[sling5s]

  I can only speak to the Gustard H10.  The prototype I had was way beyond the H10 and the production model LC if it keeps improving during burn-in will outpace the prototype.  The LC has a much more dynamic presentation with a clear edge in details.  The bass is much more well defined.  Even after swapping opamps the LC is much better.  I am going to wait until burn-in is complete and make sure everything is good and then the Gustard X12/H10 stack will go on the For Sale forum.  Definitely an upgrade!!

I forgot to ask. Was this in LC SE (single ended) or balanced compared to H10?  And how does the soundstage compare? 

 

[mikemercer]

 
I think you have it right burn-in with headphones connected would be the best IMO, however, it is RECOMMENDED that you disconnect the headphones when not listening. Probably in case something happens?? Just guessing there.

OK
@bearFNF - waddup brotha
 
I only offered initial impressions before as I was listening to somebody else's LC earlier this week.
 
Mine just arrived - so further early impressions coming tonight.
 
For burn-in I always just hook up a pair of my trusty Senn HD25-I IIs or my old Grado SR-80s or 60s - and just run it at a decent listening level - just like burning in a stereo component: Same concept. Many of us in in-room hi-fi know that it's ALWAYS better, as bearFNF pointed out, to have speaker taps connected to an amplifier when the power is engaged - so again the same concept applies to personal audio.
 
But, all that aside - seriously?!?!?!
 
I haven't read back to find the hatin' going on that some fellow Head-Fiers have told me about in this thread - but at $599 - this is a NO BRAINER IMHO! And I've been in the midst of the fight of my life over the past 5 months (at 40 years of age, dealing with a divorce after 20 years together) so this wasn't an easy thing for me to commit to either.
 
Now, I also own Dr. Cavalli's amazing LAu, which is my fave top-ranked reference (ahead of my beloved HP-4 and Studio-6) - so call me biased, but believe me if this thing didn't shine out-the-box I'd be PISSED. So I kept from reading complaints until I heard it. 
 
Obviously my formal impressions will come during and after break-in - but, thus far:
 
Using my:
 
 - Questyle Audio CAS192 DAC ahead of it (balanced) -
 - Amarra-for-TIDAL + Amarra Symphony as sources (via my MacBook Pro SSD) - 
 - DHC XLR interconnects between amp and DAC, and also DHC on the headphone leads
 - MrSpeakers ETHER-Cs + Audeze LCD-3s (OG version for now, non-Fazor)
 - analog rig playback comin' SOON and I'm psyched!!!! - 
 
Rockin' Nosaj Thing's "Cold Stares Feat. Chance the Rapper" off Fated:
 
The bass IS liquid (sorry) - but seriously, my LC's got that wonderful Cavalli fluidity in the low-bass & lower mid-range that I've come to expect. The sound has that ripple-like effect while being coherent and silky. I love the textural quality of Cavalli's solid-state electronics (it's why I saved for a long freakin' time to buy the LAu) and the LC's got it in spades thus far! The kick-drum pounds, but there's little to no-overhang. Things trail-off elegantly, and the continuity between the low-end, lower-mid-range, and mids is also well-articulated. The vocals are vividly rendered/lifelike - and I know this record well, as I reviewed it this year and it's heavy in my rotation. The highs are extended and airy: I don't detect (thus far - and its early in my listening of course) a hint of any "brittle-ness" or fatigue up there.
 
D'Angelo And The Vanguard's "Prayer" off Black Messiah:
 
The transient attack of the bass guitar is swift and sharp - the slap and the tonality are both reproduced with intensity and clarity. D'Angelo's vocals have that velvety-like flavor that got me hooked from Voodoo to this record. The sound is authoritative without being overly aggressive - just the way I want it. The sway of the track, the drivy melody is infectious and funky. I think the LC performs far beyond it's price point straight outta the box!!
 
