[chargedcapacitor]

Ok dang.

I impulse bought a Topping A90D, due to being cheap and readily available. Should be ~2-3x's more power than the RME or Torpedo III.

I think it's closer to 5-6x more power. It'll be a great upgrade for the price so don't worry to much about it. You'd have to go the speaker amp route to get noticably better performance, or a much *much* more expensive headphone amp.

 

[crazzy]

I think it's closer to 5-6x more power. It'll be a great upgrade for the price so don't worry to much about it. You'd have to go the speaker amp route to get noticeably better performance, or a much *much* more expensive headphone amp.

Quick trip report after getting the A90D.
WOW, there's like 20% more detail, everywhere, at all times.
And way more bass/sub bass especially at lower listening levels. Previously I guess it would blend into the texture of the song or not be that present, but now it sticks out where you can't not notice that you've never heard these details before.
Peak bass/slam at louder volumes seems to be about the same, which isn't really a bad thing, since it was damn impressive before (using the oratory1990 for RME EQ)
The dynamics are pretty intense now, previously it was pretty good, but a single song couldn't go from subtle/quiet to explosive and loud all at the same volume level.

 

[Tanalasta]

The LCD-5 definitely benefits from an adequately powered amplifier. Whilst it is 'acceptable' from lower powered sources, an adequate amp definitely improves the detail and dynamics. As expected.

I recently added the Cayin C9 to the Hugo 2 ; or using the Naim Uniti Atom Headphone amp ... improves performance over the Hugo 2 or using a lower powered DAP alone.

 

[crazzy]

Yea, makes sense.

Now just trying to convince myself I don't need the extra power of the holo bliss (~27.4W) over the topping a90d (~11.2W).
The jump from RME (~1W) to topping a90d was a ~10.4x increase in power for $510.
The jump to a holo bliss would be another 2.45x increase in power, but for $3,400......

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Yea, makes sense.

Now just trying to convince myself I don't need the extra power of the holo bliss (~27.4W) over the topping a90d (~11.2W).
The jump from RME (~1W) to topping a90d was a ~10.4x increase in power for $510.
The jump to a holo bliss would be another 2.45x increase in power, but for $3,400......

Indeed you don't need the extra power. What you need is a better signal quality.

Please stop judging amp price based on peak output power they produce. Until certain few watts, you need to judge the amps based on how good the sound. No headphone would need 11,2W, let alone 27W, unless you want to kill your eardrum or the headphone.

 

[crazzy]

Indeed you don't need the extra power. What you need is a better signal quality.

Please stop judging amp price based on peak output power they produce. Until certain few watts, you need to judge the amps based on how good the sound. No headphone would need 11,2W, let alone 27W, unless you want to kill your eardrum or the headphone.

Yea, I just noticed a huge difference with more watts, just wondering where the limit is to where I won't hear any more detail at sane listening volumes.

I'm pretty deep into the EQ with the RME, not sure how much that will invalidate/adulterate getting a better signal quality amp.

I'd say going from the RME jack/Torpedo III -> A90D was objectively 20% better due to finally having enough power to more properly drive the cans.
Going from the A90D to a Holo Bliss will probably just be subjectively better, as it will be due to the amp sound, and not from a lack of watts to drive the LCD-5.

 

[roadcykler]

Indeed you don't need the extra power. What you need is a better signal quality.

Please stop judging amp price based on peak output power they produce. Until certain few watts, you need to judge the amps based on how good the sound. No headphone would need 11,2W, let alone 27W, unless you want to kill your eardrum or the headphone.

Isn't it interesting that so many people believe more wpc = better sound quality? If that were the case, the Decware Sarah 300b amp would sound just lousy as it only puts out about 7 watts. It's amazing how easily our thinking process can be hijacked by expectations or subjective beliefs.

 

[crazzy]

Isn't it interesting that so many people believe more wpc = better sound quality? If that were the case, the Decware Sarah 300b amp would sound just lousy as it only puts out about 7 watts. It's amazing how easily our thinking process can be hijacked by expectations or subjective beliefs.

My previous amps didn't seem to have enough transitive power for the LCD-5, and I was going down the rabbit hole of amps that others say provide enough power to drive the LCD-5 adequately.

