[290752]

How do they sound together? Is Valhalla a good match for my LCD-2?

 

[Archerious]

No they will not go good together. Read this off of Schiit's website:
 
Can Valhalla drive my orthodynamic headphones?
Being polite: not a chance. Although Valhalla can deliver large voltages into high-impedance headphones, it cannot supply the current needed for low-efficiency, low-impedance orthodynamic headphones. If you have Audeze or HiFiMan headphones, look at Lyr. LCD-2s, HE-400s, and HE-500s are also efficient enough to be used with Asgard, if you’d like an all-solid-state option.
 
 
 
 
 
So if you want to use Orthodynamics, consider LYR, and honestly there are headphones that are great under $1000. Personally everyone I know loves the 

Koss ESP-950

 
It even comes with its own amplifier! 

 

[Archerious]

Also take a look at Hifiman HE-400, HE-500 etc. The fact that you thought you could use a OTL amp with a LCD-2 tells me you haven't been at the mid fi audio yet. Therefore instead of dropping lots of money there are better choices for you. Later on when you have the funds for a $1000 headphone and a equally as good amp then buy the LCD-2. Remember its best to spend $300 on headphones $600 on amp and $100-$300 on DAC. The amp is going to affect the sound a lot. 

 

[Archerious]

Look at this analogy:
 
 
For example:
 
(This represents Beyerdynamic T1/LCD-2 with a "decent/barely capable amp and no external DAC)
Would you like to have a ferrari but have to drive it at 20 miles per hour, use basic unleaded gas, and drive down dirt roads. 
 
OR
 
(This represents HD650/HE-400 with a great amp and DAC)
Would you like to have a Honda Civic and drive it at 90 miles per hour, use super unleaded gas, and drive down highways, tunnels and anywhere else? You choose. 
 
I would pick option 2 IMO. You could always upgrade amp and dac later on then sell your headphones and pickup LCD-2 used.....(HE-500 is even cheaper used).

 

[290752]

Also take a look at Hifiman HE-400, HE-500 etc. The fact that you thought you could use a OTL amp with a LCD-2 tells me you haven't been at the mid fi audio yet. Therefore instead of dropping lots of money there are better choices for you. Later on when you have the funds for a $1000 headphone and a equally as good amp then buy the LCD-2. Remember its best to spend $300 on headphones $600 on amp and $100-$300 on DAC. The amp is going to affect the sound a lot. 

 
I own denon d2k and ahd600. I would categorize them in the "mid-fi" wouldn't you? Since they don't require any amps, I did bother learning anything about amps. Now that I have a pool of money to spend on hi-fi cans, I thought I could move on from my d2k. 
Quote:

Look at this analogy:
 
 
For example:
 
(This represents Beyerdynamic T1/LCD-2 with a "decent/barely capable amp and no external DAC)
Would you like to have a ferrari but have to drive it at 20 miles per hour, use basic unleaded gas, and drive down dirt roads. 
 
OR
 
(This represents HD650/HE-400 with a great amp and DAC)
Would you like to have a Honda Civic and drive it at 90 miles per hour, use super unleaded gas, and drive down highways, tunnels and anywhere else? You choose. 
 
I would pick option 2 IMO. You could always upgrade amp and dac later on then sell your headphones and pickup LCD-2 used.....(HE-500 is even cheaper used).

 
hmm I get your point now. Would schiit lyr do the job? 
and for the DAC, I was going to pair it up with  SD-1955 DIR9001+AD1955

 

[290752]

Title changed

 

[Archerious]

Ok, buy a better DAC. HRT Music Streamer II is $100 used and is amazing for the price. That Chinese amp thing you were looking at is probably going to be a POS. Here are 5 budget DACs:
 
 
 
HRT Music Streamer II - $149 new - $100 used
 
ODAC - $139 - $90 if you build it yourself
 
Musical Fidelity V DAC - $349
 
Schiit Bifrost - $349
 
 
The Lyr amp will work very well with LCD-2, in fact its a great combo. Do look at HE-600/HE-6/HE-5LE those 3 are great too, but if you already made up your mind on the LCD-2 then get the Lyr, and a good DAC then you'll be set for life.

 

[290752]

I'll probably add the DAC later. But The hifimans look very promising.... One big down turn is that the plastic cups don't look as eloquent as wooden cups on LCD-2. But how does HE 6 sound compared to LCD-2?

 

[Archerious]

Quote:

I'll probably add the DAC later. But The hifimans look very promising.... One big down turn is that the plastic cups don't look as eloquent as wooden cups on LCD-2. But how does HE 6 sound compared to LCD-2?

