[zen87192]

I have the same issue with my lcd5, same set up with the lcd4, Stella, lcd mx4, no humming, it only happens with my lcd5

If you remove your TT2 from your audio set up then plug it in somewhere else with only the LCD-5 attached does it still Hum?

 

[zen87192]

When you touch the TT2 does the Hum stop or resurface?

 

[Volote]

Got my Ifi Groundhog in and BAM, it works. Humming is gone. Glad I had a spare IEC cable from an unused power supply

 

[cantara256]

If you remove your TT2 from your audio set up then plug it in somewhere else with only the LCD-5 attached does it still Hum?

When you touch the TT2 does the Hum stop or resurface?

Yep; it's a little different though. When the TT2 is in the HMS/Mac mini stack, hum is random; it changes as I move around the couch or move the cable; touching the TT2/HMS doesn't hum but touching the Mac hums.

When TT2 is by itself, there's constant hum and it goes away when I touch the TT2.

Got my Ifi Groundhog in and BAM, it works. Humming is gone. Glad I had a spare IEC cable from an unused power supply

What device did you plug it into, and where exactly? I can plug it into the USB of the Mac, but the HMS and TT2 don't have anywhere I can see I can plug it in with any of the supplied attachments.

 

[zen87192]

You would use these two items I believe.

 

[zen87192]

End up with this in to the back of the TT2….

 

[cantara256]

So.... I believe I've found a 'work around' for the humming between the TT2 and LCD-5. Locate a good quality phono cable. Plug one end into the TT2 White Phono socket. Important.... Plug the other end into an available phono plug of an audio item that is properly grounded. This should work OK.

I went back and re-read this message, stared at the back of the TT2 one more time and realized it actually DOES have the right connector (RCA). I don't know how I missed this before.

So now it's fixed! IEC cable from power strip to Groundhog IEC/RCA cable to TT2 RCA, and the hum is gone. Now the Hugo M Scaler hums when I touch it but there's no reason to after initial setup.

You would use these two items I believe.

I just needed the first one (IEC/RCA cable that came with Groundhog): IEC -> Groundhog IEC/RCA -> TT2 RCA.

Thank you!

 

[Volote]

I went back and re-read this message, stared at the back of the TT2 one more time and realized it actually DOES have the right connector (RCA). I don't know how I missed this before.

So now it's fixed! IEC cable from power strip to Groundhog RCA to TT2 RCA, and the hum is gone. Now the Hugo M Scaler hums when I touch it but I never touch it anyway, it doesn't even have physical buttons or a reason to be touched after setup.

Thank you!

Glad my post helped! I was about to take pictures, but you set yours up just like i did. IEC to Ifi groundhog thinger to the unused RCA.

 

[Volote]

Forgot to mention the sound is so much better now, much cleaner signal. It was actually driving me insane the past 2 days since I was getting random fuzziness on mids and highs.

 

[801evan]

Have the 5 with me and here's my take on it

LCD 5 is...

like a Utopia if used with a solid state or fast amp with the fitting in the center.

the best Beyerdynamics you're never gonna hear if you have the fitting moved a bit back.

like monitors when paired with a fast solid state. Too mid-centric. Sounds like I'm QCing an album before the label signs it off. It can sound like Utopia's due to the how the mids sounds flat and can lead to boredom.

like a smoother LCD 4 if paired with a tube/slower amp sans sub bass extension and fitting further back.

like a Susvara but with better grouding and midbass, sans room sound and sub-bass

like Stealth sans sub bass and smaller soundstage if paired with tubes and fitting is further back. this is the best combo for me.

-----------

Susvara is like listening to floorstanders in a room that has a livelier room resonance. There's sub bass but a cut in the mid bass and ear pad resonance is apparent.

LCD 5 is more accurate than Susvara. It has less group delay, has more mid bass but less sub bass quantity. Music is more realistic because the presentation is more grounded than Susvara but a touch drier. It doesnt handle xfeed well on the Phonitor One.