I am more used to more sensitive headphones that don't need as much amp, and play nice with smaller tube and OTL setups.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

Isn't it interesting that so many people believe more wpc = better sound quality? If that were the case, the Decware Sarah 300b amp would sound just lousy as it only puts out about 7 watts. It's amazing how easily our thinking process can be hijacked by expectations or subjective beliefs.

I used to think the same thing as you, until I tried the LCD-5 / susvara on a pair of monoblock speaker amps. The difference was undeniable, and a larger jump than going from the RME-Adi to the A90. Way cheaper than other headphone amp options, as well. Power may not be the end-all-be-all, but for planars, it's definitely a factor.

 

[crazzy]

I feel amplification for LCD-5 is not brought up in this thread much, but I have seen some people enjoy LCD-5 with DAC/AMPs like RME ADI-2 and Chord TT2 so what you have might be sufficient.

I would not use the OTL with the LCD-5. I have tried it with my OTL, and it sounded incredible distorted.

Personally, I have found the LCD-5 to shine with higher power offerings. The amps that I have enjoyed it with most are the Kevin Gilmore CFA-2 (balanced only CFA-3), Schiit Aegir, and AVA DVA M225 monoblocks. The latter two I mentioned are speaker amps that I also use for my desktop passive speakers, but they have a slight amount of noise when no music is played. I have also seen people mention that LCD-5 sounds amazing with Holo Bliss, which seems to align with this thought.

I dusted off and hooked up my Bijou OTL in prep for listing it for sale, and I did not notice any distortion at all.

Sound is surprisingly similar to my A90D, I'd say a touch less fine detail, bass seems close but maybe a bit lacking a touch in medium dB sub-bass (large impact bass seems identical), vocals are nice and warm as is expected.

It is rather disconcerting though that 90% of the volume knob does basically nothing on the LCD-5's, and that I'm almost maxing out the amp to get reasonable volume levels, haha.
My focal clears were a bit more reasonable at like 40% volume, but that's to be expected given their respective sensitives. That and the volume pot isn't even remotely close to linear.

 

[mikecheck95]

@Audeze seeing as your mm-500 and LCD-5 measure so similarly, what is your take on “why” an MM-500 is worth less than an LCD-5? What are the benefits to the design of the LCD-5 that make it “worth the cost” to the listener. Of course there are many reviewers who claim a myriad of subjective benefits (many of which I agree with) but, I’m curious to hear from Audeze regarding the benefits to their new design and what makes it a flagship level product

 

[Audeze]

@Audeze seeing as your mm-500 and LCD-5 measure so similarly, what is your take on “why” an MM-500 is worth less than an LCD-5? What are the benefits to the design of the LCD-5 that make it “worth the cost” to the listener. Of course there are many reviewers who claim a myriad of subjective benefits (many of which I agree with) but, I’m curious to hear from Audeze regarding the benefits to their new design and what makes it a flagship level product

Though they measure similarly, the driver, especially the diaphragm design of LCD5 is vastly different. The LCD5 uses a diaphragm that is about 5 times thinner than MM500. From the diaphragm material that is cast to the way it is made is vastly different. It is on an order of magnitude lighter than the MM500 diaphragm and it move faster.

 

[crazzy]

I used to think the same thing as you, until I tried the LCD-5 / susvara on a pair of monoblock speaker amps. The difference was undeniable, and a larger jump than going from the RME-Adi to the A90. Way cheaper than other headphone amp options, as well. Power may not be the end-all-be-all, but for planars, it's definitely a factor.

How are your NC400's hooked up? is the A90 the pre-amp?

I'm looking to build a pair of the Nilai500's (update to NC400) once they become available in the next few months.

Worst case I don't like them as much as my other options, and I repurpose the monoblocks for my focal towers.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

How are your NC400's hooked up? is the A90 the pre-amp?

I'm looking to build a pair of the Nilai500's (update to NC400) once they become available in the next few months.

Worst case I don't like them as much as my other options, and I repurpose the monoblocks for my focal towers.

I use the RME Adi as my volume control.

 

[crazzy]

I use the RME Adi as my volume control.

And do you have to unplug your headphones every time you turn on and off the monoblocks to avoid the pop on and off noises?
I can see other say its mandatory for class AB amps, not sure if it is for class D as well.