I'm pumped to report further. And as I always do: I'm reminding the fellas that we're ALL listening to music at the end of the day, and we're having emotional reactions to the art-form whether or not the objectivists want to admit it. It doesn't matter that electronics are reproducing the music - for me, it's still gotta hit me in the gut, in my heart, and please my ears. I'm already willing to recommend the LC to anybody that wants what I consider to be a piece of the Cavalli sound and I just starting listening critically to the thing - and when I say the Cavalli sound, that means, to me, amps that serve the music! I prefer an amplifier that helps me shed all the analytical BS and cut straight to enjoying my tunes. Thus far - the LC's doin' it for me - and it's only get better I hope!!
 
Further thoughts coming...
 
pics taken when I JUST got it - had it hooked up to my iFi iMicro (in Direct-mode for DAC) via RCA first before moving it over to my CAS192 DAC in order to run it balanced..
 
 

 

[pippen99]

 
I forgot to ask. Was this in LC SE (single ended) or balanced compared to H10?  And how does the soundstage compare? 

I was using LCD-X balanced with Norne Draug V2 cable.  I used the same cable with a Draug adapter from the H10.  I have a Norne Zoetic ordered to use with my ETHER.  I seriously doubt I will ever use the SE on the LC.

 

[sling5s]

  I was using LCD-X balanced with Norne Draug V2 cable.  I used the same cable with a Draug adapter from the H10.  I have a Norne Zoetic ordered to use with my ETHER.  I seriously doubt I will ever use the SE on the LC.

How's the soundstage comparisons? 

 

[sling5s]

  I was using LCD-X balanced with Norne Draug V2 cable.  I used the same cable with a Draug adapter from the H10.  I have a Norne Zoetic ordered to use with my ETHER.  I seriously doubt I will ever use the SE on the LC.

I guess it's unfair to compare balanced vs SE.

 

[defbear]

Hatin' Hatin' (pretend it's Gollum) There's no Hatin' goin' on in this thread that I remember. Complainin' no complanin' here except anxious LC owners awatin' their amps. I'm breakin' in my amp listenin' to Eric Johnson's Ah Via Musicom. I'm lovin'. I'm countin' 11 quotes. Next time i'll add a quote and make it three gallons.

 

[Youth]

   
 

 
What is that thing you have on top of the Liquid Carbon?

 

[doctorjazz]

The audiophile spittoon, of course!

 

[digitalzed]

Question for the group on volume matching with the LC and your DAC that also has an amp. Especially anyone using a Pulse Infinity although I'd appreciate feedback from anyone. I've been letting my LC burn in as recommended in the manual. I've listened to it twice, once when I got it, and once about halfway through. I usually listen to my Infinity at somewhere between -25-30db depending on the music, using either my Ether's or LCD-X's. I used a balanced cable for both headphones. When I listened through the LC those two previous times, the LC volume knob was about 1/4-1/2 way up with the Infinity volume at -25-30db. The burn in process was completed yesterday and I went to listen and the volume for the LC was way underpowered. Nothing in my set up had changed. Now I can't achieve a decent listening level even with the LC volume turned all the way up and the Infinity at -25-30db. Of course if I adjust the Infinity's volume I get more oomph out of the LC, but it's not right and still sounds underpowered compared to the Infinity.
 
All my cable connections are correct. I've tried balanced from the Infinity to the LC and SE also. I even tried the LC on my standard vanilla Pulse and it's the same issue. I tried different power cords too. I did e-mail Alex and he responded right away but because he's traveling he can't really look into this right now, which I completely understand with the holiday here in the states and all. But I thought I'd throw it out here to see if anyone had a suggestion? Thanks in advance.

 

[BRCMRGN]

Still burning mine in.  Decided to give the Emotiva Stealth DC-1 a break, so I cabled up a Pono player (balanced) and Oppo PM-3 (also balanced).  This is by far the best sound that I've heard from the PM-3.  I think that Oppo does the PM-3 a disservice by marketing it at phones and portable players. It sounded thin out of an AK240 (even in balanced mode) and in single-ended mode from the Pono. Balanced from the Pono, the PM-3 came alive. It really needs the power to get good bass and dynamics.  The LC takes it to another level.  Now it really sounds like a very good planar headphone.

