[intlsubband]

Hi!

I hope everyone is safe during these days.

I recently acquired a LCD X headphones at a very nice price. I cannot find any articles that confiirms the output impedance of the SE and BAL of Taurus amp (still also waiting for the feedback of Auralic) and I am just wondering if its compatible since the recommended headphone impedance is from 32Ohms to 600Ohms and LCD X is rated 20OHms.

My questions are:

1. Since LCD X has lower impedance compared to the suggested impedance rating, will it result to a variation/alteration of the original frequency response of LCD X?
2. Supposed that the amp's output impedance is higher than the ideal amp impedance of LCD X (<2.5Ohms = 20Ohms / 8), what changes in sound will it be? less bass? muddy mids? piercing treble?

Thank you so much for your inputs.

Whill

Just give it a good listen and tell us how you find it to be. I use it with my LCD-XC, same drivers, and I use it in balanced mode. In fact you can hear it in SE mode while connected in balance by switching to the SE output - and it will give you an idea of the sound difference. I think it sounds incredible out of the balanced port. The amp feels like a complete overkill to be honest, and my volume dial stays very low. But the sound is amazing, very beefy and very detailed. I prefer it out of the Taurus compared to a couple of other SE amps I have at hand with an almost-zero output impedance, but regardless of the impedance, they don't have the weight and power of the Taurus.

I haven't compared it much beyond what's at hand though with the XC.

 

[whill]

“Output impedance is low enough not to be a factor—less than 1 ohm from the STD jack, and somewhere between 3 and 4 ohms from the BAL output.”
From
https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/spectacularly-transparent-auralic-taurus-mkii

Thank you so much for this. I believe I have overlooked this article.

 

[whill]

Just give it a good listen and tell us how you find it to be. I use it with my LCD-XC, same drivers, and I use it in balanced mode. In fact you can hear it in SE mode while connected in balance by switching to the SE output - and it will give you an idea of the sound difference. I think it sounds incredible out of the balanced port. The amp feels like a complete overkill to be honest, and my volume dial stays very low. But the sound is amazing, very beefy and very detailed. I prefer it out of the Taurus compared to a couple of other SE amps I have at hand with an almost-zero output impedance, but regardless of the impedance, they don't have the weight and power of the Taurus.

I haven't compared it much beyond what's at hand though with the XC.

You are right, i never passed 9oclock in the volume knob using single ended connection. Probably, i have to buy and try balanced connection for the LCD X.

Currently the sound of LCD X using SE is very flat but there is a certain heft and authority specially in the bass region. Comparing to my previous T1 2nd Gen, the T1 sounded boomy and not as defined and articulate in the bass region. The mids also are on point without being sounding recessed nor forward it is just linear. Treble area, this is where the LCD X shows the how a song is being mastered. Definitely it is not as sibilant and piercing as T1 but at poor recordings it is definitely peaky.

Thank you.

 

[whill]

Hi,

So last night, I did a comparison of the LCD X using 2 amps which are Auralic Taurus MKII and Burson Soloist SL, I just wanted to share my impressions:

Burson Soloist SL (Single Ended)
Now, I know why many are saying that this is a good combo. With a full bass, meaty mids and an open treble it really makes the music more palpable. One of the key genres with this combo are Jazz, Acoustic / Live and other well mastered Pop genre. Of course, poorly mastered music will definitely sound either peaky or either congested.

Auralic Taurus MKII (Single Ended)
Pairing this amp with LCD X honestly gave me a mixed impressions and feels it the amp sounded anemic. Switching back and forth with Burson, the Auralic sounded lean in comparison. The bass is not as full, the mids are a bit far away from you (compared to "more in your face" in Burson) and the treble it is a bit more pronounced but it does have more air into it. I tried playing different genres to confirm this and it did, Burson really sounded full compared to Auralic. Does it really mean, that the Burson outshines the Auralic for a lot less money? Things changed when I played orchestral music, it as from a Mcintosh Demo Disc and sadly forgot the name. While listening that certain passage from Auralic, I can really feel the openness, wide presentation and fast transients - so I decided to use the same piece with Burson and it came to me that this is where the difference of 2 amps lies.

Auralic is really in control of the LCD X while Burson's control is a little bit looser - this is the best that I could describe the two in layman's terms. Auralic's presentation using LCD X is "linear-wide", the bass is tight, fast paced, mids are a little bit farther giving a somewhat wider presentation and treble is smooth, a nice zing to it but never became troublesome. Burson's presentation on the other hand is "intimate-bloomy". Bass presentation on the Burson has a little bit of bloom, it is really engaging, mids even if its a little bit closed in, it is full bodied and the treble sounded like less refined compared to treble of Auralic.

Thank you for reading.
Whill

 

[QueueCumber]

Wrong thread...