LCD4 has more sub bass extension that the 5. The frequency response is much more wonky, uneven than the 5, but is something I prefer once acclimated to it as it gives a better room presentation. It sounds better on a faster amp over the 5, making it more flexible. With a tube amp, its practically the same as the 5 except for the difference stated above. LCD 4 is an inbetween of LCD 5 and Stealth and less sensitive to chain compared to Stealth and 5 but has a noticeable bass peak that makes one lose perception of neighboring bass frequencies.

Stealth is like a Dolby Atmos experience sans chest compression, but to get there requires a lot of transparency, speed and low noise from the chain. The Stealth and Susvara can live on the same chain but the 5 and the Stealth can't have the same chain combination to sound their best. The bonus touch is the extra realism xfeed brings because the effect wont clash with group delay issues. The LCD 5 on tubes is very close to Stealth, but just lacks bass extension.

It's fair to say my exploration hasn't achieved the most out of the 5, but what's important in what I'm sharing is the trajectory is clear that going towards tube or a slower amp will result in a more ideal sound output than a fast,'transparent', solid state amp. So being mindful of chain matching is more important than criticizing how the 5 performs on an 'objectively transparent' chain.

devices used:
Soekris dac1321 with custom psu and filtering
SPL Phonitor One + Sparkos Pros with Ifi Elite 12v mod
Ifi Pro iDSD Signature with Ifi Elite 15v mod

Soundwarrior CDT + OCXO with custom psu and filtering

 

[MN8372]

Interesting observations from 801evan. I agree that the LCD5 can be a bit like the Utopia. But not sure I agree with the conclusion about a slower amp gelling with the LCD5. I previously preferred my Studio 6 tube amp with the LCD5 over my Moon 430HAD solid state amp. But not all solid state is the same (the Moon was not the quickest/most transparent but very “pleasant”). I recently purchased a CFA3 from Dukei (primarily/exclusively for my Susvaras). It works wonders for my Susvaras but I’ve been very surprised how it also gels with the far more efficient LCD5. Really opens them up. On my older amps the LCD5 could sound a little congested compared to the Susvara (especially noticable when switching from the HifiMan to the Audeze - it takes a while for the brain to adjust to the smaller soundstage and darker treble). Technically brilliant but like listening in a small room. Not any more… More sparkle in the treble and (remarkably) less shouty in the mids. Wider soundstage and even more punch in the bass. They are still not as expansive as the Susvaras (which are speaker like out of the CFA3) but much better than before.

I think it depends on your preferences. If you find the LCD5 a little dark in the treble or a little congested a faster more transparent SS amp might be what you are looking for. But if you find them a bit harsh sounding (maybe because you are sensitive to a shouty midrange) then tread carefully. Although in my case the CFA3 improves the treble and the bass without further emphasising the midrange which is a win for my taste. I think it’s hard to generalise. Both the LCD5 and the Susvara are incredible headphones. I haven’t heard the Stealth.

 

[801evan]

Interesting observations from 801evan. I agree that the LCD5 can be a bit like the Utopia. But not sure I agree with the conclusion about a slower amp gelling with the LCD5. I previously preferred my Studio 6 tube amp with the LCD5 over my Moon 430HAD solid state amp. But not all solid state is the same (the Moon was not the quickest/most transparent but very “pleasant”). I recently purchased a CFA3 from Dukei (primarily/exclusively for my Susvaras). It works wonders for my Susvaras but I’ve been very surprised how it also gels with the far more efficient LCD5. Really opens them up. On my older amps the LCD5 could sound a little congested compared to the Susvara (especially noticable when switching from the HifiMan to the Audeze - it takes a while for the brain to adjust to the smaller soundstage and darker treble). Technically brilliant but like listening in a small room. Not any more… More sparkle in the treble and (remarkably) less shouty in the mids. Wider soundstage and even more punch in the bass. They are still not as expansive as the Susvaras (which are speaker like out of the CFA3) but much better than before.

I think it depends on your preferences. If you find the LCD5 a little dark in the treble or a little congested a faster more transparent SS amp might be what you are looking for. But if you find them a bit harsh sounding (maybe because you are sensitive to a shouty midrange) then tread carefully. Although in my case the CFA3 improves the treble and the bass without further emphasising the midrange which is a win for my taste. I think it’s hard to generalise. Both the LCD5 and the Susvara are incredible headphones. I haven’t heard the Stealth.

