[Mr.Sneis]

  Ok I got my LCD-3 based set up done for now .
Berendsen cd-1 --> morrow cable --> Decware CSP3 --> ALo Studio six --> Toxic silver Poison --> LCD3
 
the set up is amazing - had a good 3 hours session on it today , csp3 still burning in .
my bad luck is my cd player might be in its last leg .... what a timing .

 
So you like the chain better with the CSP3 in as a pre-amp versus source to the studio six?   You should try just the csp3 as the amp to compare!

 

[dan.gheorghe]

  I can totally understand preferring the LCD-3s to the LCD-X. It depends what matters most to the listener. I still hold them in very high regard while I myself do prefer the LCD-X.

+1 I miss my LCD-3s sometimes ...

 

[screwdriver]

   
So you like the chain better with the CSP3 in as a pre-amp versus source to the studio six?   You should try just the csp3 as the amp to compare!

the studio six alone i can live with - it is excellent .
with the csp3 + alo studio six  u have the ability to change the flavor of the sound a bit - u can have it spacious or u can have it in your face . 
the csp3 gives  more detail , weight , body to the sound  of the stock.
 
ill go ahead and try out the csp3 on its own as an amp - i tried it one time with the lcd3 and its not bad at all.
 
no hums or noise in my system after the set up  black black backgrounds  like using the studio six  alone - thank goodness 

 

[ericfarrell85]

I've had the LCD 3 in house for a couple of months and they are very pleasant headphones, but ultimately not enough of a step up from my LCD 2's to keep around. What makes them so enjoyable is their genre versatility and put-em-on-and-forget-about-headphones-for-a-while quality. If only they stepped up commensurate with improved equipment, but I don't find they improve as well as stats, T1 or the HD800. The Dynahi was the best amp with them, but only marginally better than my Decware tandem or BA. LCD's were nice with any source I threw at them (Lampi, M7, PWD), but for the most part I couldn't see past their signature to the equipment. As a music tool, high grades, as an equipment test-tube, I'd take a bevy of others.

 

[Mr.Sneis]

Eric,
 
Some things I ran into myself with the 3's in the past.
 
At first when I had them it was me picking them apart what made them better than the 2's.  There was better fleshing out of the details but was the cost worth it?  At first the answer was no but I spent more time with them and came to like them more even after letting them go.
 
Two things really changed my opinion of them for the better; the tubes I used on the BA and the cable.  Out of the tubes I have stashed away, I like the green label Sylvania 6sn7gt or vt-231 by and far and in my experience the best choice of driver tube that I have found (I don't remember the exact version but the plates are not triangled).  Luckily they aren't rare or expensive!
 
The cable thing I really didn't want to believe at first.  I am not a fan of expensive aftermarket cables.  When I swapped to a stupidly expensive ALO reference 16 cable the difference was night and day and I coudln't go back.  I don't think that putting $6-700 is a smart move necessarily but maybe something more reasonable can lead to similar performance gains.  In hindsight I wish I never sold off that cable!  Perhaps it was decreased resistance or something that made the difference, I still need to figure out what the hell was going on there.
 
I don't have a Dynahi but out of my gs-x with mk2 modules they were not really my cup of tea, could have been a source issue too at the time I had a Lynx Hilo and it may have been a little too analytic.  I know lots of folks recommend the GS-X mk2 for the LCD-3's but I'm just not seeing it, maybe it is the mk1 vs mk2 difference makes or breaks it but I doubt it.

 

[Solude]

Comes down to source with the GS-X mk2.  The PWD2 and the LCD-3 are great together but when I swapped the Gungnir in... ugh tonal balance shifted down a lot.  But that same Gungnir on the Mjolnir is great tonally.  That said it comes down to what you can tolerate down low and up high.

 

[FrankCooter]

 
 
Perhaps this belongs in the DIY forum, but thought you LCD-3 guys would get a kick out of seeing what's possible if you run with the Audeze aesthetic. The amp is a simple two stage single-ended 6v6  with a type 76 front end. Iron is Electra-Print . Power supply is solid-state feeding dual tube series regulators. All capacitors are PIO motor-run type.  Running a Metrum Octive dac.  Great fun listening to classic rock!

 

[ericfarrell85]

Eric,

Some things I ran into myself with the 3's in the past.

At first when I had them it was me picking them apart what made them better than the 2's.  There was better fleshing out of the details but was the cost worth it?  At first the answer was no but I spent more time with them and came to like them more even after letting them go.

