[aqsw]

I have very old ears, but I really couldn't tell much difference when I tried the LCD3s. I wasn't a/b ing though. For a thousand bucks I really don't think I'm missing that much.

 

[Armaegis]

I was stupendously underwhelmed when I compared the LCD2 vs 3 a while back. Easy choice to take the 2 and spend the extra $1k on anything else.

 

[wgb113]

   
I agree with your HD800 statement. I shake my head every time someone says they sound great together. They don't know what they are missing. The combo is lifeless.
If that is all I had I would get a hammer and smash both. I just couldn't take it.
For the record I have listened to the combo. I couldn't take the cans off fast enough. HD800 does sound great with other DAC/Amps tho.
 
The HA-1 / LCD is a great combo. Add a warmer DAC then you have a killer combo. One that I could live with and use forever. I could do without my tube amp with this combo.

Some of us just rather not color our sound that way (Audeze) is all.  Neither is right/wrong better/worse, to each their own, it's all good.
 
Bill

 

[zilch0md]

Hi Boatschool02,
 
Quote:

  Hello,
I have a week old HA-1 and one day old LCD-2s.  I'm going to give them a few days of pink noise and EDM to work in.
Questions for any similar owners:
 
1. How much did/does the sound open up? (There is plenty of power via SE output, but I get a "closed in" or "lacking headroom" impression when playing tracks with which I'm very familiar.)
 
2. Does the XLR out add just top end power in practice more headroom? (hp vs torque)  Stinks that the balanced cable I'd like probably can't be made before my 30 days is up on either product.
 
3. Anyone in the same position upgrade to LCD-3 or stick with the HP and upgrade the amp?
 
Thanks, 

 

 
Thanks for the input. May have to try the LCD-3.
 
Look forward to trying the OPPO's balanced connection.
 
Don't get me wrong, LCD-2F does sound much better than my previous/starter cans.
 
The tonal balance and sound stage differences are just more obvious than I could have expected.
Had to start in this thread to make sure it wasn't a component mismatch or common amp experience.

 
I would vigorously encourage you to wait until you can get some balanced cables for the LCD-2 before spending money on the LCD-3.  
 
Have a look at these charts showing the 4x difference in output power at various loads:
 

 
 

 
The 32-Ohm OPPO PM-1 is a very efficient planar magnetic, and several people have said they don't hear any difference between driving it with 500 mW on the HA-1's TRS jack vs. 2000 mW on the 4-Pin XLR jack. I agree with that conclusion. Others have even incorrectly concluded that the PM-1 doesn't "scale" to more power, when in reality, it scales just as well as any other planar magnetic, as long as you start your comparison with a much lower power output than the 500 mW delivered by the TRS jack of the HA-1. Plug the PM-1 into a Sansa Clip. It will be plenty "loud," but the bass will be woolly and even the mids will be uncontrolled.
 
Your 70-Ohm Audeze LCD-2, are much less efficient, even independent of their having more than twice the impedance of the OPPO PM-1.  (A headphone's impedance and sensitivity are not always inversely proportional). Unlike the PM-1, the LCD-2 is sufficiently inefficient to enjoy significant audible improvements with the 1679 mW available at 4-Pin XLR jack vs. 420 mw at the TRS jack.  Audeze support recommends a minimum of 1000 mW for the LCD-2. 420 mW does not deliver the dynamics and bass control you can enjoy with 1679 mW at the 4-Pin XLR jack.
 
Mike

 

[Boatschool02]

Mike,
Thanks for such a great response.
Exactly what I needed to hear and coincides with previous 2-ch impressions.
(Anything 100-1000 (class AB/D) watts vs a Pass Labs XA-30.5)
I'll wrangle up a balanced cable before making any further decisions on the OPPO or the LCD-2.
Really want to make the OPPO one box solution work.
Sure, I could spend a grand more on phones, 2-3K on Auralic/Headamp, and 2K on stand alone DAC, but that'd defeat the purpose of my clean, concise, single power cord, simple $2k total OPPO/Audeze venture.
V/r,
Luke

 

[zilch0md]

 
Mike,
Thanks for such a great response.
Exactly what I needed to hear and coincides with previous 2-ch impressions.
(Anything 100-1000 (class AB/D) watts vs a Pass Labs XA-30.5)
I'll wrangle up a balanced cable before making any further decisions on the OPPO or the LCD-2.
Really want to make the OPPO one box solution work.
Sure, I could spend a grand more on phones, 2-3K on Auralic/Headamp, and 2K on stand alone DAC, but that'd defeat the purpose of my clean, concise, single power cord, simple $2k total OPPO/Audeze venture.
V/r,
Luke

 
You're welcome Luke!  
 