Thanks man. Hmm okay coz my phonitor one is sparkos ss360 on xfeed off and sparko pros on xfeed on. Then I'm comparing with pro iDSD sig solid state vs tube.

I've had the pro iDSD before doing many tests. The conclusion that time was lcd4 solid state and elite was the best combo. For the 800s, it was tubes + powerbank or stock ipower plus. The conclusion derived from that was 800s has a speed limit where it's driver mass couldn't keep up and sync with the faster solid state amplification and psu upgrade.

This is again observed with the 5 with the sparkos ss360 vs pros. The pros is much faster and the 5 had a hard time. The slowest mode was the tube mode on the pro iDSD and it sounds really good. Remember 5 has less magnets than the 4 so this may probably be why.

Also at this point in time, I've acclimated to the Stealth and it keeps responding positively on faster amps so I'm a bit more demanding on other HPs now. It felt underwhelming on the pro iDSD sig. With 7 possible amping combos across just 3 devices, it was fairly easy to find the sweet spot for the headphones. Stealth on the sparkos pros will fairly match with the 5 on tube mode on the pro iDSD sig. 5 just lacks the quantity on the bass extension and graphs reflects that. So a fitting where the ear is towards the rear of the cup steers the sound away from the mid centric Utopia abd towards a more totl reference sound that's neutral warm, smooth and satisfying.

We're saying the same thing with your experience on the solid state moon amp. If it's not that fast it'll be pleasant. The burson is on the slower side and the impressions of ppl is similar on my experience on ifi pro iDSD tubes.

I'm not keen on chasing wideness on HPs like Susvara because it lacks grounding as I've mentioned. It's too much of a fake effect for me. Music should have weight especially if the transducer is only an inch away from the ear. Speakers don't sound like speakers if you have your ear up to it. And speakers with good bass reproduction will have a density that's like your listening to iems.

 

[801evan]

@MN8372
Also different amps means different psus and psus contribute a lot to the overall sound quality. In my tests the phonitor One and pro idsd is using the same type of psu with their respective voltage requirements. So at least they are even on that stage and help assess what's going on better.

 

[paradoxper]

Interesting observations from 801evan. I agree that the LCD5 can be a bit like the Utopia. But not sure I agree with the conclusion about a slower amp gelling with the LCD5. I previously preferred my Studio 6 tube amp with the LCD5 over my Moon 430HAD solid state amp. But not all solid state is the same (the Moon was not the quickest/most transparent but very “pleasant”). I recently purchased a CFA3 from Dukei (primarily/exclusively for my Susvaras). It works wonders for my Susvaras but I’ve been very surprised how it also gels with the far more efficient LCD5. Really opens them up. On my older amps the LCD5 could sound a little congested compared to the Susvara (especially noticable when switching from the HifiMan to the Audeze - it takes a while for the brain to adjust to the smaller soundstage and darker treble). Technically brilliant but like listening in a small room. Not any more… More sparkle in the treble and (remarkably) less shouty in the mids. Wider soundstage and even more punch in the bass. They are still not as expansive as the Susvaras (which are speaker like out of the CFA3) but much better than before.

I think it depends on your preferences. If you find the LCD5 a little dark in the treble or a little congested a faster more transparent SS amp might be what you are looking for. But if you find them a bit harsh sounding (maybe because you are sensitive to a shouty midrange) then tread carefully. Although in my case the CFA3 improves the treble and the bass without further emphasising the midrange which is a win for my taste. I think it’s hard to generalise. Both the LCD5 and the Susvara are incredible headphones. I haven’t heard the Stealth.

CFA3. Nods.

 

[shafat777]

I have been enjoying my LCD-5 with my cap modded MJ2 for a week now. While my gsx mini also pairs well with the LCD-5, the added transparency, sparkle and width of the cap modded MJ2 really brings out the close to neutral sonic characteristics of the LCD-5.