Two things really changed my opinion of them for the better; the tubes I used on the BA and the cable.  Out of the tubes I have stashed away, I like the green label Sylvania 6sn7gt or vt-231 by and far and in my experience the best choice of driver tube that I have found (I don't remember the exact version but the plates are not triangled).  Luckily they aren't rare or expensive!

The cable thing I really didn't want to believe at first.  I am not a fan of expensive aftermarket cables.  When I swapped to a stupidly expensive ALO reference 16 cable the difference was night and day and I coudln't go back.  I don't think that putting $6-700 is a smart move necessarily but maybe something more reasonable can lead to similar performance gains.  In hindsight I wish I never sold off that cable!  Perhaps it was decreased resistance or something that made the difference, I still need to figure out what the hell was going on there.

I don't have a Dynahi but out of my gs-x with mk2 modules they were not really my cup of tea, could have been a source issue too at the time I had a Lynx Hilo and it may have been a little too analytic.  I know lots of folks recommend the GS-X mk2 for the LCD-3's but I'm just not seeing it, maybe it is the mk1 vs mk2 difference makes or breaks it but I doubt it.

Great post firstly. I do find the LCD-3's growing on me and thought I heard improvements over the 2 (mostly in the transparency department but at the expense of some heft). When I threw on the LCD-2's (Dynahi) I just kind of forgot about the 3 and felt they were also tonally pleasant and enjoyable (particularly for indie stuff), but ultimately forgettable next to some of the others. I like that they're relatively forgiving, but that shouldn't be the high point for a $2000 headphone. I ran the BA with Mullard ECC35, a tube I like more in my Zana Deux. I'll have to try out the Sylvania you mentioned, As for cables I have a Norse Norn on my LCD - 2 that I can try, but I never really thought any of my after market cables made a big difference. As for the Dynahi, I thought it was bigger, badder, better than the GSX I heard. Just more oomph and a more stable image, but these qualities, especially with my Lampizator, can make the LCD's a little too hefty and lacking finesse, or maybe the bombast just gets tiresome. Maybe I'll pick an LCD-3 in the future if the price continues to drop on them, but at the moment they would need to do a little more to stay in the stable.

 

[Jones Bob]

Perhaps this belongs in the DIY forum, but thought you LCD-3 guys would get a kick out of seeing what's possible if you run with the Audeze aesthetic. The amp is a simple two stage single-ended 6v6  with a type 76 front end. Iron is Electra-Print . Power supply is solid-state feeding dual tube series regulators. All capacitors are PIO motor-run type.  Running a Metrum Octive dac.  Great fun listening to classic rock!

Sweet setup!

I've breadboarded a PP 6V6 with Electra-Print PSSS OPTs for LCD-3 and loudspeaker uses. Your beautifully awesome industrial design has given me some great ideas on how to package mine.

 

[Androb]

   

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 
 
 
Perhaps this belongs in the DIY forum, but thought you LCD-3 guys would get a kick out of seeing what's possible if you run with the Audeze aesthetic. The amp is a simple two stage single-ended 6v6  with a type 76 front end. Iron is Electra-Print . Power supply is solid-state feeding dual tube series regulators. All capacitors are PIO motor-run type.  Running a Metrum Octive dac.  Great fun listening to classic rock!

That is some insanely good looking stuff! Awesome

 

[Saraguie]

 Maybe I'll pick an LCD-3 in the future if the price continues to drop on them, but at the moment they would need to do a little more to stay in the stable.

Where is the price dropping on them? Do you mean used ones?

 

[OPR8R]

Originally Posted by FrankCooter /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

 
 
 
Perhaps this belongs in the DIY forum, but thought you LCD-3 guys would get a kick out of seeing what's possible if you run with the Audeze aesthetic. The amp is a simple two stage single-ended 6v6  with a type 76 front end. Iron is Electra-Print . Power supply is solid-state feeding dual tube series regulators. All capacitors are PIO motor-run type.  Running a Metrum Octive dac.  Great fun listening to classic rock!

 
Looks great.  Seeing this makes me think Zebrawood would be a great option for (my) Decwares.

 

[ericfarrell85]

  Where is the price dropping on them? Do you mean used ones?

Yeah, I meant used.

 

[Digitalchkn]

I am looking to upgrade to one of the Bursons (sorry, not a tubes guy).  Conductors seem interesting options.  Has anyone here auditioned both the Conductor and the SL version with LCD3?  Does the big brother justify the nearly $400 price diff?

 

[Solude]

For low impedance orthos yes, for high impedance dynamics no.