[dj nellie]

Also, HPA--did you ever get to send Skylab your HDP for his review?  I'm curious to see his thoughts on how the HDP compares to the other amps he has, esp. with the LCD-2 and Edition 8.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

That's a very helpful comment, thanks HPA.  It pretty much answers the PM that I sent you.  I'm kind of in a similar boat as epocs, I'm wondering whether the HDP would be a better amp for my Lavry DA10 DAC and my LCD-2 than the RSA SR71b with a balanced cable.  If I choose to go SE, I'm wondering if there are any other amps in the same price range as the HDP that are clearly better, since I don't need the DAC or pre-amp.  I'm thinking that there isn't, especially when form factor is taken into consideration--I want something compact and discrete.
 
So I guess it comes down to which amp matches better with the LCD-2:  The HDP or the SR71b? 
 
I was excited to hear that Nuforce had just released a pared-down version of the HDP, but then I figured out that it doesn't have the analog inputs that I need to feed it from my DAC.  I would be very interested if Nuforce released an amp-only version of the HDP, with analog (RCA) inputs.  I would definitely pay the asking price of the HD for that.
 
Jason, are there any plans to make this kind of a simple amp version of the HDP?

I answered part of this in your PM to me.  I listened to the LCD-2 with balanced silver dragon cable and SR-71b at RMAF and it was an excellent match.  I find the SR-71b single ended doesn't sound nearly as good and prefer the HDP if I can't use the SR-71b balanced; so I am waiting on a balanced LCD-2 cable to arrive.  The balanced SR-71b and Woo WA6 will both be an upgrade over the HDP, but they're more expensive and don't include a DAC (which wont matter since you already have a great DAC with the DA10).
 
Basically, from what I heard at RMAF and based on how well the SR-71b drives my balanced HE-6, the SR-71b balanced would likely be a better match for LCD-2 than the WA6.  I'll be able to confirm that when my re-terminated balanced cable arrives for the LCD-2.  The HDP is very nice with LCD-2, and fun with better impact and PRAT than my WA6, and keeps the LCD-2 from sounding dark.  In it's price range it's hard to think of a better amp for the LCD-2 than the HDP.  My WA6 does run out of steam when I try to crank it up loud with the LCD-2, and the HDP does a little better job in that area.  I think with orthos, the balanced SR-71b can pull ahead of both of these amps.  
 
I'm not saying this to knock the HDP, because my HDP headphone out sounds almost identical to my $450 balanced RSA Protector amp but with more power.  For the same sound the HDP give you a nice DAC too.  I find the SR-71b to be a little more transparent, refined and spacious than the HDP and Protector, but like the Protector the SR-71b also falls behind with single ended headphones.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Also, HPA--did you ever get to send Skylab your HDP for his review?  I'm curious to see his thoughts on how the HDP compares to the other amps he has, esp. with the LCD-2 and Edition 8.

I'm still waiting for him to give me the go-ahead to ship it.

 

[dj nellie]

Thanks for the replies.  What was your source when you listened to the LCD-2s balanced with the SR71b, and was the source balanced?  I'm trying to figure out why the Lavry DA10's headphone amp sounds better with my balanced Edition 8s than using the SR71b in fully balanced mode fed by the DA10's XLR outputs. 
 
If it's just a bad synergy with the DA10 or a mismatch in something like output impedance, then it may not be worth it for me to get a balanced LCD-2 cable or a SE amp.  The DA10's amp is pretty good, but I get the feeling that the LCD-2's transients are a bit slower than they could be, and the instrument separation and overall liveliness could be better.
 
When you say the HDP's amp sounds almost identical to the Protector, do you mean the Protector in balanced mode or SE?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Thanks for the replies.  What was your source when you listened to the LCD-2s balanced with the SR71b, and was the source balanced?  I'm trying to figure out why the Lavry DA10's headphone amp sounds better with my balanced Edition 8s than using the SR71b in fully balanced mode fed by the DA10's XLR outputs. 
 
If it's just a bad synergy with the DA10 or a mismatch in something like output impedance, then it may not be worth it for me to get a balanced LCD-2 cable or a SE amp.  The DA10's amp is pretty good, but I get the feeling that the LCD-2's transients are a bit slower than they could be, and the instrument separation and overall liveliness could be better.
 
When you say the HDP's amp sounds almost identical to the Protector, do you mean the Protector in balanced mode or SE?

I'm using the HDP 24/96 USB DAC as the source, with a mini-RCA made by Highflyin9.  I still need to get an XLR > Protector cable to use my mini-DAC as source.  The HDP as source is giving me deeper bass extension than the Pico DAC-only that I usually use, and it's very detailed and spacious with the SR-71b.
 
When I say, "balanced RSA Protector amp" I mean using balanced mode.  I like the SR-71b single ended, but only with IEM.

 

[zestytesty]

can anyone confirm that the nuforce hdp  can have conflict issues when a source is connected to the optical and a separate source is connected to the coax. In other words can only one source be connected digitally

 

[dtakias]

hi, i've been happily using the Beresford Caiman with my Adam speakers on my Mac for some time now. Thinking of replacing it with the Icon HDP.
 
