[ianmedium]

Quick question to LCD 2 owners, do you find the Stepdance has enough power for the headphones to shine( bearing in mind I will be running my Stepdance at 15v once the cable arrives!)

I really loved the HD800's but after chatting with monotune and reading about the LCD 2's I can' help but feel these would be my best bet when it comes time to upgrade headphones, the combination of solo and Stepdance really is high quality and I can't help but think they would do full justice to the LCD's!

Got the tips yesterday, super fast service, now just waiting for the willy cable and I will be set!

 

[Girls Generation]

Skylab says stepdance is good enough for the LCD2 although not as good as the desktop amps. However, with 15Volts I'm pretty sure it'll be more than enough. LCD2 is easier to drive than the HD800 and I've read many reviews/comparisons saying the LCD2 > HD800, but they do have differences that can't really be considered 'better' than each others'. I'd prefer the LCD2 over the HD800's SS.

On a side note, I wonder if I can use the XP8000 to power the JH3A.

 

[zilch0md]

smial1966,
 
Quote:

Girls Generation.
 
[snip]
 
Incidentally, does anyone know how long the replacement XP8000 tips take to arrive from Taiwan?
 
Cheers.  

I can't really answer your question, but I ordered an NB05 tip through the Tip Finder service on March 17 (one week ago) and have not yet received it (to my address near Dallas, Texas).
 
Meanwhile, I'm actually enjoying a series of exchanges with the XPAL Tip Finder service (via their HTML form, not by e-mail) - regarding whether or not a Tip exists that will allow the Willy Cable WI15 to be attached to the Stepdance.  It's been a struggle to get the person with whom I am communicating to understand that all we need is a tip that fits the same devices which accept an NB05 tip, but which can be attached to the 15-Volt end of the WI15 cable.  (You wouldn't believe how many ways I've had to explain that to this person to secure evidence that they COMPREHEND my request.) 
 
As of yesterday, this Level 1 guy at the Tip Finder Service has decided that no such tip exists, but he has escalated the ticket to his "Tip Developers" for further research (whatever that means). Thus far, I've withheld the fact that I've already purchased the PowerStream connector assortment to solve this problem.  I plan to divulge that information only if (when) they give up.
 
Thanks,
 
Mike

 

 

[zilch0md]

 
Hi Ian,
 
Quote:

Quick question to LCD 2 owners, do you find the Stepdance has enough power for the headphones to shine( bearing in mind I will be running my Stepdance at 15v once the cable arrives!)

[snip]

 

 
You probably know from my previous posts that I only posess one amp - the Stepdance, so I can't compare its LCD-2 performance with any other amps. 

 
I am, however, VERY satisfied (ignorance is bliss) with the Stepdance > LCD-2 combo, but like GG, I know that Skylab, whose opinion I (and obviously, many others) trust greatly, has said that the Stepdance can't compete with even a $750.00 Meier Concerto, much less a $3500 Leben.  (I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist of it.)  And from what I'm reading about the Schitt Lyr, it will likely "outperform" the Stepdance with an LCD-2. 
 
It seems that orthodynamic designs are efficient, and thus I've even heard people say the LCD-2 sounds OK when plugged straight into an iPod (which has roughly a 30-mW per channel output).  But if you want the LCD-2 to really perform at its very best, you need at least 3 Watts per channel.   To put that into perspective, I suspect, but have no way of knowing for sure, that with a 15-Volt power supply, the Stepdance Peak Watts (not Watts RMS, which would be a lot less) is no more than 1.25 Watts per channel into 32-Ohms.  Watts RMS would be about 0.7 * Peak Watts for a purely resistive load (which is somewhat the case with planar magnetic headphones), or 0.88 Watts RMS per channel into 32-Ohms.  Now take everything I've said here in this paragraph and ignore it - my estimates are probably way off, but I suspect I'm erring on the high side, if anything.  My point is just that the Stepdance can't produce the power of even modest desktop amps like a Concerto or a WA6, much less more potent amps like the Lyr, the B22, etc., and the LCD-2s really like a lot of power.
 
Despite my understanding, I get so much enjoyment from listening to my 15-Volt Stepdance with LCD-2s, that I literally do not want to hear what the LCD-2 can do with a better amp until I'm actually willing to spend the money on such an amp.  Why torture myself? 
 
Contentment is a choice we can make independent of circumstance.
 

 
Mike
 
 

 

[Girls Generation]

Question is: Can you ignore the curiosity?

 

[Armaegis]

My curiosity is constantly squashed by my mortgage payments.

 

[ianmedium]

Quote:

 
Hi Ian,
 
 
You probably know from my previous posts that I only posess one amp - the Stepdance, so I can't compare its LCD-2 performance with any other amps. 

 
I am, however, VERY satisfied (ignorance is bliss) with the Stepdance > LCD-2 combo, but like GG, I know that Skylab, whose opinion I (and obviously, many others) trust greatly, has said that the Stepdance can't compete with even a $750.00 Meier Concerto, much less a $3500 Leben.  (I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist of it.)  And from what I'm reading about the Schitt Lyr, it will likely "outperform" the Stepdance with an LCD-2. 
 
