[Kozwoz]

I'm actually running the LCD 4 on the HA-3A With the 1/4 Jack cable. I'm never going passed 11 o'clock on the volume dial on the highest impedence switch so it has the power trust me. I have to use more of the volume dial on the Lyr 3 which has 9 Watts of total power. The HA-3A is a beast and you will only need the HA-6A for headphones like the Susvara or HE6.

I asked the people at the HA-3A thread before I bought it to see if it had the power and someone said this:

"At this impedance levels the current output is much more important than the raw power. HA-3A has a ton of current for the LCD-4"

They were 100% right, as long as you set it to the highest impedence switch on the amp then your good even with the 1/4 jack.

I appreciate what you’re saying about power but I disagree regarding volume. Volume is not a good indication of power output. I have low powered amps that have less than a watt of power output that can make the LCD4 go very loud even before I reach the 12 o’clock but this doesn’t mean it’s being driven properly. I generally find the LCD4 needs a few watts to really shine. I’m sure there are exceptions and would be keen to hear the HA-3A for myself.

 

[TheAbyss2022]

Cayin HA-3A

A perfect match with LCD4.

@Kozwoz Another LCD 4 owner who agrees the HA-3A is a perfect match. I'm not a technical person but I can just say that it's the best amplifier I've tried with the LCD 4 regardless of the specs.

 

[KaiSc]

"At this impedance levels the current output is much more important than the raw power.

At higher Impedance the Voltage is more important, Current stays low.
Ohm’s Law: Higher R (Resistance, Impedance) results in lower I (Current). U = Voltage.


That makes the LCD-4 a good match for some OTL tube amps, in my experience.
Tubes are good in delivery of Voltage, current isn’t their domain.

Not all tubes sound soft, AS7G e.g. can sound quite crisp, it’s harmonics can add a tendency into “electrostatic“ sound.

Still I tend, for every day use, to my ADI-2/4 Pro SE.

 

[Kozwoz]

At higher Impedance the Voltage is more important, Current stays low.
Ohm’s Law: Higher R (Resistance, Impedance) results in lower I (Current). U = Voltage.


That makes the LCD-4 a good match for some OTL tube amps, in my experience.
Tubes are good in delivery of Voltage, current isn’t their domain.

Not all tubes sound soft, AS7G e.g. can sound quite crisp, it’s harmonics can add a tendency into “electrostatic“ sound.

Still I tend, for every day use, to my ADI-2/4 Pro SE.

Interesting... I always found the LCD4 current hungry. Which is why Class A amps are notoriously good with planar magnetic headphones.

Well very interested to hear the HA-3A. That being said HA-6A offers 4x or more power so should sound even better I imagine.

 

[Lokust]

Wonder how the Wells Audio dragon would compete against the HA-3A.

 

[KaiSc]

Interesting... I always found the LCD4 current hungry. Which is why Class A amps are notoriously good with planar magnetic headphones.

Well very interested to hear the HA-3A. That being said HA-6A offers 4x or more power so should sound even better I imagine.

Most amps that are capable for high current, can usually even deliver high voltage too.

Speaker amps are a good example for this:

Let’s have a look on a LCD-4 / Speaker Amp combo:
The 200 Ohm LCD-4 can take up to 5 Watt Power before breaking.
This equals a Voltage of 31.6 V (250 mA Current)
The same Voltage on a 4 Ohm speaker would equal a Power of 250 W (7,900 mA Current), 125 W on an 8 Ohm speaker.

As a safety margin I’d go for 50% of Power, just 3 dB lower, but half the heat.
So, a 125 W @ 4 Ohm speaker amp can safely drive LCD-4 without breaking it.


Dedicated headphone amps usually take a different approach power-wise, as they don’t need to drive speakers anyway.

A good example, the Cayin HA-3A has 9 different impedance- and power-matching options (each output is different), might be one reason why it fits to so many – every one can select his personal perfect match.

On a tube amp impedance-matching can make a significant sound difference.

 

[TheAbyss2022]

Most amps that are capable for high current, can usually even deliver high voltage too.

