[goldendarko]

  I'm pulling the trigger for LCD-3F soon and was wondering whats the best amp and dac in the 2000 price range? Please help me go in the right direction, thanks.

Best Amp/DAC combo I've heard under 2k is the Oppo HA-1 which I now own and use with the LCD-3F. I actually picked mine up used for $800 and prefer it over my old Burson Conductor that I paid $1000 more for new.

 

[montanari]

I prefered the conductor over the oppo
But still not the end of game

 

[mscott58]

Oppo is good, but I concur that in terms of SQ that the Conductor is better with the LCD-3's IMO. The Conductor doesn't have the same bells and whistles as the HA-1, but I focus more on the musicality. I was able to bump the Conductor's performance up a notch by mating it with the Hakoon HPA-21. Cheers 

 

[fb24601]

using the burson new conductor virtuoso (ess9018) with lcd3f

 

[cheesegrados]

Okay so I came up with a list but still not sure which one to buy.
 
1. Schiit Mjonlnir 2/ Gungnir multibit 
 
2. Audio-gd Master 11
 
3. Chord-hugo
 
4. Woo audio WA7
 
5. Oppo HA-1 
 
6. Burson Virtuoso Conductor  ESS SABRE32
 
 
If you guys had to choose one on this list, which one would it be? 

 

[Rico613]

 
If you guys had to choose one on this list, which one would it be? 

Hard to say -- not having heard any of them.  They're probably all pretty good.  Why not look up some reviews, read some of the threads on Head-Fi, look at the listings on the For Sale / Trade.  Maybe there are other considerations such as size, aesthetics, price, resale value, etc.  

 

[montanari]

I had the conductor and the oppo
Now the hugo
Heard the mjior and the w7
I would choose conductor for the 3f
Better hugo(or 2qute) + soloist

 

[cheesegrados]

I had the conductor and the oppo
Now the hugo
Heard the mjior and the w7
I would choose conductor for the 3f
Better hugo(or 2qute) + soloist

Okay How about 2qute DAC + Soloist SL? Is that a good combo? 

 

[montanari]

I never heard the sl version because a couple of Friends that had both told me that the full version was much superior so i just went For the non sl

 

[fb24601]

I have both conductor SL and conductor virtuoso. I can say conductor virtuoso is for much more serious use such as pairing with lcd3. The latter is more powerful. 

 

[montanari]

By the way
I'm enjoying very much my lcd3f , even now, listening some wonderful act albums trough the hugo, speaker valve amplifier with a resistor
I actually found and using a robinette box
See the tread on headfi
But even just a resistor 10ohm 10w and speaker taps to xrl cable is enough
the best sound that I here so far at least for amp below 1000$
Better than this setup only the cavalli liquid glass (of course for what I know, I never heard a master9 or a headlamp or a Viva!)
But it's for me too expansive
If you have a SS speaker amp, better a good quality one and class A, you could give it a try even without resistors
Cheers

 

[NoxNoctum]

So I've noticed that when I plug in with my LCD-3 to my speaker amp, I get some distortion in my right ear (this is while I have the volume on the computer all the way down... which I always do when switching out HPs to my speaker amp). It goes away the second I began to turn the volume up so it's a non-issue, but I just find it a bit strange... why only the LCD-3 and why the right ear? Doesn't occur with my LCD-2 or HE-6.

 

[jlbrach]

the HA-1 is absolutely fantastic with the LCD-3F...i have been using the chord hugo and love it but the HA-1 has more thump,more heft...more growl for the lack of any other way to describe it...it has made my LCD-3F sing

 

[Arsenal]

Did you actually hear these devices? Your ears are the best reference

 

[Seen3]

Yes, there is. Not in production ye