George,
please stick to facts! The X5iii outputs 250mW@32 Ohms with 250mA of Current, and the X7ii (AM3A SE) outputs 150mW@32 Ohms with 150mA of Current.
The X7ii with AM3A is NOT more powerful than the X5iii.
Also, you need to qualify that you listen
extremely loud so that others have a point of reference when you are making statements. You keep saying the X5iii doesn’t get loud enough with the LCD-2 and I say it most certainly does owning both. The X5iii can easily drive the LCD-2.
We just went through this with you and the current LCD-2 revision (70 Ohm, 101mW/dB SPL) requires th following to reach 120dB. This is more than enough from the X5iii for painful loudness on dynamic peaks:
Even the HD700 with 150 Ohm, 105dB/mW SPL is not an issue for the X5iii at fairly loud levels (going by the numbers, I don’t have the HD700):
Headphone power calculator source:
http://www.digizoid.com/headphones-power.html
I’m not defending the X5iii vs the X7ii and frankly I never use the X5iii because it still has issues outputting a digital signal with high bit rate tracks (I purchased it as a transport), and I’m not too fond of it’s sound in comparison to my other gear. I’m just trying to get you to be more discriminate with the incorrect statements you repeatedly make.
Edit: I know you are trying to be helpful for
@DavidA but you aren’t really helping making by false statements. Given that David likely prefers a brighter signature like you I think the X7ii would work better for his tastes.