[MacedonianHero]

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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.

Owning both the MAD Ear+HD and Concerto, I completely agree with you on this one. But when it comes to my Edition 8LEs or RS1is, the MAD amp is the better solution to my ears.
 
To help bridge the gap with the MAD and Concerto, I suggest you use a 12AX7 tube in place of the 5751.
 

 

[USAudio]

Just looked at the specs on the Meier Concerto and it's only rated with a maximum output of 13V / 500mA:
http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/concerto.htm
 
So there must be something else going on there other than raw power that the Concerto is providing to the LCD-2's that waken them up?
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

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Just looked at the specs on the Meier Concerto and it's only rated with a maximum output of 13V / 500mA:
http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/concerto.htm
 
So there must be something else going on there other than raw power that the Concerto is providing to the LCD-2's that waken them up?
 

 
That's 6.5W....Power = V*I

 
 

 

[Duckman]

I listened to the CS600 for about 15 minutes in a quiet room with an excellent source, using a series of tracks well known to me.
 
The track which showed up its superiority the most was Supercrush by Devin Townsend. It is a heavily multitracked (and well recorded) tune and through the LCD2 it is usually a bit mushy. Many details are indiscipherable, and even the quite prominent sounds like kick drum and snare get a bit lost in the complicated multi-tracking. This is through a B22 and CS300XS
 
Anyhow, through the CS600, the details were separated and very clear, and there was space around both the greater and the lesser sounds. It was quite a big improvement, as far as I remember.
 
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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!

 
 

 

 

[USAudio]

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That's 6.5W....Power = V*I

 

Whoops, Thanks.  I ignored the amperage and assumed it was 13 V p-p, not RMS.
 
So that would make it 3.4W into the 50 Ohm LCD-2's?  No wonder they come alive with the Concerto.
 
 

 

[suikodenii]

 
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I listened to the CS600 for about 15 minutes in a quiet room with an excellent source, using a series of tracks well known to me.
 
The track which showed up its superiority the most was Supercrush by Devin Townsend. It is a heavily multitracked (and well recorded) tune and through the LCD2 it is usually a bit mushy. Many details are indiscipherable, and even the quite prominent sounds like kick drum and snare get a bit lost in the complicated multi-tracking. This is through a B22 and CS300XS
 
Anyhow, through the CS600, the details were separated and very clear, and there was space around both the greater and the lesser sounds. It was quite a big improvement, as far as I remember.
 


 

I somehow have the feeling that the discussions about the LCD-2 are getting  a bit ridiculous. I mean there are some that say they are fine running straight out of an iphone (some in this forum as well as in the 6moons review). some say that you need a decent amp (ability to drive current into low impedance rather than voltage) and some that you need the mother of all amps. And when I look at the bold part above we are not talking the last tiny bit to shine better than regular. The above appears to me as a basic requirement for a top of the line HP. It should be possible to do this with a half decent amp and what I understand the B22 and CS300XS are way beyond half decent.
All the dicussion on the LCD-2s is really disheartening when it comes to buying an LCD-2. This puts even the discussion on the HD800 and how to amp them properly from last year to shame.
I honestly have no intention of stepping on peoples toes but am just completely puzzled....
 
 

 

[El_Doug]

Whenever anyone doesnt like a high-end phone, everyone runs to blame the amplification.  The fact of the matter is that just about any amp can power the LCD-2 sufficiently, with way more than sufficient headroom (except those people who believe they want 140db "transients" which would in reality damage the cans).  If you do not like their sound, "fixing" it with an amp is a silly maneuver which will cost you gallons of time, money, and energy which should be spent auditioning other headphones you like more. 
 
At the same time, a lot of people confuse certain spikes in the high frequencies with detail.  The LCD-2s are ridiculously fast, and in no way blur any information relative to any traditional dynamic headphone.  Listen to some acoustic instruments live and unamplified, and it may shock you to find that they do not "jump out of the mix" like some headphones such as the HD800 make them. 

 

[curtain]

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All the dicussion on the LCD-2s is really disheartening when it comes to buying an LCD-2. This puts even the discussion on the HD800 and how to amp them properly from last year to shame.
I honestly have no intention of stepping on peoples toes but am just completely puzzled....
 
 

If you've reached your psychoacoustic opinion / ravings tipping point, then I would suggest taking pause, make a reasonably informed decision on an amp purchase, and then discover what that experience means to you.
 