Would that be a good idea? Will I see any improvement over the Caiman? Has anyone experienced both?
 
The analogue input will also be handy for connecting mobile phones, mp3 players...
 
Thanks

 

[jasonl]

Quote:

can anyone confirm that the nuforce hdp  can have conflict issues when a source is connected to the optical and a separate source is connected to the coax. In other words can only one source be connected digitally

Only one SPDIF digital source is allow.
 

 

[Aleksnor]

Noob question: Is it possible to use passive speakers connected to the HDP's pre-out? 

 

[harpua]

Quote:

Noob question: Is it possible to use passive speakers connected to the HDP's pre-out? 

Yes if you put a power amp in between the HDP's pre outs and the passive speakers.

 

[epocs]

Random question.
 
I used to own the HD800 and loved them to death. However, they were being driven by the Woo Audio WA6SE. The amp was an amazing match for the HD800 IMO. Now, I recently have a setup that is the LCD-2 with the HDP and also love this setup, but I am curious what you think HPA.
 
If you were to stick with the HDP as your main amplifier, would you go with LCD-2 or the HD800? The reason I ask is because I remember I loved the HD800 with the WA6SE but remember the sound being not as great with my portable amps back in the day- leading me to believe that they are very component-dependent. As I haven't experimented with better amps with the LCD-2, I'm just curious which one do you think is driven to more of it's potential and such by the HDP.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Random question.
 
I used to own the HD800 and loved them to death. However, they were being driven by the Woo Audio WA6SE. The amp was an amazing match for the HD800 IMO. Now, I recently have a setup that is the LCD-2 with the HDP and also love this setup, but I am curious what you think HPA.
 
If you were to stick with the HDP as your main amplifier, would you go with LCD-2 or the HD800? The reason I ask is because I remember I loved the HD800 with the WA6SE but remember the sound being not as great with my portable amps back in the day- leading me to believe that they are very component-dependent. As I haven't experimented with better amps with the LCD-2, I'm just curious which one do you think is driven to more of it's potential and such by the HDP.

I usually like the HD800 more than LCD-2 but it is amp dependent - if your only amp is the HDP then I think the LCD-2 are a better match for it.  Some people might find the slightly aggressive nature of the HD800 combined with the slightly aggressive nature of the HDP to be too much as a combination.  It's better with a nice copper cable, and I can still enjoy the HD800 with the HDP that way. 

 

[ajreynol]

HDP owners: I just want to verify something I think might be a little unusual is, in fact, normal:
 
With the HDP volume dial lower than the 9 o'clock position (volume barely up), I hear a very noticeable hiss coming through my cans.  Like sound you would expect to hear from speakers turned up too high.  When I turn it athe 10 o'clock position and the hiss disappears completely.
 
My typical listening volume is somewhere between 11 and 2, depending on my mood, so it doesn't bother me or anything like that.
 
Also, that the sound doesn't really increase linearly.  As in, the volume level increase when going from 12 to 1 is noticeably less than going from 1 to 2.  It's more of a bell shape in terms of volume increase. 
 
I just want to make sure nothing is wrong or unusual with the unit.  Otherwise, everything is fantastic.
 
Thanks, gents.

 

[Aleksnor]

I believe that's normal since the same thing happens with my HDP, however, I noticed that the hissing disappears once you disconnect the usb or coax cable, that's why I'd like to try the HDP with an optical cable.
Quote:

HDP owners: I just want to verify something I think might be a little unusual is, in fact, normal:
 
With the HDP volume dial lower than the 9 o'clock position (volume barely up), I hear a very noticeable hiss coming through my cans.  Like sound you would expect to hear from speakers turned up too high.  When I turn it athe 10 o'clock position and the hiss disappears completely.
 
My typical listening volume is somewhere between 11 and 2, depending on my mood, so it doesn't bother me or anything like that.
 
Also, that the sound doesn't really increase linearly.  As in, the volume level increase when going from 12 to 1 is noticeably less than going from 1 to 2.  It's more of a bell shape in terms of volume increase. 
 
I just want to make sure nothing is wrong or unusual with the unit.  Otherwise, everything is fantastic.
 
Thanks, gents.

 

[Miester_V]

Hiss is real at lower volumes, though for me I don't think it disappears completely, but is very unnoticeable after a certain point in volume. Also depends on which headphones you're using.
 
Quote:

HDP owners: I just want to verify something I think might be a little unusual is, in fact, normal:
 
With the HDP volume dial lower than the 9 o'clock position (volume barely up), I hear a very noticeable hiss coming through my cans.  Like sound you would expect to hear from speakers turned up too high.  When I turn it athe 10 o'clock position and the hiss disappears completely.
 
My typical listening volume is somewhere between 11 and 2, depending on my mood, so it doesn't bother me or anything like that.
 
Also, that the sound doesn't really increase linearly.  As in, the volume level increase when going from 12 to 1 is noticeably less than going from 1 to 2.  It's more of a bell shape in terms of volume increase. 
 
I just want to make sure nothing is wrong or unusual with the unit.  Otherwise, everything is fantastic.
 
Thanks, gents.