Speaker amps are a good example for this:

Let’s have a look on a LCD-4 / Speaker Amp combo:
The 200 Ohm LCD-4 can take up to 5 Watt Power before breaking.
This equals a Voltage of 31.6 V (250 mA Current)
The same Voltage on a 4 Ohm speaker would equal a Power of 250 W (7,900 mA Current), 125 W on an 8 Ohm speaker.

As a safety margin I’d go for 50% of Power, just 3 dB lower, but half the heat.
So, a 125 W @ 4 Ohm speaker amp can safely drive LCD-4 without breaking it.


Dedicated headphone amps usually take a different approach power-wise, as they don’t need to drive speakers anyway.

A good example, the Cayin HA-3A has 9 different impedance- and power-matching options (each output is different), might be one reason why it fits to so many – every one can select his personal perfect match.

On a tube amp impedance-matching can make a significant sound difference.

If I set the impedence switch to low on the Cayin HA-3A then the bass become muddy and it breaks up with the LCD 4. Setting it to high impedence takes full advantage and gives slam and authority in the bass region but also the best texture in the bass compared to all other amps I tried. I also tried the XLR connector and I found that the vocals were more aggressive than the 1/4 connector. The 1/4 connector has softer and sweeter sounding vocals which I much prefer and I don't notice any other changes other than that so I keep it on the 1/4 connector with the LCD 4.

 

[doze off]

@Kozwoz Another LCD 4 owner who agrees the HA-3A is a perfect match. I'm not a technical person but I can just say that it's the best amplifier I've tried with the LCD 4 regardless of the specs.

+ 1

It has a lot of power for the LCD4, I personally like to listen loud without losing quality. I set 14h on the HA-3A and my ears scream with energy and quality. We recommend this combination.

 

[Lokust]

+ 1

It has a lot of power for the LCD4, I personally like to listen loud without losing quality. I set 14h on the HA-3A and my ears scream with energy and quality. We recommend this combination.

What do replacement tubes typically cost?

 

[LowBeat91]

The Schiit Lyr 3 or + with a Sylvania tube will give you way better bass, detail, soundstage and overall clarity than the A90D. If you can stretch your budget to the Cayin HA-3A then you will get the best and most optimal results with the LCD 4. The detail expands further, bass texture and dynamics are much improved. The soundstage is now the widest I've heard with the LCD 4 now and I really like that because it has a more closed in soundstage with other amps.

I am using the Topping D90 as the DAC but I might upgrade to the Ifi Pro IDSD and just use the DAC functionality out of that with the Cayin amp going forward. Also note that I recently added HQPlayer to my Roon and set it to 192kHz upsamling which has really improved the detail further alongside the instrument separation but also keeping the clarity and warmth in the vocals and keeping the soundstage wide. It has also improved the bass texture and slam further to where you understand why people say it has the best bass in a headphone. I originally had it set to 384kHz and the detail was a little better but I lost the warmth and soundstage so I'm really happy at 192kHz.

Unfortunately, the Schiit is not balanced and my budget does not go from 1k to 2k at once, but thanks anyway

 

[Fibre101]

Unfortunately, the Schiit is not balanced and my budget does not go from 1k to 2k at once, but thanks anyway

Master 9/19 is a good in terms of value for high end ss and is also balanced. Kinda underrated headphone amp.

 

[Kozwoz]

Unfortunately, the Schiit is not balanced and my budget does not go from 1k to 2k at once, but thanks anyway

Highly recommend the Burson 3xp. It’s incredibly powerful, balanced ins and outs.

 

[TheAbyss2022]

What do replacement tubes typically cost?

The stock tubes are really bad so you need to invest in some vintage tubes to really get the most out of the amp. I think I spent like £40 on the Reflektor 6V6 tubes and £30 on the Sylvania 12AU7 tubes.

 

[dfiled]

Highly recommend the Burson 3xp. It’s incredibly powerful, balanced ins and outs.

Agree — this is a very good pairing for the LCD-4

 

[PierreHPfan]

+ 1
It has a lot of power for the LCD4, I personally like to listen loud without losing quality. I set 14h on the HA-3A and my ears scream with energy and quality. We recommend this combination.

Interesting. A tube amp would need to be very transparent to push the LCD4 to it's potential IMO. It is a laid back HP after all. The Abyss I prefer SS amps.