[USAudio]

I recently purchased a pair of Audeze LCD-2's.  Let me first say the LCD-2's are like a fine, hand-crafted musical instrument.  Very solid, very well made and the presentation factor with the wood trim and wood storage box is excellent.  A beautiful product and a refreshing change from the typical plastic affair we normally see these days.  There's a very-high pride of ownership factor here as well.  The comfort is fine, albeit a tad heavy but nothing you can't get used to.
 
I've also owned a pair of HD800's for almost 2 years now.  Based on the reviews I've read here, I expected the LCD-2's to have plenty of bass impact, and as a result to be a tad dark but still with plenty of details and transparency.  However while the bass is ample I've found them to sound a bit recessed, particularly in the vocals and micro-details.  I just seem to get more information out of my HD800's but with less dynamic bass impact.  Personally I like my headphones to be as accurate as possible, so I can hear all the details a recording can produce but not to the point of being overly bright.
 
My DAC is a Lavry DA11 and I use the internal amplifier as I've found it to be excellent.  A discrete design, it can produce a very respectable 17.28 volts p-p, and up to 18dBu of gain.  It has a digitally controlled analog volume control with excellent channel matching throughout its range.
However, with the LCD-2's I calculate it's power output at .75 watts RMS:
(17.28 volts p-p * 0.35355339)^2 / 50 Ohms  ~= .75 watts RMS   (please correct me if this is wrong)
 
Question:
Will purchasing a more powerful amplifier ( > 2 watts?) enliven the LCD-2's so as to continue to provide excellent bass response but also give me those missing details and transparency?   Perhaps an amplifier that is more tailored to the LCD-2 such as the: AMB Beta22, Schiit Lyr or Cavalli Liquid Fire?  Will a more powerful amp bring my LCD-2's to life?!?!  Other amp suggestions?
 
Or is this just the way they are?
 
Thanks!
 
Edit:
LCD-2 Amplifier recommendations from this thread:
- Leben CS600
- Meier Concerto
- Schiit Lyr
- AMB Beta22
- Cavalli Liquid Fire
- Eddie Current Balancing Act
- HeadAmp Gilmore Lite SE

 

[judy1992]

So a hi end dynamic headphone betters a hi end ortho's in detail? Is this even possible from a technical stand point? I read planar will always be more detailed then a dynamic headphone? Or was that ortho fan boy gibberish?

 

[bcg27]

Your amp should be able to drive the lcds to a volume of 118dB, which should be deafening assuming it is capable of putting out about an eighth of an amp. The lcd2 is not overly hard to drive unlike the he-6. Whether using a better/more powerful amp will make it sound better is a different story. People claim they scale well with better amps so possibly, though I haven't heard them on any amp so I can't really advise you in that respect. The lyr is a relatively inexpensive way to find out, while the other two are much more expensive and in the case of the beta 22, a significant diy project, which I know first hand as I am in the middle of building one. The liquid fire looks pretty nice but seems to not be available yet, so I would definitely wait for some impressions before buying it. 

 

[Currawong]

Definitely get a better amp.  Our arbitrary figure is at least 2W at 50 Ohms, though going by feedback and experience, one might lower that to at least 1.5W but that will give you an idea of the kind of amp you should look for.  After trying the LCD-2s with a number of amps, you want one with a wide soundstage (hence much success with balanced amps) and low distortion that can deliver a lot of current.  With that, they definitely wake up.

 

[USAudio]

Does anyone have any direct experience with the LCD-2's going from a low/moderately powered amp to a more powerful one and what the differences they noted were?

 

[Duckman]

I think the LCD2 definitely scales with better amplification.
 
I've only had one experience of them where I thought they sounded perfect and that was through the Leben CS600, which retails around $5000 in Australia.  Way out of my league, however.
 
I'm still searching for a perfect pairing at a lower price. I've owned an SE B22 and the Leben CS300XS. Both pairings were very good, but have not matched the impressions I received from the CS600.
 
 

 

[USAudio]

Quote:

I think the LCD2 definitely scales with better amplification.
 
I've only had one experience of them where I thought they sounded perfect and that was through the Leben CS600, which retails around $5000 in Australia.  Way out of my league, however.
 
I'm still searching for a perfect pairing at a lower price. I've owned an SE B22 and the Leben CS300XS. Both pairings were very good, but have not matched the impressions I received from the CS600.
 
 

Looking at the Leben website, the CS300XS is rated at 15 Wpc whereas the CS600 is 32Wpc, more than double.  Not sure what that actually ends up being at the headphone output but it sounds like the LCD-2 really responds to more power.  Do you remember what aspect in particular sounded better when listening via the CS600 vs. the others?
Thanks!

