[goldendarko]

Then it's normal to begin noticing some changes right now. I was surprised of how better it sounded after 100 hours and then after 200 hours.

 


I wasn't a believer in break-in with solid-state amps before this but the Conductor has really blossomed after about 100+ hours, definately enjoying it more now than when I first got it a few months ago, but maybe I was just adjusting to it, who knows.

 

[citraian]

Then it's normal to begin noticing some changes right now. I was surprised of how better it sounded after 100 hours and then after 200 hours.

 


I wasn't a believer in break-in with solid-state amps before this but the Conductor has really blossomed after about 100+ hours, definately enjoying it more now than when I first got it a few months ago, but maybe I was just adjusting to it, who knows.

Same here. Wasn't a believer and I was more than surprised.

 

[RebelRising]

Same here. Wasn't a believer and I was more than surprised.

 
How's the power output on that Conductor? One of my favorite things about my current set-up (Mjolnir) is how I barely need to turn the dial (around 10 o clock) for a substantial volume. 

 

[goldendarko]

4 watts on the top end version, plenty of power for me, and I like it loud

 

[kothganesh]

4 watts on the top end version, plenty of power for me, and I like it loud[/quote
Really? I have the Soloist which I've been told is the amp in the Conductor. I thought it was rated 2W. I know I'm nitpicking but maybe I should crank up the Soloist !

 

[philo50]

4 watts on the top end version, plenty of power for me, and I like it loud

you have to be careful here as I believe that 4 watts is into 16 ohms....a bit deceiving.....

 

[citraian]

   
How's the power output on that Conductor? One of my favorite things about my current set-up (Mjolnir) is how I barely need to turn the dial (around 10 o clock) for a substantial volume. 

More than enough power with both the LCD-3s and the HD-800

 

[citraian]

  you have to be careful here as I believe that 4 watts is into 16 ohms....a bit deceiving.....

Why is that deceiving?

 

[philo50]

  Why is that deceiving?

in my experience most power ratings are into 40-50 ohms.....for example the EF-6, a very powerful amp is rated at 5 watts, but into 50 ohms....that being said I have owned both the original Conductor and the Soloist and found they had more than enough power for any headphone short of the HE-6

 

[Pier Paolo]

And also the power is often at 1%THD that is way too high for a modern HP AMP. This is a trick to declare an higher output.

 

[Steve Eddy]

And also the power is often at 1%THD that is way too high for a modern HP AMP. This is a trick to declare an higher output.

It's not a trick. If you're going to rate an amplifier's output power, you need to have some sort of ceiling. The most logical would be the point at which the amp starts to clip. If you look at a plot of THD vs. power for a typical class A/B amplifier, you'll see that at the lowest power outputs, it trends downwards for a bit, and then starts trending upwards. Once the amp begins to reach the point that it's clipping, it shoots almost straight up. Using 1% THD I think is perfectly legitimate as for most amps anyway, it tells you you're almost certainly going into clipping, and 1% THD is arguably inaudible when listening to program material versus simple sine waves.

A trick would be not specifying the conditions under which you're rating the power which can lead to all sorts of crazy Schiit, such as "PMPO" and the like.

se

 

[Steve Eddy]

you have to be careful here as I believe that 4 watts is into 16 ohms....a bit deceiving.....

Not deceiving provided they state the load for which they're specifying the power.

se

 

[philo50]

Not deceiving provided they state the load for which they're specifying the power.

se

confusing would have been a better word to have used....

 

[mlxx]

It is interesting.. I am using the medium gain setting because it gives me more steps to set the volume to a level I like as compared to the high gain. I don't notice any sound difference between the gain settings. In the manual it states that the max power output is only 0.7W on the medium gain (4W on high gain). I have the volume set to 2 o'clock which is about half way as the dial almost goes around 360deg. I would have thought that 0.7W would not be enough but it is plenty. On my NFB15, the volume is set to the same position (12 o'clock) as it was with my HE400 as it is now with the LCD3.

 

[commtrd]

Question: Would both drivers in my LCD3 be likely to just die at the exact same time? Does not seem to me to be very likely. I could be wrong though. I was listening to the phones from my dell laptop with JRiver 19, usb out, good usb cable to Gungnir, Pyst cable balanced to Mjolnir, Silver Widow to phones. Has been absolutely flawless for a year. Just instantaneously died. I tried hooking up to my Samsung laptop with the Schiit driver installed with usb out to Gungnir and same result. I don't have another set of phones to try and no plugged cable to go straight into the puter but both were showing the audio out functional. Both played music out the onboard speakers so doubt it is a computer issue. Win 7 Dell and a Win 7 Samsung both very capable machines etc.Tried turning amp / dac off for a while and then back on, no change. Did get the faint clicking noise from amp / dac.
 
How likely is it that both drivers in the phones just die instantly? I am seriously bummed. I think I am totally addicted to listening and in withdrawal now.