mwindham08
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2012
- Posts
- 292
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- 16
Been out of the audio game for a while, about 5 years now. Graduation, house, kids aka life happened to me 
. Ended up selling most of my gear to fund different things we were needing at the time. Finally got back in a position where I could start back where I left off.
I still remember how much I loved my LCD-2s, those babies got me through school and I loved them. I wanted to relive my glory days with them but I also wanted something I could play speakers with since I no longer live in an apartment and can crank up the noise. I was gonna get more LCD-2s but stumbled across some used LCD-3s for not much more than new 2s so I pulled the trigger.
Now I needed an amp to power them. I knew I wanted a tube amp and was really hoping I could get another decware amp like i used to own but their wait list is months long. I think they may be building orders placed 5 months ago
and used units are hard to find. Also not all their amps can play speakers and headphones.
After alot of research I came across primaluna. I heard alot of great things about the build quality and the components they use and they apparently pair well with klipsch speakers which I've been leaning toward getting. It also has a home theater passthrough so I could use it for double duty of powering My front channels in a surround sound setup as well as just stereo listening. My biggest hesitation was firstly price, the EVO 400 is $5000 brand new which is not chump change by any means. Secondly I couldn't find as much information on it's synergy with audeze headphones. But then I found an excellent used one for less than 4k shipping included. Another trigger pulled.
I got them both almost the same day. Forewarning the EVO 400 weighs 85 pounds....not fun hauling that box down the stairs. Anyway got everything unboxed hooked up a bluesound node2i and opened up tidal.
Wow. Intial impressions are the LCD-3s are much brighter than the LCD-2s. Maybe not brighter is just that the treble has alot more extension so these don't seem as dark. Sound stage is much wider and deeper. Instrument separation is much easier to perceive. They are definitely more detailed headphones. The LCD-2s might be the easier if the 2 to listen to for long periods at least initially. My memories definitely have me viewing the LCD-2s with rose colored glasses as I kinda miss their darker signature. I need more time with the 3s I think before I decide that completely. I wouldn't trade off the 3s to get more 2s maybe just own both depending on what my mood is
.
The EVO 400 has no problems driving the LCD-3s. It is much more authoritative then my old decware amp. It should be it has gobs more power and alot more tubes. Bass has plenty of slam and definition. Uktralinear mode is very fast, great for rock music. I've been using triode mode more so far, it warms up the sound and tames the treble a bit. Quieter slower songs with an emphasis on vocals are triode mode everytime. LCD-3s is great with vocals
. I'd say once I've had more time with the LCD-3s and get more used to their sound I'll probably spend more time in ultralinear mode as it suits the kinds of music I listen to more.
Obviously I don't have any other headphones or amps to compare against the gear I have now, and my opinions are based off gear I had 5 years ago so take what I saw with a grain of salt but I think the EVO 400 and audeze LCD-3 s seem to be a really good match. The presentation seems effortless and with great control. Im getting excellent sound and all I have is a bluesound node2i which I've heard is a great streamer but maybe not the best DAC. I don't believe my decware amp and audio-gd dac were more detailed than this at all. Not sure if that's just because the LCD-3s are that much better or if streaming has gotten that much better over the years. Still might insert a dedicated DAC in the mix to see if I can get even more detail. If this amp plays speakers like it does the LCD-3s I'll have the best of both worlds. Highly recommended!
*Sorry this turned into a review of an amp and headphones so I wasn't sure where to post it
. Ended up selling most of my gear to fund different things we were needing at the time. Finally got back in a position where I could start back where I left off.I still remember how much I loved my LCD-2s, those babies got me through school and I loved them. I wanted to relive my glory days with them but I also wanted something I could play speakers with since I no longer live in an apartment and can crank up the noise. I was gonna get more LCD-2s but stumbled across some used LCD-3s for not much more than new 2s so I pulled the trigger.
Now I needed an amp to power them. I knew I wanted a tube amp and was really hoping I could get another decware amp like i used to own but their wait list is months long. I think they may be building orders placed 5 months ago
and used units are hard to find. Also not all their amps can play speakers and headphones.After alot of research I came across primaluna. I heard alot of great things about the build quality and the components they use and they apparently pair well with klipsch speakers which I've been leaning toward getting. It also has a home theater passthrough so I could use it for double duty of powering My front channels in a surround sound setup as well as just stereo listening. My biggest hesitation was firstly price, the EVO 400 is $5000 brand new which is not chump change by any means. Secondly I couldn't find as much information on it's synergy with audeze headphones. But then I found an excellent used one for less than 4k shipping included. Another trigger pulled.
I got them both almost the same day. Forewarning the EVO 400 weighs 85 pounds....not fun hauling that box down the stairs. Anyway got everything unboxed hooked up a bluesound node2i and opened up tidal.
Wow. Intial impressions are the LCD-3s are much brighter than the LCD-2s. Maybe not brighter is just that the treble has alot more extension so these don't seem as dark. Sound stage is much wider and deeper. Instrument separation is much easier to perceive. They are definitely more detailed headphones. The LCD-2s might be the easier if the 2 to listen to for long periods at least initially. My memories definitely have me viewing the LCD-2s with rose colored glasses as I kinda miss their darker signature. I need more time with the 3s I think before I decide that completely. I wouldn't trade off the 3s to get more 2s maybe just own both depending on what my mood is
.The EVO 400 has no problems driving the LCD-3s. It is much more authoritative then my old decware amp. It should be it has gobs more power and alot more tubes. Bass has plenty of slam and definition. Uktralinear mode is very fast, great for rock music. I've been using triode mode more so far, it warms up the sound and tames the treble a bit. Quieter slower songs with an emphasis on vocals are triode mode everytime. LCD-3s is great with vocals
. I'd say once I've had more time with the LCD-3s and get more used to their sound I'll probably spend more time in ultralinear mode as it suits the kinds of music I listen to more.Obviously I don't have any other headphones or amps to compare against the gear I have now, and my opinions are based off gear I had 5 years ago so take what I saw with a grain of salt
but I think the EVO 400 and audeze LCD-3 s seem to be a really good match. The presentation seems effortless and with great control. Im getting excellent sound and all I have is a bluesound node2i which I've heard is a great streamer but maybe not the best DAC. I don't believe my decware amp and audio-gd dac were more detailed than this at all. Not sure if that's just because the LCD-3s are that much better or if streaming has gotten that much better over the years. Still might insert a dedicated DAC in the mix to see if I can get even more detail. If this amp plays speakers like it does the LCD-3s I'll have the best of both worlds. Highly recommended!*Sorry this turned into a review of an amp and headphones so I wasn't sure where to post it
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