It seems that orthodynamic designs are efficient, and thus I've even heard people say the LCD-2 sounds OK when plugged straight into an iPod (which has roughly a 30-mW per channel output).  But if you want the LCD-2 to really perform at its very best, you need at least 3 Watts per channel.   To put that into perspective, I suspect, but have no way of knowing for sure, that with a 15-Volt power supply, the Stepdance Peak Watts (not Watts RMS, which would be a lot less) is no more than 1.25 Watts per channel into 32-Ohms.  Watts RMS would be about 0.7 * Peak Watts for a purely resistive load (which is somewhat the case with planar magnetic headphones), or 0.88 Watts RMS per channel into 32-Ohms.  Now take everything I've said here in this paragraph and ignore it - my estimates are probably way off, but I suspect I'm erring on the high side, if anything.  My point is just that the Stepdance can't produce the power of even modest desktop amps like a Concerto or a WA6, much less more potent amps like the Lyr, the B22, etc., and the LCD-2s really like a lot of power.
 
Despite my understanding, I get so much enjoyment from listening to my 15-Volt Stepdance with LCD-2s, that I literally do not want to hear what the LCD-2 can do with a better amp until I'm actually willing to spend the money on such an amp.  Why torture myself? 
 
Contentment is a choice we can make independent of circumstance.
 

 
Mike
 
 

Mike.
For some reason I blanked that you had these wonderful phones, going on the great advice you give if you are pleased with them then that is good enough for me, I also respect Montunes thoughts on these matters and he is happy with his as well. At what position do you have your volume at for comfortable listening with them, I know everybodys hearing is not the same but it gives me an idea!
 
Also, very impressed with their customer service! I emailed them this morning with a question about the jack and if they could provide a mini jack (which they can't but I can get a grado adaptor easily enough) and Alexander emailed me back within the hour! So, a'saving I shall go!
 
PS, absolutely nothing wrong with the Denon's I just figured, in for a penny, in for a pound as they say!
 

 

[average_joe]

I A/Bed my RPX-33 with my Stepdance using a 12V linear regulated supply when driving the LCD-2.  When in low gain (with a high enough input from the line input), the Stepdance was pretty much on par with the RPX-33.  With the Tesla T1, not so much, but I sold both the T1 and the RPX-33.  

 

[ianmedium]

Quote:

I A/Bed my RPX-33 with my Stepdance using a 12V linear regulated supply when driving the LCD-2.  When in low gain (with a high enough input from the line input), the Stepdance was pretty much on par with the RPX-33.  With the Tesla T1, not so much, but I sold both the T1 and the RPX-33.  

Thank you so much for this, Oh my poor wallet, thank goodness I do not own credit cards otherwise I know I would be in trouble!

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

 thank goodness I do not own credit cards otherwise I know I would be in trouble!

Amen to that - I only have one, and the card itself lies in pieces at the bottom of my bedside drawer as a reminder of my rampant stupidity. Moving to a debit card made a lot more sense, even if you dont have the same feeling of 'omnipotence' that I did with an 8K limit (I know quite a few people with 20K limits on their cards - crazy at the exorbitant rates our banks charge on balances after the first month)

 

[ianmedium]

Quote:

Amen to that - I only have one, and the card itself lies in pieces at the bottom of my bedside drawer as a reminder of my rampant stupidity. Moving to a debit card made a lot more sense, even if you dont have the same feeling of 'omnipotence' that I did with an 8K limit (I know quite a few people with 20K limits on their cards - crazy at the exorbitant rates our banks charge on balances after the first month)

It is nice to know I am not the only one! Eleven years without debt now and it feels great. I was the worst sort of credit card user, luckily I saw the light before I got into trouble! Something very nice as well in knowing what you have you owe nothing on!
 

 

[Szadzik]

You people keep my thoughts on the subject all the time. I just purchased a pair of Fischer Audio FA-011s and also set my mind on buying a desktop amp when you start saying the Stepdance is SO good.
 
Do you think I should just keep my Stepdance with a good power supply as a desktop amp, or will I benefit from buying something like a Burson HA-160D or the non-DAC version HA160 with a Cambridge Audio DACMagic.
 
I am basically trying to go from a portable-rig-only setup to a portable + desktop setup.
 
Here's the Burson Amp/ DAC combo I wanted to buy:
 
http://bursonaudio.com/HA_160D.html

 

[monoethylene]

So far I can say that I am using right now the Stepdance as a desktop amp with an external power supply which gives me exactly 15V. Concerning the goodness of the PSU, I see that the Stepdance itself has a very good internal filtering. Compared with my Desktop amp which is the Cantate.2 I have to confess that I really like the Stepdance more when I do an A/B comparison. But it have to be said that I am using the Canatate.2 with the DAC unit and up to now I don't have the possibility to hook it up with an external DAC. The cans in use are the HD-25 II with 70Ohm impedance..

 

[Armaegis]

It's funny, I'm vaguely considering getting a stepdance to use as a preamp to feed one of my DIY amp projects...

 

[Girls Generation]

It's funny, I'm vaguely considering getting a stepdance to use as a preamp to feed one of my DIY amp projects...

buy off me