[spidert622]

I recently took the plunge and bought myself a pair of Audeze lcd-2s.  I am very excited to start getting into audiophile culture.
 
The only problem is that I need to find a good AMP and a good DAC.
 
My price range is maximum $800
However if possible I would really like to keep it under $700 (or maybe even 600$?)
 
What I want
-Tube amps that are displayed (I love the look of these and I think they add a lot to your office/work-space)
-Relatively powerful (Needs to drive audeze LCD-2s)
-sleek look (brushed aluminium preferably)
-Dac/amp looking somewhat similar.  this way they flow and look good on the desk
-relatively neutral sound (but the ability to tune the sound with tubes later on)
-toslink or USB input (preferably USB but I am not super picky about this)
 
What I listen to
-dubstep
-alternative
-classical
-techno
 
Options I have looked at so far
-schiit (bifrost + lyr)
-wooaudio (firefly, this is out of budget but I am in love with it)
-Pan Amp by ALO (anyone know a good dac to go with this?)
-Hifiman EF-5, but I still need a dac and these arn't cheap(these are interesting I am going to research these)
 
Also I am kind of a high end audio noobie so any tips or things to watch out for would be much appreciated.
 
That's about all so far.
 
Thank you

 

[KG Jag]

Have you visited LCD-2 appreciation thread or threads?

 

[spidert622]

Yes, but I am really looking for something with the exact requirements I stated. I however will read through the forums a bit more and see if I find anything else.

 

[KG Jag]

As Schiit says in the FAQ, the Valhalla will not power them.
 
You might want to look at the Hifiman EF-5, which will.
 
But here's the thing...the LCD-2 is already a dark can.  You apparently want to make it darker.  That is certainly a minority viewpoint among LCD-2 owners.  That's fine, but you need to be talking to that like minded subset of folks.  You just won't find too many of them here on a general advice thread.  This become more true as your inquiry becomes more specific and multi-faceted.

 

[wewewho77]

ALO Pan Am

 

[spidert622]

Thank you. I am very new to this so I did not realise that the audeze lcd-2s sounded like this.  Perhaps I am better off going for a tube amp with relatively neutral sound properties and modifying tube amps later?
 
Thanks for all your suggestions.

 

[wewewho77]

Pan Am comes with built in DAC as so does WA 7

 

[spidert622]

Oh yeah I saw that it did come with USB support. Is the integrated dac good enough quality to run lcd-2s to their top performance?

 

[spidert622]

Bump...

I have been looking at the glow amp one, and I am close to pulling the trigger. What do you guys think of this amp.