 

[EDWARIS]

does anyone have any experience with G2.1 series? thinking to buy they new Vega/Aries G2.1 combo...

 

[Arnold Schwartz]

Your mistake is listening to your LCD from the Taurus single ended. Get a new cable and then come back and post impressions. I have an LCD-3 and Taurus.

Hi,

So last night, I did a comparison of the LCD X using 2 amps which are Auralic Taurus MKII and Burson Soloist SL, I just wanted to share my impressions:

Burson Soloist SL (Single Ended)
Now, I know why many are saying that this is a good combo. With a full bass, meaty mids and an open treble it really makes the music more palpable. One of the key genres with this combo are Jazz, Acoustic / Live and other well mastered Pop genre. Of course, poorly mastered music will definitely sound either peaky or either congested.

Auralic Taurus MKII (Single Ended)
Pairing this amp with LCD X honestly gave me a mixed impressions and feels it the amp sounded anemic. Switching back and forth with Burson, the Auralic sounded lean in comparison. The bass is not as full, the mids are a bit far away from you (compared to "more in your face" in Burson) and the treble it is a bit more pronounced but it does have more air into it. I tried playing different genres to confirm this and it did, Burson really sounded full compared to Auralic. Does it really mean, that the Burson outshines the Auralic for a lot less money? Things changed when I played orchestral music, it as from a Mcintosh Demo Disc and sadly forgot the name. While listening that certain passage from Auralic, I can really feel the openness, wide presentation and fast transients - so I decided to use the same piece with Burson and it came to me that this is where the difference of 2 amps lies.

Auralic is really in control of the LCD X while Burson's control is a little bit looser - this is the best that I could describe the two in layman's terms. Auralic's presentation using LCD X is "linear-wide", the bass is tight, fast paced, mids are a little bit farther giving a somewhat wider presentation and treble is smooth, a nice zing to it but never became troublesome. Burson's presentation on the other hand is "intimate-bloomy". Bass presentation on the Burson has a little bit of bloom, it is really engaging, mids even if its a little bit closed in, it is full bodied and the treble sounded like less refined compared to treble of Auralic.

Thank you for reading.
Whill

 

[mitchb]

I just got an Auralic Aries G2.1 and it’s amazing. New ball game!!! After all my upgrades the Auralic Taurus MKII is the one piece I did not have the heart to sell but the Moon 430 HA Is a better amp.

 

[thecrow]

I just got an Auralic Aries G2.1 and it’s amazing. New ball game!!! After all my upgrades the Auralic Taurus MKII is the one piece I did not have the heart to sell but the Moon 430 HA Is a better amp.

Second hand taurus at the recent going price (easily under $1000 usd in australia) are a bargain when they pop up.

 

[Benno1988]

Anyone here cleaned or replaced their volume pot on the Taurus? Mines all stiff/grindy feeling.

I also get electronic noise if my DAC is USB connected to the PC (doesn't even have to be Data, can be purely using USB power). Even with a iDefender on it. Dead silent on other amps. Currently solution is to use Optical to DAC from PC, and power the DAC externally. Bit annoying though.

 

[redrich2000]

Not sure if anyone is still following this thread... I have @Benno1988's Taurus now.

In the manual, it says "AURALiC recommended you only connecting RCA or XLR outputs at the same time for best sonic performance." Why do they say that? Is it to avoid picking up noise from the other outputs?

 

[Benno1988]

Not sure if anyone is still following this thread... I have @Benno1988's Taurus now.

In the manual, it says "AURALiC recommended you only connecting RCA or XLR outputs at the same time for best sonic performance." Why do they say that? Is it to avoid picking up noise from the other outputs?

If you plug in XLR, and switch to RCA as the input, you can hear the music faintly. My guess is something to do with the way they positioned it or wired it. Confirmed same on another Taurus too.

 

[redrich2000]

If you plug in XLR, and switch to RCA as the input, you can hear the music faintly. My guess is something to do with the way they positioned it or wired it. Confirmed same on another Taurus too.

Ha! I thought it might just be me and you in here.

I'm talking about outputs. I'm only using the balanced inputs but want to connect the RCA outputs to a small power amp I have running speakers. I've testing it and I can't hear any degradation of the sound.

Switching to the "STD" outputs enables both the RCA outputs and the balanced headphone output. So maybe they mean it degrades those outputs because it's powering twice. If that's the case it's fine for me because I don't really care about having absolutely perfect quality out of the speakers.

 

[griff500]

Has anyone tried the Hoer-Wege PSU upgrade for the Aries G2?

 

[mitchb]

I’ve been enjoying an Aries G2.1 with the power supply that comes with it. I have not heard of upgrading the power supply of the Aries G2.1 before. I did not know that was a thing.