 
 

 

[Currawong]

With the lower-end amps I tried and even one expensive one, the soundstage sounded very "in my head".  With more lowly amps, specifically the Asgard and my HeadRoom Portable desktop, the sound was, simply put, boring. My main amp had the effect of putting a rocket up their bum.  I recall having the volume up a bit too loud one day when some pop came on and the effect was as if the band had appeared before me and started playing at studio volume. Not just loud, but "there".  I also get a nice wide and precise soundstage, not as wide as something like the HD-800s, but, to me, more outside than in.

 

[KingStyles]

I just came from a meet yesterday where we had the schiit lyr, liquid fire, and the BA all in the same room for easy comparisons. The lcd2 will scale up according to the amp. The lry could drive them loud, but was missing the detail and clarity of the bigger amps. The BA in my opinion bested the liquid fire on both clarity and detail. The bass was also  tighter and more articulate. The liquid fire is no slouch though, an awesome amp for the price and better detail and clarity probably could be squeezed from it by tube rolling. For under three grand, the liquid fire may get you there.

 

[BrianMendoza]

Quote:

Does anyone have any direct experience with the LCD-2's going from a low/moderately powered amp to a more powerful one and what the differences they noted were?

I do. I started with a Mapletree Ear HD+, which is only 100mw, nowhere near the 2000mw you want for the LCD-2's. It wasn't bad, but when I switch to the Concerto, I'm not even sure what its MW rating is, I noticed a big difference. The Concerto had a much more refined sound and opened up both ends of the frequency spectrum without making any sacrifices compared to the Mapletree.
 
While the Mapletree was great for Grados beause of their ability to pair with low power amps, it wasn't very suited for the LCD-2. The Concerto really gave it a much more airy sound, deepened the headstage, and added much notable refinement in sound.

 

[nigeljames]

Quote:

I recently purchased a pair of Audeze LCD-2's.  Let me first say the LCD-2's are like a fine, hand-crafted musical instrument.  Very solid, very well made and the presentation factor with the wood trim and wood storage box is excellent.  A beautiful product and a refreshing change from the typical plastic affair we normally see these days.  There's a very-high pride of ownership factor here as well.  The comfort is fine, albeit a tad heavy but nothing you can't get used to.
 
I've also owned a pair of HD800's for almost 2 years now.  Based on the reviews I've read here, I expected the LCD-2's to have plenty of bass impact, and as a result to be a tad dark but still with plenty of details and transparency.  However while the bass is ample I've found them to sound a bit recessed, particularly in the vocals and micro-details.  I just seem to get more information out of my HD800's but with less dynamic bass impact.  Personally I like my headphones to be as accurate as possible, so I can hear all the details a recording can produce but not to the point of being overly bright.
 
My DAC is a Lavry DA11 and I use the internal amplifier as I've found it to be excellent.  A discrete design, it can produce a very respectable 17.28 volts p-p, and up to 18dBu of gain.  It has a digitally controlled analog volume control with excellent channel matching throughout its range.
However, with the LCD-2's I calculate it's power output at .75 watts RMS:
(17.28 volts p-p * 0.35355339)^2 / 50 Ohms  ~= .75 watts RMS   (please correct me if this is wrong)
 
Question:
Will purchasing a more powerful amplifier ( > 2 watts?) enliven the LCD-2's so as to continue to provide excellent bass response but also give me those missing details and transparency?   Perhaps an amplifier that is more tailored to the LCD-2 such as the: AMB Beta22, Schiit Lyr or Cavalli Liquid Fire?  Will a more powerful amp bring my LCD-2's to life?!?!  Other amp suggestions?
 
Or is this just the way they are?
 
Thanks!
 
(Yes, I've tried reading through many of the LCD-2 threads but they have gotten so large as to be unwieldy!)
 
 

In my system the LCD's have amazing presence and are certainly not laid back or recessed at all.
This leads me to believe that a synergy or more likely power issue is the problem.
 

 

[oqvist]

Mostly synergy I believe. My Ref9 was my biggest amp upgrade so far. Bigger then hooking the LCD-2 up to my 7x95W receiver. That is at 8 ohm but should still be plenty at 50 I would expect. Haven´t bothered doing any math though.

 

[USAudio]

 
Quote:

I just came from a meet yesterday where we had the schiit lyr, liquid fire, and the BA all in the same room for easy comparisons. The lcd2 will scale up according to the amp. The lry could drive them loud, but was missing the detail and clarity of the bigger amps. The BA in my opinion bested the liquid fire on both clarity and detail. The bass was also  tighter and more articulate. The liquid fire is no slouch though, an awesome amp for the price and better detail and clarity probably could be squeezed from it by tube rolling. For under three grand, the liquid fire may get you there.

BA?  Is that the acronym for the Beta22 or something else?
Thanks!

 

[pekingduck]

I think BA = Balancing Act from Eddie Current
 
http://www.eddiecurrent.com/Balancing_Act.html
 
 
 

 

[USAudio]

Quote:

I think BA = Balancing Act from Eddie Current
 
http://www.eddiecurrent.com/Balancing_Act.html

Got it, thanks.  Added to the running list of recommended LCD-2 amps in the OP.
 
Any others?