[ListeningAura]

I have been looking to upgrade my HD650+Zu Mobius+Magni/Modi which sounded great to an LCD 2 and Soloist, as I heard this is the best combo for the price and would fit great with my choice of music- Classical and Symphonic metal. At the same time though, I am still very much a newbie to the higher-end side of things, and have had my HD650s for about a year now. That being said, would I need any other gear other than the Burson Soloist and the LCD2 to play music from an iPod Classic, iPhone, or mainly my computer (Computer is using Foobar2k with library of FLAC files). If I do need a DAC (As it doesnt seem like the Soloist has one built in), what would be a good one to pair with the Soloist for preferably under $1k?

 

[takezo]

hi, i think you already have a good setup. you'll probably see more improvement on the
hd650 if you recable them balanced and get a balanced source and amp, but it will
probably cost you more than you'd want to spend.
 
you will get  improvement across the board with the lcd2 but it is much heavier and
even less airy. if you're adventurous, you may want to get the koss esp-950 electrostatic
as they are very good for classical recordings of mahler and shostakovich, imo. and
they cost much less than the lcd2/soloist setup. it has the airy top that the lcd2 lacks
for classical recordings. the mids and bass are comparable, with slightly more bass
energy and impact from the lcd2. for an electrostatic the koss has very good bass
energy. listening to the brass sections of wagners operas are scary good on both
the lcd2 and esp-950.
 
you may need a dac for the lcd2/soloist setup to hear their potential, as well as deal with
the volume/gain issues. (the ipod/iphone doesn't put out enough voltage to make the lcd2
sing; you'll still get sound but narrow dynamic range will be an issue)  if your sound
card puts out enough volume then you're fine, unless you don't like the SQ.
 
of course, upgrading to a better sounding dac is a natural progression but synergy with
the can you're using is just as important as the chip the dac is using. but that's another
can of worms you may not want to open just yet, as you'd need to hear for yourself what
sounds right for you. and just like anything else in this hobby, the laws of diminishing
returns apply in regards to cost to performance ratio.
 
good luck in your decisions.
 

 

[i019791]

Quote:

I have been looking to upgrade my HD650+Zu Mobius+Magni/Modi which sounded great to an LCD 2 and Soloist, as I heard this is the best combo for the price and would fit great with my choice of music- Classical and Symphonic metal. At the same time though, I am still very much a newbie to the higher-end side of things, and have had my HD650s for about a year now. That being said, would I need any other gear other than the Burson Soloist and the LCD2 to play music from an iPod Classic, iPhone, or mainly my computer (Computer is using Foobar2k with library of FLAC files). If I do need a DAC (As it doesnt seem like the Soloist has one built in), what would be a good one to pair with the Soloist for preferably under $1k?

With LCD2+Soloist you are very likely to hear a difference between the Modi and a better dac
At $ 1K you could consider the Audio gd SA-1.32
No need to bother with balanced dacs, as the Soloist is SE

 

[Dubstep Girl]

maybe upgrade to one of the other 2 schiit stacks, and get the LCD-2 

 
or Soloist with Bifrost and LCD-2, that sounds pretty good.