[saveanimals]

Love the sound of the Ayre Codex DAC as a DAC. I know I researched this, but can't remember what I found - would it track with you guys that an amp section like that on the Codex would maybe not be capable enough to bring out the best of either of these 'phones (Focal Clear or LCD-X). I am not in love with either set with in combo with this HPA/DAC (possibly I am not a fan of open-back, generally, not entirely sure - think I would take better bass 'punch' over clarity). Super underwhelmed with the Focals, especially, which sound fairly harsh and tinny to me, and bass quality isn't great on most of what I listen to. Yes, they are clear, but I find myself wanting to take them off. Thinking a great HPA like BHA-1 or whatnot might bring out the best of these 'phones, since their rep seems obviously well-established. I am using the Clears in balanced mode FWIW. I am going 'do I downgrade the phones or upgrade the amp' (I was happier with how ATH series sounded in combo with the Pono than either of these phones with the Codex)? Another wildcard option is the prospect that this is more a situation of great 'phones revealing too much - but a combo is not succeeding at the end of the day if it makes you want to stop listening to Sam Cooke. I can't get over the harshness & (IMO) poor bass quality - makes me think the amp is just not capable of producing/remediating those qualities in these 'phones. Thanks for anyone who cares to weigh in.

 

[Tano]

The solution is EQ. It's free and easy to use. If you don't like your headphones even after trying to correct the "flaws" that you perceive, you would be better trying new headphones.
With the Clears you can also try an OTL amp to relax the tremble and give it more bass, but that amp won't work very good with the LCD X.

 

[chesebert]

The amp section of codex is below average. The dac section was good for its time but can now be bested by something like mojo2. If I were you I would get a better amp - something cheap like glite mk2 would work well.

 

[saveanimals]

@Tano @chesebert - Thanks for the help! I never heard the Chord stuff, but it obviously has a huge base of enthusiasts. I will check out that Glite and think about EQ. Cheers & happy new year.

 

[chesebert]

I would get a separate amp before messing with the dac. Codex is not bad in the absolute sense (I had one for many years) and could be improved if you use a good source with toslink output. Mojo 2 is not really suitable for desktop - I just threw it out as an example (it's popular...).

 

[saveanimals]

I would get a separate amp before messing with the dac. Codex is not bad in the absolute sense (I had one for many years) and could be improved if you use a good source with toslink output. Mojo 2 is not really suitable for desktop - I just threw it out as an example (it's popular...).

Thanks - yeah, the Codex sounds sweet to me as a DAC, the amp is what I'm looking to play with. It could be that these HPs are just not for me, but I sense that the Focal could sound awesome with the right amp. To me it sounds like they need more power, which I didn't expect. As a DAC, the Codex sounds so very sweet when played through speakers. I do use toslink, but the source is just a laptop - ideally I'd utilize a better source.