[hexalamb]

Hey guys, I'm looking at buying a pair of LCD-2s and I have a couple questions:
 
First, I've seen a couple people talking about the wood cracking on these. I'm wondering how many people have had this problem. More importantly, does the wood have anything to do with the sound of the cans? If I buy them and they crack after going out of warranty, am I going to be holding a pair of $1000 paper weights?
 
Second, and I know there is a thread dedicated to selecting an amp for these so I apologize if this is inappropriate, but I'm trying to figure out which dac and amp to pair with them. I'd say my budget for the dac and amp together is definitely under $1000, but preferably lower. I'm looking at the ODAC and O2 combo, but I want to make sure I'm not skimping too much. Part of the issue I'm having is I'd really rather not have to deal with tubes, so many amps are out.
 
Anyway, thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[tamleo]

Hello,
You have exactly confusing questions like me when I was about acquiring the LCD-2 r2 last year ^^!
1. Dont need to worry about woody cracking anymore. All new nowaday LCD-2 version  have the plastic angled connector.
    Bamboo and rosewood version sound the same. But the rosewood version have just raised the price up to $1450 so i think you better should get the bamboo version for saving few bucks.
2. I prefer the solid stage amp too ^^ I have owned the Schiit Asgard amplifier and HRT music stream 2 dac with my LCD-2 and this combo is quite good. But if i were you, i would spend $1000 for the Schiit Mjolnir and still keep my old HRT dac. Many people on head-fi vote the Mjolnir paired with the LCD-2 highly. I will upgrade to a better dac later.
Do not think the O2 have enough power for the ortho's hungry.
Good luck,

skimping

​

[/img]

​

[/img]​

 

[hexalamb]

Thanks for the response. Just to be clear, the wood part of the cans is just decorative? Additionally, if I were to go with the Mjolnir, should I just get the balanced cable from Audeze, or is there a similarly priced alternative that might be of better quality?
 

 

[Mullet]

The O2 has plenty of power for the LCDs. I think they sound pretty damn good out of the O2. Of course there are going to be better options for more money, but on a budget you can't go wrong with the O2.

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

Hello,
You have exactly confusing questions like me when I was about acquiring the LCD-2 r2 last year ^^!
1. Dont need to worry about woody cracking anymore. All new nowaday LCD-2 version  have the plastic angled connector.
    Bamboo and rosewood version sound the same. But the rosewood version have just raised the price up to $1450 so i think you better should get the bamboo version for saving few bucks.
2. I prefer the solid stage amp too ^^ I have owned the Schiit Asgard amplifier and HRT music stream 2 dac with my LCD-2 and this combo is quite good. But if i were you, i would spend $1000 for the Schiit Mjolnir and still keep my old HRT dac. Many people on head-fi vote the Mjolnir paired with the LCD-2 highly. I will upgrade to a better dac later.
Do not think the O2 have enough power for the ortho's hungry.
Good luck,

skimping

​

[/img]

​

[/img]​

 
it's actually $1145 for the rosewood LCD-2, but you can still find some existing stock of the rosewood at the $995 price