The somewhat bright signature of the HA-1 DAC+Amp is exactly what the shelved highs of the LCD-2 need (in addition to the power available at the 4-Pin connector).  Brighter headphones (i.e. HD800) just don't work as well, in my opinion.
 
Mike

 

[x RELIC x]

I tried my JH/AK Angie UIEMs with the HA1 today and was absolutely blown away. I'm already smitten with the cohesive natural and extremely detailed sound of the Angie but the HA-1 took them up a notch. What really surprised me was there was no channel imbalance at low listening levels and I heard NO HISS. Zero, zilch, nadda, none. The bass was full and the mids had great musicality. The treble was not fatiguing in the least.

Ironic how my new portable earphones sound best out of my desktop amp. Simply did it to test the coaxial out from the Cayin N6 I'm reviewing not expecting much, but boy was I wrong! The HA-1 keeps delivering the goods.

 

[aqsw]

I tried my JH/AK Angie UIEMs with the HA1 today and was absolutely blown away. I'm already smitten with the cohesive natural and extremely detailed sound of the Angie but the HA-1 took them up a notch. What really surprised me was there was no channel imbalance at low listening levels and I heard NO HISS. Zero, zilch, nadda, none. The bass was full and the mids had great musicality. The treble was not fatiguing in the least.

Ironic how my new portable earphones sound best out of my desktop amp. Simply did it to test the coaxial out from the Cayin N6 I'm reviewing not expecting much, but boy was I wrong! The HA-1 keeps delivering the goods.

The angies would probably sound great with any amp that has a noise floor of -125

 

[zach915m]

Got to spend some time with the HA-1 at the NYC head fi meet this weekend, and although I had heard it before I didn't get a chance to compare it in the past with my Decware taboo and Violectric 281. To my surprise it held it own, and was just as easing to listen to. The amount of weight, fluidity, and delicacy was perfect to my ears. Going back and forth between the taboo I didn't feel like I was losing out on musicality. Hopefully I'll get some more time with it again soon!

That lcd display is cool too.

 

[keanex]

Bump!

 

[Dougr33]

  Bump!

+1 (this used to be a lively thread!!)
Oppo... will there ever be a firmware update for this lovely machine. Refinements to the visuals, more choices on gain/mute settings?

 

[happybuyer]

Ran into a bizarre problem with sound in any browser on my PC.
 
For example mp3 samples on Amazon, which I use (or used to use before this problem) to decide what CDs to buy.
 
When I click on a sample, in Chrome or Internet Explorer, it immediately says error 4, and there is no sound.
 
When I try playing a video, I get picture, but no sound, in either browser.
 
My PC is configured to have all audio devices shut off except for the HA-1 USB driver.
 
The HA-1 is turned on.
 
I can play music with JRiver, through the HA-1.
 
Computer sounds, for example warnings and alerts, play correctly.
 
In Control Panel -> Manage audio devices, there is one device:
 
Speakers
2 - OPPO HA-1 USB AUDIO 2.0 DAC
Default Device
 
My wife's PC works fine, and she has the same setup.
 
Any idea what I need to do to fix this?

 

[bfreedma]

Ran into a bizarre problem with sound in any browser on my PC.
 
For example mp3 samples on Amazon, which I use (or used to use before this problem) to decide what CDs to buy.
 
When I click on a sample, in Chrome or Internet Explorer, it immediately says error 4, and there is no sound.
 
When I try playing a video, I get picture, but no sound, in either browser.
 
My PC is configured to have all audio devices shut off except for the HA-1 USB driver.
 
The HA-1 is turned on.
 
I can play music with JRiver, through the HA-1.
 
Computer sounds, for example warnings and alerts, play correctly.
 
In Control Panel -> Manage audio devices, there is one device:
 
Speakers
2 - OPPO HA-1 USB AUDIO 2.0 DAC
Default Device
 
My wife's PC works fine, and she has the same setup.
 
Any idea what I need to do to fix this?

If you haven't yet done so, update and/or uninstall and reload your audio drivers. If that doesn't resolve the problem, I'd download Malwarebytes and scan your system to see if it's been compromised.

Can post information from your system's event log? That might make it possible to provide more specific recommendations.

 

[happybuyer]

Odd. I clicked around in some of the sound-config dialogs and it started working. No idea what I changed.

 

[Armaegis]

I guessing your browsers hadn't locked onto the device properly. Sometimes flash videos or games will also do weird things and then the browser needs to be reset (which may require going into task manager and clearing some things out manually from memory).