I would like to ask If anyone listen to it with the lcd 2 or hd 800, and if so, what do you thing. I'm pretty sure that it's a very resolving source, I've used it with a hi end speaker system, and It's good. Only prob, cd red book limitation. As I read from other head fi, nothing like a kick ass hi end cd player.
 
cheers 

 

[mtntrance]

I am really torn do I go with the audio gd NFB-1 Wolfson w/Phoenix I have on pre-order or change it to the NFB-1 with Sabre?

 

[angle_sh00ter]

How much difference can a top of the line DAC make over a mid range dac?  I am thinking of upgrading to something in the 1000-2000 range but can't really audition anything locally so I have no idea what to expect.

 

[Currawong]

What do you have now? Your profile is empty.

 

[angle_sh00ter]

Yeah Ive got a devilsound v2.1 and a burson HA160 powering the LCD-2.  Im happy with it but just wondering how much better can it get.
 
 
 

 

[llama_egg]

Any opinions of using either the Little Dot DAC or the Matrix Mini-i with the LCD-2's? At $300 their right up my alley price point wise, and both seem to offer a slew of features, not too mention balanced out!

 

[grokit]

I use the Mini-i in balanced configuration with a Woo WA22 and a Firestone Bravo +Supplier jitter reclocker/spdif converter. It sounds very good to me; the Bravo was a big improvement though as I think the Mini-i sounds best when using the coaxial input. Using coaxial also stopped the 48 kHz upsampling and gives me bit-perfect 44.1 kHz when using redbook.

 

[mtntrance]

Went for a NFB-8 with the Wolfson instead of the Sabre 32 based NFB-7. The One review i found of theNFB-8 said it was brighter than the Ref 5. I think I have been splitting hairs on DACs that will be close in sound anyway since Kingwa cooks up the desired flavor for each of his DAC designs. I suspect the audio gd DACs will all have a similar signature. If I don't like the LCD-2s on this gear there are cheaper headphones to experiment with.

 

[ZERUNG]

My LCD-2 is day and half old. Fed digitally into Weiss DAC 202 and onwards to the cans. I had just graduated from HD650, which I was very happy with.
 
The LCD-2 with just a day of burning is singing very very brightly, metaphorically speaking. My first take was that the floor noise level was that much lower than the 650. In just every department the LCD-2 has a PhD and then some. The strings have so much more clarity, the fingers sliding on the fret is so perceptable that the music is so much more tangable.  I am not sure if the bass is tight, not really..they are a tad tuby now, I have no issues here. The sound stage is not artifically large, the imaging of the music is very well balanced and not out of the world (Which imho is the way to be).
 
With all regards and respect to the 650; for bringing me into the Headphone world. The sound that I am getting now is off the scale in comparison to the latter. This is perhaps one of the few audiophile bargain in audio right now.
 
If any one has any recommendation that is better than the DAC202 please do, I would like to check that out. 

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

My LCD-2 is day and half old. Fed digitally into Weiss DAC 202 and onwards to the cans. I had just graduated from HD650, which I was very happy with.
 
The LCD-2 with just a day of burning is singing very very brightly, metaphorically speaking. My first take was that the floor noise level was that much lower than the 650. In just every department the LCD-2 has a PhD and then some. The strings have so much more clarity, the fingers sliding on the fret is so perceptable that the music is so much more tangable.  I am not sure if the bass is tight, not really..they are a tad tuby now, I have no issues here. The sound stage is not artifically large, the imaging of the music is very well balanced and not out of the world (Which imho is the way to be).
 
With all regards and respect to the 650; for bringing me into the Headphone world. The sound that I am getting now is off the scale in comparison to the latter. This is perhaps one of the few audiophile bargain in audio right now.
 
If any one has any recommendation that is better than the DAC202 please do, I would like to check that out. 

Congrats!
 
@Bolded: yea right...that's an awesome DAC.