[7Sevin]

Heya,

It would be ideal, yes.

But you need that anyways, regardless of what headphone(s) you end up with. So getting something that is very universal and covers all bases means it's not your bottleneck so you can focus on just trying headphones.

See links given to you already.

Very best,

So do you think it would be to my benefit to buy a universal DAC and amp for testing purposes, and then buy a DAC and amp more suited to my style and headphone once I decide on those things?

 

[MalVeauX]

So do you think it would be to my benefit to buy a universal DAC and amp for testing purposes, and then buy a DAC and amp more suited to my style and headphone once I decide on those things?

 
Not really, no.
 
I would get what you think you would need for long term to handle any headphone you may end up with in the future. You only need to get a single dac/amp setup for most of your life honestly until formats change many decades later (like if usb or optical suddenly were literally gone in the next 50 years, then you'd have to get something new maybe to keep up with current interfaces in the digital world). It's an investment. You can use any headphone with it. If you get something quality with enough output to handle the easiest and hardest to drive headphones, you'll not need to worry if you're "giving it enough power", nor will you need to wonder if your circuit is the bottleneck to your headphone. Again, see links above, those are easily future proof setups for most people and are very fairly priced and more than handle something like the LCD2 and everything easier to drive, without breaking a sweat.
 
Very best,

 

[vkalia]

I have an Audio GD amp & DAC (SA-31 and NFB2.32), and the LCD2 does fine there.   But plugging it into my 2A3 amp is pure bliss.    Single-ended tubes + LCD2 == marriage made in heaven.   Luscious, rich, velvety mids, and enough body on the treble to make the music sound close to the Live Thing.  
 
Dont listen to the people that say this amp doesnt have enough treble or that tubes will reduce the highs even more.    IMO, the reference sound should be live, unamplified music, unaffected by a sound engineer's preferences and biases.   Using a live orchestral performance as a reference, I find the LCD2 + tubes combo comes the closest to delivering that sound as far as headphones go.    
 
If you are on a budget but can solder per a diagram, the Bottlehead S.E.X. amp is a good start.

 

[7Sevin]

Not really, no.

I would get what you think you would need for long term to handle any headphone you may end up with in the future. You only need to get a single dac/amp setup for most of your life honestly until formats change many decades later (like if usb or optical suddenly were literally gone in the next 50 years, then you'd have to get something new maybe to keep up with current interfaces in the digital world). It's an investment. You can use any headphone with it. If you get something quality with enough output to handle the easiest and hardest to drive headphones, you'll not need to worry if you're "giving it enough power", nor will you need to wonder if your circuit is the bottleneck to your headphone. Again, see links above, those are easily future proof setups for most people and are very fairly priced and more than handle something like the LCD2 and everything easier to drive, without breaking a sweat.

Very best,

I've just heard that different combinations of DAC/amp/headphones have really different effects on your music.

I'll check out those links.

 

[7Sevin]

  I have an Audio GD amp & DAC (SA-31 and NFB2.32), and the LCD2 does fine there.   But plugging it into my 2A3 amp is pure bliss.    Single-ended tubes + LCD2 == marriage made in heaven.   Luscious, rich, velvety mids, and enough body on the treble to make the music sound close to the Live Thing.  
 
Dont listen to the people that say this amp doesnt have enough treble or that tubes will reduce the highs even more.    IMO, the reference sound should be live, unamplified music, unaffected by a sound engineer's preferences and biases.   Using a live orchestral performance as a reference, I find the LCD2 + tubes combo comes the closest to delivering that sound as far as headphones go.    
 
If you are on a budget but can solder per a diagram, the Bottlehead S.E.X. amp is a good start.

 
Sorry, missed your post earlier.
 
Is 2A3 a type of tube? I don't know anything about tube amps, could you please elaborate on that?

 

[vkalia]

Yes, 2A3 is a type of tube. It puts out 2-3W of power - enough to drive a pair of efficient speakers to ear-bleed levels, let alone headphones.
 
The classic tube sound is indeed warm, with slightly rolled off highs (which isnt the same thing as NO highs, mind you) & luscious, rich full-bodied mids.    The performance in the mid-range is truly magical and absolutely makes the music come alive in a way that no solid-stage amp can match.    Tube amps dont measure as well and have a lot of 2nd order distortion - which feedback circuitry in solid-state designs remove.     A lot of people, myself included, feel that this 2nd order distortion is what restores a sense of body to the sound and makes it match more closely to what one hears in a concert-hall, even if it doesnt measure as well.   
 
However, there are a lot of misconceptions about tubes - the moment people see a tube, they think it is going to have the above sound.   That is not true.
 
You can get push-pull tube amplifier designs which measure and perform very similar to solid-stage designs - the old Dynaco ST-70s were a good example of this, as are most modern high-power (35W+) tube amp designs.
 
The classic tube sound mostly applies to single-ended tubes, which are essentially have one driver tube and one single gain stage, with zero feedback circuitry.   
 
The crazy thing is, for whatever reason, single-ended tube amps are stupidly expensive bought off the shelf (the cheapest I have seen is the Decware Taboo).     I built my own using around $500 worth of parts, and it was comparable to a commercial amp costing around $5000 (I know cos I opened up a couple and checked out the circuitry inside).    So if you are on a budget, you might want to pick a design and either DIY it or buy something like the Bottlehead kit.  
 
Now, whether or not you like this depends on what your baseline is.  Mine is live classical concerts - I want a sound that replicates that, as opposed to reproducing exactly what is on the CD.   If you are used to electronic or amplified music, where there is no objective reference (other than what the sound engineer decides on the CD), that's a different story. 
 
Hope that helps.