[commtrd]

Yes the Hugo 2 is a really nice piece of gear. IF it had balanced outputs available would likely look no further for a dac. I dont really know how H2 compares to Yggy or R2R7 (ladder dac) but will say that any other dac is gonna have to be just superlative to best the Hugo 2. I never use H2 for mobile, it has always lived desktop and likely always will. Mojo travels nicely...

I guess it goes without saying that it would be real nice to be able to put an entire system in place all at the same time, but of course not always possible to do so.

 

[2thfixr]

I dunno bout this... seems to me the up stream components are critical to feeding quality signal to the final elements whether HP or loudspeaker. I have come around to thinking the dac is actually the most critical first item to get right. Most current TOTL HPs tend to be sort of partial to correct upstream gear to perform their best. Without which SQ yield will not be optimized. As usual opinion etc...

I listened to the podcast where Paul mentioned this. He wasn't saying speakers/headphones are more important than upstream components, he was saying if you're going to start somewhere get the absolute best speakers you can and build your system from there vs investing in a great amp/dac up front and speakers later. Meaning great speakers can sound good with mediocre upstream components whereas crap speakers sound terrible even with the best upstream components. Paul also said synergy was more important than absolute benchmark performance or reviews. If your speakers and dac/amp aren't a good match for each other or your listening room's acoustics, everything is moot. The LCD-4 absolutely requires tons of power. I drive mine with a Ragnarok and a balanced cable. Surprisingly, even at high gain I'm rolling my volume dial to the right more than I thought I'd need to.

 

[2thfixr]

Yes the Hugo 2 is a really nice piece of gear. IF it had balanced outputs available would likely look no further for a dac. I dont really know how H2 compares to Yggy or R2R7 (ladder dac) but will say that any other dac is gonna have to be just superlative to best the Hugo 2. I never use H2 for mobile, it has always lived desktop and likely always will. Mojo travels nicely...

I guess it goes without saying that it would be real nice to be able to put an entire system in place all at the same time, but of course not always possible to do so.

I had the Hugo 2 and IMHO the Yggdrasil with Analog 2 > Hugo 2

 

[2thfixr]

Yeah, the old chicken/egg thing. I just felt that my Xs responded to better upstream equipment, including audio cables. I'm inclined to think that if one doesn't have a well-chosen set of phones (or speakers), you could put the best gear ahead of them and not get the benefit. I'm not an idiologue about the matter, and I could always change my mind from listening to people and gear. It just makes sence to me at this time. Being a Hugo2 owner, makes me tend to agree with you that the DAC is quite important.

Agreed. The Xs are very revealing because they have more of a studio monitor sound than the darker Audeze house sound. That said, out of all my headphones the HD800S have been the most responsive to upstream equipment and cables. I liked them before on my Jotunheim with multibit DAC but with the Ragnarok, Yggdrasil and Audio Envy balanced cable, they have become my favorite headphones and the only ones I've listened to for the past 2 months.

 

[commtrd]

Agreed. The Xs are very revealing because they have more of a studio monitor sound than the darker Audeze house sound. That said, out of all my headphones the HD800S have been the most responsive to upstream equipment and cables. I liked them before on my Jotunheim with multibit DAC but with the Ragnarok, Yggdrasil and Audio Envy balanced cable, they have become my favorite headphones and the only ones I've listened to for the past 2 months.

Good to hear of the synergy with the yggy/rag. Also that the yggy bests the Hugo 2 by some amount which is great news. Best bang for the buck seems to be the yggy/rag for the full balance I/O and the power to run hungry headphones AND speakers as well. The other alternative I was considering is the Audio GD R2R7/Master 9 combo. Thanks much for the info, much appreciated. =^)

 

[MacedonianHero]

So, with the Pathos Aurium hybrid amp (3.6w into 16 ohm) it seems like the LCD-4 would be a better choice? I don't know what the output is at 200 ohm.

Both would be great IMO.

 

[XERO1]

Paul McGowan says the same thing. choose the best speakers/headphones and augment the chain backward from there. Kinda makes sence to me too.

I agree with this. The delta between different speakers/headphones can be massive. But the delta between amps, preamps and DAC is not nearly as big, relatively speaking.

 

[Hifi59]

So, with the Pathos Aurium hybrid amp (3.6w into 16 ohm) it seems like the LCD-4 would be a better choice? I don't know what the output is at 200 ohm.

The owners manual states 3.6w in 32 ohms. Based on what I’ve experienced, I would say this is true and likely still puts out a good portion of that going up to several hundred ohms.

 

[vortrex]

The website says:

Output power 3,6W @ 16 Ohm, Class A zero feedback

 

[Hifi59]

The website says:

Output power 3,6W @ 16 Ohm, Class A zero feedback

You are correct and that’s why I said I tend to believe the manual spec because it more reflects my experience on how it drives my variety of rather inefficient headphones.

 

[davidimdpt]

Does anybody have any experience with using a balanced connection vs unbalanced connection with the 4z? When I listened to my ether c flows using a balanced connection on my Rag it made a noticeable difference for the better. I'm curious if a balanced connection would make a similar improvement considering the low impedance of the 4z.

 

[Sonic Defender]

You are correct and that’s why I said I tend to believe the manual spec because it more reflects my experience on how it drives my variety of rather inefficient headphones.

Based on your profile avatar I guess you are a fan of the Saint Germain des Pres Café collection as well. I have all but 2 of the issues in the collection and vol. 19 should be out soon.

 

[Hifi59]

No, I’m not that sophisticated,lol. I do love vinyl and I thought it was a cool picture.‍

 

[vortrex]

The owners manual states 3.6w in 32 ohms. Based on what I’ve experienced, I would say this is true and likely still puts out a good portion of that going up to several hundred ohms.

Pathos got back to me, the Aurium is only 300 mW at 200 Ohm.

 

[Hifi59]

I’m a bit surprised at this. I feel my LCD-4s are performing up to snuff with the Aurium. When I go back and forth between the Aurium and my very powerful Headtrip amp, the only differences I hear are the individual amplifiers sound signature and inherent capabilities without any additional shortcomings. For example, the Headtrip goes deeper than the Aurium and that remains the case, regardless of headphones used. Efficient or inefficient. My Aurium is capable of volume levels that are too loud to tolerate for any length of time. The one o’clock position is the best listening level for me, which I consider a moderate volume level. It’s clean and clear. 2-3 o’clock and it gets too loud for listening for more than a few minutes, but it’s still clean and clear.