[project86]

Quote:

Thanks for getting back to me about the W1000's! I think I'll give the LA-200 a go. Most likely, the DAC + headphone amp part of it is not going to be any worse than the DR.DAC2 (and probably better). As you mention in the review, there really aren't a lot of direct competitors to the LA-200, and a relatively compact USB DAC + headphone/speaker amp is exactly what I'm looking for.

No problem. Without having heard the DR. DAC2 myself, I suspect that you are correct - the LA-200 headphone section should at least be in the same league if not better. There really is a lot of though/engineering put into the headphone output. 
 
And I remain very impressed with the unit powering speakers as well. It absolutely puts my beloved vintage McIntosh MAC1700 integrated to shame, even though the power rating is less than half. 

 

[cky8]

@shleepy
I had the same thoughts like you. I am not sure if the W1000X is easy to pair with any other tube amp. So far so good having my W1000X paired with D1. project86 has much praise for the W1000 paired with Svetlana 2 (and possibly other ATH W-series). I'm actually waiting till project86 gets a chance to audition the W1000X with Svetlana 2. Aha! The wait is killing me.
 

 

[project86]

Quote:

@shleepyI had the same thoughts like you. I am not sure if the W1000X is easy to pair with any other tube amp. So far so good having my W1000X paired with D1. project86 has much praise for the W1000 paired with Svetlana 2 (and possibly other ATH W-series). I'm actually waiting till project86 gets a chance to audition the W1000X with Svetlana 2. Aha! The wait is killing me.
 

 
Sorry! It is on my list of things to try, maybe before years end, but I'm just so busy with other stuff.
 
I'm thinking of selling off a bunch of my open headphones and picking up some more closed headphones though, so the W1000X is high on the list. 
 
 

 

[shleepy]

I received my LA-200 over the weekend and hooked it up to my W1000X's and my new B&W 685 speakers. All good so far.

I'm surprised that I have to turn up the volume as much as I do for the headphones, since they're so low impedance, but it doesn't hurt anything.

 

[project86]

Quote:

I received my LA-200 over the weekend and hooked it up to my W1000X's and my new B&W 685 speakers. All good so far.
I'm surprised that I have to turn up the volume as much as I do for the headphones, since they're so low impedance, but it doesn't hurt anything.

Cool, another owner! 
 
I was a bit surprised at the volume at first too. It just seems wrong to turn the knob so much, and I always thought I'd run out of volume. But I usually don't, except with Orthos. If anything, running near the top of the volume range would minimize any potential loss of resolution caused by the digital volume control.
 
Looking forward to hearing your impressions. 

 

[WarriorAnt]

I love coming back to this thread and admiring the internal wiring  to the speaker outs in this unit. 
 

 

[project86]

 
That wiring is the first thing that caught my eye when I opened up the chassis. Probably overkill, but then again it is indicative of the quality and thought that Lead Audio put into this little device. 

 

[jisu]

Hi guys,

I just had a chat with Simon Kang from Lead Audio regarding the LA-300 and here's what he told me:
 
[size=x-small]Quote:[/size]

[size=x-small][size=x-small]We are sorry but we postponed development of LA-300 to year 2013 due to resource reassignment.[/size][/size]
[size=x-small][size=x-small]Instead, we will introduce upgraded LA-100 in High-end 2012.
...[/size][/size]
[size=x-small][size=x-small][size=x-small]Frankly speaking, due to recent worldwide economy situation, we are focusing on fast cash return volume projects.[/size][/size][/size]
[size=x-small][size=x-small][size=x-small]We are looking for a sponsor who can invest development cost for the LA-300. (about 30,000 Euro)[/size][/size][/size]
[size=x-small][size=x-small][size=x-small]After launch of current under development projects in the first half of this year, we will assign our resources for the next projects.[/size][/size][/size]
[size=x-small][size=x-small][size=x-small]If we luckly find a sponsor for the LA-300, development will be re-started during 2nd half .[/size][/size][/size]
[size=x-small][size=x-small][size=x-small]If not, we will again assign our resources for the volume products development.[/size][/size][/size]
[size=x-small][size=x-small][size=x-small]I hope this explanation would be helpful for your understanding of our current status.[/size][/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small][size=x-small]Best regards[/size][/size][/size]
 
[size=x-small][size=x-small][size=x-small]Simon[/size][/size][/size]

 

Anyone got spare €30k?

 

[project86]

Quote:

Hi guys,

I just had a chat with Simon Kang from Lead Audio regarding the LA-300 and here's what he told me:
 
 

Anyone got spare €30k?

That makes sense - although the designer has experience with building room correction devices at Copland, it is still a very ambitious project to take on. Much more complex than building an amp or DAC. 
 
I'm more interested in their updated LA-100. I was using the LA-200 the other day with the new Sennheiser HD-700, and it did a very impressive job. I don't know if it is their lack or marketing or what keeping them from being more popular, but the hardware certainly is good. 
 

 

[jisu]

I wonder how the LA-200 fares against the DACmini PX.

 

[project86]

Quote:

I wonder how the LA-200 fares against the DACmini PX.

Good question. I'll compare them if I ever get my hands on the PX. 

 

[jisu]

Hi guys,

I just received an email from Simon advising me Lead Audio's newly released 24/192 USB DAC called Northern Fidelity.

He has kindly offered me the chance to review the model.

Unfortunately I am quite time-poor these days with other interests (just got my BOSS RC-30 yesterday .

If anyone here would like to review it in my place, I will pass on your details to Simon.
 

 

[rasmushorn]

Quote:

Hi guys,

I just received an email from Simon advising me Lead Audio's newly released 24/192 USB DAC called Northern Fidelity.

He has kindly offered me the chance to review the model.

Unfortunately I am quite time-poor these days with other interests (just got my BOSS RC-30 yesterday .

If anyone here would like to review it in my place, I will pass on your details to Simon.
 

I would love to - PM sent!

 

[project86]

They did contact me about possibly reviewing this new model. I might be too busy but I'll try to squeeze it in, as I was quite impressed with their earlier model. This new device looks rather fetching:
 

 

[Savant]

Excellent review! It made me feel  quite intrigued, as I use mostly High-Impedance headphones. And the pricing seems to actually have come down. Hmmm...