Alternatively you could resolve to accept the horribly sexist generalisation that sound gear is to men what fashion is to women and be done with it
 
(no offence to the 1% of women reading this is intended)
 
 
 
 

 

[Nachkebia]

specially today, when it is an international womans day
 

 

[USAudio]

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Whenever anyone doesnt like a high-end phone, everyone runs to blame the amplification.  The fact of the matter is that just about any amp can power the LCD-2 sufficiently, with way more than sufficient headroom (except those people who believe they want 140db "transients" which would in reality damage the cans).  If you do not like their sound, "fixing" it with an amp is a silly maneuver which will cost you gallons of time, money, and energy which should be spent auditioning other headphones you like more. 
 
At the same time, a lot of people confuse certain spikes in the high frequencies with detail.  The LCD-2s are ridiculously fast, and in no way blur any information relative to any traditional dynamic headphone.  Listen to some acoustic instruments live and unamplified, and it may shock you to find that they do not "jump out of the mix" like some headphones such as the HD800 make them. 

Thanks El_Doug.  Perhaps I am confusing "certain spikes in the high frequencies with detail."  All I know is there are details I hear with the HD800's that I don't with the LCD-2's and was just curious if a change in amplification might rectify that.  I believe my Lavry DA11 provides plenty of resolution.
 
I see you have a Lavry DA11 as well.  Just curious what your impressions of the LCD-2's are using the headphone output of the DA11 vs. your Gilmore Lite SE (with the DA11 as source)?
 
 

 

[K3cT]

The LCD2 will sound nice from just about anything but feed it something that can output lots and lots of current and it will come alive. 
 
You might want to check out the new Eddie Current amplifier, the 2A3. I should be able to audition here locally very soon... 

 

[BrianMendoza]

I also wanted to add that in terms of sound leakage and interruption, the LCD-2's are both quite leaky and easily interrupted.

I know at night when I get to listen to my LCD-2's, in complete silence, I do believe that they demonstrate nice headstage and clarity. It's when I'm in a room, where there's a tv on, or a fairly loud conversation taking place, that they start to sound a bit congested. They seem to allow more background noise interrupt than some other cans I've heard, probably because of the hole-y design of the planar magnet?

So I'm not insisting that that may be the issue, but I think it's something to consider.

 

[USAudio]

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I also wanted to add that in terms of sound leakage and interruption, the LCD-2's are both quite leaky and easily interrupted.

I know at night when I get to listen to my LCD-2's, in complete silence, I do believe that they demonstrate nice headstage and clarity. It's when I'm in a room, where there's a tv on, or a fairly loud conversation taking place, that they start to sound a bit congested. They seem to allow more background noise interrupt than some other cans I've heard, probably because of the hole-y design of the planar magnet?

So I'm not insisting that that may be the issue, but I think it's something to consider.

Good point Brian.  Like you, at night is when I get to listen and things are very quiet, when the kids are in bed.  Otherwise, forget it, too much chaos!  
Plus, for some reason at night time is when my equipment seems to sound it's best.

 

[Duckman]

They still sound very detailed with 'half-decent' amps. I wouldn't worry about that, unless you're shy of darkish headphones in general.
 
'Darkess' is in the eye of the beholder or course. I consider them a bit dark and sometimes slightly congested with heavily multi-tracked music (with the amps and source I've used). Other reliable owners don't experience any of these problems in their systems.
 
Based on my 15 mins with the CS600 though, I reiterate that the LCD2 gets even better with better amplification.
 
My Lyr should arrive today (!!!).... so it will be nice to get another perspective on the LCD2.
 
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I somehow have the feeling that the discussions about the LCD-2 are getting  a bit ridiculous. I mean there are some that say they are fine running straight out of an iphone (some in this forum as well as in the 6moons review). some say that you need a decent amp (ability to drive current into low impedance rather than voltage) and some that you need the mother of all amps. And when I look at the bold part above we are not talking the last tiny bit to shine better than regular. The above appears to me as a basic requirement for a top of the line HP. It should be possible to do this with a half decent amp and what I understand the B22 and CS300XS are way beyond half decent.
All the dicussion on the LCD-2s is really disheartening when it comes to buying an LCD-2. This puts even the discussion on the HD800 and how to amp them properly from last year to shame.
I honestly have no intention of stepping on peoples toes but am just completely puzzled....
 
 

 

 

[InnerSpace]

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At the same time, a lot of people confuse certain spikes in the high frequencies with detail ... Listen to some acoustic instruments live and unamplified, and it may shock you to find that they do not "jump out of the mix" like some headphones such as the HD800 make them. 

I have never understood this point.  The HD800's treble spike is at about 6,000hz.  Which unamplified acoustic instruments have significant output at that level?  Detail is quiet music, not high-frequency music.  Most detail happens in the bass or the midrange, a few hundred hertz at most.  Hearing detail is a matter of clarity, absence of intermodulation, and so on.  You don't hear a quiet guitar figure, for instance, because your headphone peaks in the region where a piccolo has an overtone.