 

[mscott58]

  Question for the group on volume matching with the LC and your DAC that also has an amp. Especially anyone using a Pulse Infinity although I'd appreciate feedback from anyone. I've been letting my LC burn in as recommended in the manual. I've listened to it twice, once when I got it, and once about halfway through. I usually listen to my Infinity at somewhere between -25-30db depending on the music, using either my Ether's or LCD-X's. I used a balanced cable for both headphones. When I listened through the LC those two previous times, the LC volume knob was about 1/4-1/2 way up with the Infinity volume at -25-30db. The burn in process was completed yesterday and I went to listen and the volume for the LC was way underpowered. Nothing in my set up had changed. Now I can't achieve a decent listening level even with the LC volume turned all the way up and the Infinity at -25-30db. Of course if I adjust the Infinity's volume I get more oomph out of the LC, but it's not right and still sounds underpowered compared to the Infinity.
 
All my cable connections are correct. I've tried balanced from the Infinity to the LC and SE also. I even tried the LC on my standard vanilla Pulse and it's the same issue. I tried different power cords too. I did e-mail Alex and he responded right away but because he's traveling he can't really look into this right now, which I completely understand with the holiday here in the states and all. But I thought I'd throw it out here to see if anyone had a suggestion? Thanks in advance.

I run my Infinity at full power (-0.0dB) when it is feeding my LC which is then driving my LCD-3F's. With the Infinity at 0.0 and the LC gain set to 3x (red middle light) I find myself listening to my Audeze's at a volume position of between 10 and 12 o'clock, so it has more than enough oomph for the bigger cans. Can't think of any reason to try to keep your Pulse at any level other than full-power (which you could think of as a kind of "line out" setting) as it then gives the LC the most range to play with. No idea what might have caused the apparent change in volume during your burn-in, but this is how I've always run my LC. Cheers 

 

[digitalzed]

Thanks for the reply. I've tried the Infinity at 0.0 and even at 3 o'clock the sound is anemic. At 10 or 12 it's not inaudible, but close. Just weird. And before with the Infinity at -25 and the LC at 10 o'clock thete was more than enough volume.

 

[mscott58]

Thanks for the reply. I've tried the Infinity at 0.0 and even at 3 o'clock the sound is anemic. At 10 or 12 it's not inaudible, but close. Just weird. And before with the Infinity at -25 and the LC at 10 o'clock thete was more than enough volume.

Which gain setting are you using on the LC? (middle button on the front). Also do you have the right source selected? (right button on the front)

 

[digitalzed]

I run my Infinity at full power (-0.0dB) when it is feeding my LC which is then driving my LCD-3F's. With the Infinity at 0.0 and the LC gain set to 3x (red middle light) I find myself listening to my Audeze's at a volume position of between 10 and 12 o'clock, so it has more than enough oomph for the bigger cans. Can't think of any reason to try to keep your Pulse at any level other than full-power (which you could think of as a kind of "line out" setting) as it then gives the LC the most range to play with. No idea what might have caused the apparent change in volume during your burn-in, but this is how I've always run my LC. Cheers 

All my light's are white except when I tried a SE connnection then pushed the far right button in for red as per the manual.

 

[mscott58]

All my light's are white except when I tried a SE connnection then pushed the far right button in for red as per the manual.

Middle button in gain selector. Push it in so it's red, otherwise you're running on 1x versus 3x. Oh, and be sure to turn the volume down before you do so!
 
"The center pushbutton is the gain switch. Out is 1X and in is 3X. The LED indicator will be white for 1X and red for 3X. You can hot switch the gain while listening to music."
 
Cheers