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Congrats DJ Nellie on the LCD2! Just want ask how big of a difference does the Ed8 sound balanced and SE on the SR71B? I have an Ed8 and still contemplating on having it balanced and getting the SR71B. If the balanced route does not really provide significant improvement especially to the forward highs, then I would go with Skylab's recommendation that I just stick with the Stepdance for the Ed8 on single ended.
Well, comparing my Ed. 8s from the headphone out of my HM-801 (v.2 amp card with a Protector-to-mini adapter) and from the balanced output of the SR71b, there is a very obvious difference in clarity, bass definition, and midrange forwardness. I'll have to focus on the treble next time to offer an opinion about the differences there.
Basically, the 71b gives the Ed. 8s a much cleaner and yet bigger sound, which didn't surprise me much, since I've noticed basically these same improvements with my JH16 and D2000 when I balanced them and amped them with the Protector. The only problem is that the Ed. 8s don't have a user-replaceable cable, but I don't think this is a big issue since you can use a small adapter for either mini or stereo plug use. And if you get them recabled by an authorized dealer (Whiplash and Moon Audio are the ones I know of), Ultrasone USA has told me that your warranty will still be good.
The question I'm facing now is whether to get a SR71b cable for my LCD-2s or a SE desktop amp. Unlike my Ed. 8s, I don't plan to take my LCD-2s on trips, so I wouldn't really be able to take advantage of any synergy with the HM-801 and 71b. I would mostly use the LCD-2s amped by the 71b and fed from the balanced XLR outputs of my Lavry. But, as I noted earlier, this source/amp combo doesn't quite sound right with my Ed. 8s, and I'm not sure if it's a mismatch between the 71b and the DA10, or just that the DA10's XLR balanced outputs aren't really meant to feed headphone amps. If it's the latter, then maybe no amp (SE or balanced) would sound that good from the DA10's XLR outputs.
As a portable, though, the 71b is continuing to amaze me. I no longer have the Protector to compare directly, but I feel like the 71b has an extra sliver of refinement--although they're probably very close. One unexpected plus of the 71b: The separate left-right gain feature allows me to make up for the poor fit of my JH16s on the right side. This is far from an ideal fix, but the fact that the channels now sound balanced to me (with the right gain on medium and the left on low) has shown me just how muffled and distant the sound on my right side has been. Or could it be the drivers? Either way, I plan to get them remade into JH3As in the next few months to hopefully fix this problem, but in the meantime the 71b is giving me a nice interim solution.
I'm finally hearing the JH16s in all their balanced and lush glory, and it's like I've been missing out on half of the details, the information, the excitement. I was even thinking about getting another pair of custom IEMs, maybe the UERM or the ES5, but hearing how the JH16s sound with balanced channels and reading Playback's comparisons (like
here) has given me assurance that I have some pretty damn sick headphones already.