The HE-6 and HE500 and HE-5LE are all great. The HE-6 will sound better according to tvrboy the HE-6 is better than LCD-2. Take a look at this:
 
 
HE-6
Caveat Emptor: You need a VERY powerful amplifier. I play to buy a speaker amp ASAP. For those who plan on running it with a headphone amplifier, consider a very powerful amp such as the Violectric V100, Beta22, or Eddie Current designs. In my opinion, anything under 2 watts is not really gonna get you there. If you can take care of that requirement, you will find the HE-6 is a balanced, tonally accurate, exciting headphone with just one real flaw. The bass and treble both have great extension. Compared to the LCD-2 the bass is more muted and it's harder to distinguish individual bass notes. The HE-6 reverses the situation with treble: its treble shines and sparkles realistically when the Audeze gives you dull tones. The SR-507's treble is a bit more clear than the HE-6's, but outside of stats you won't find better treble reproduction. The HE-6 has incredible tonality that matches real instruments better than any other headphone I've heard. Bass, mids, and treble are all well-balanced. Some have reported the mids are a bit forward - perhaps this is so, but it's not a Grado by any means. The only real flaw is poor soundstaging. For whatever reason, instruments are presented slightly out of place. On recordings that image a certain way with every headphone I've ever owned, the HE-6 presents the instruments in different places. The effect is much more prominent with studio-recorded rock music than single-miked classical. So you might get your guitars and drums in places you are not expecting. Other than that, there's not too much wrong with the HiFiMAN. 
*bonus round* SR-507
I prefer this headphone to both of the planars. It has many strengths and no weaknesses. It may not stand out in any one area, but it's better balanced than the LCD-2 or HE-6. Provided that you have an electrostatic amplifier, I highly recommend buying it. Compared to the previous generation lambdas, there is much more bass quantity (the quality was already excellent). Many people thought the SR-303/404 were bass-light. Well, I doubt anybody will think that about the 507. The bass is not as prominent as the LCD-2, though. Instead, it's at a realistic level and well-balanced with the mids and highs. Tonality is quite realistic. The treble is very clearly delineated. If there is only one word to describe this headphone, it would be "effortless." The 507 will play the most complicated music easily. That is just the nature of electrostatic transducers. Soundstaging is also excellent and much better than either of the planars. To my ears the sound sig was a tad dark, but nothing like the LCD-2. Others did not find the 507 dark at all. Overall it's well-balanced, realistic, and incredibly fast. If you can swing an electrostatic setup, I would go for it. The Stax amps are too heavy for me to take to China and I was interested in trying the planars, so I switched. But if I had to live with one for the rest of my life, it would be the 507.
 
For me, the winner is the HiFiMAN HE-6. I prefer it's natural tonality over the LCD-2's unrealistic echo effect and dull tonality. But your mileage may vary, depending on your priorities. Both are "good" headphones for sure, if not quite as good as the best electrostats. If you don't have a super powerful headamp, you would be better served with the LCD-2.

 

[Archerious]

Once you finish reading the above post, I think you'll have made up your mind 

. The HE-6 is a really nice headphone, I own the HE-400 and soon the HE-500 and can say its fantastic. The Lyr will push out more than enough power for the HE-500 which is a power hungry monster. The LCD-2 is good too, but the prettier headphone is not the better one, you know what they say; Aesthetics vs Accuracy or Power vs Pretty. You get the idea . 
 
But.....DO NOT SKIP OUT ON A DAC! IT WILL CLEAN UP SOUND AND WILL MAKE A LARGE IMPROVEMENT IN SOUND! Koss ESP-950 are great because you get the amp included and just have to buy a DAC. Look at the budget DAC's its better than nothing. The DAC I posted (a few hours ago) are all great choices under $399.
 
 
 
 
Thomas 

 

[detoxguy]

I can't speak to the HE6 as I haven't heard it. Neither has Vampire5003 apparently and I don't think you should base your decisions on anybody's post or link to a post. I have heard the LCD2 with the Lyr and it sounded excellent, I personally preferred and therefore purchased the HE-500. I do agree however that a decent DAC is essential as the impact on the sound is significant and since you are considering the Lyr the Bifrost seems like a natural fit. I have yet to hear it myself but did just order one yesterday. 
 
There are so many opinions out there and I could cut and paste any number of reviews/impressions that will directly contradict each other so take that for what it's worth. Look for a head-fi member who seems to listen to similar music to you, has a similar budget to you and has reviews/impressions of other gear that seem to jive with your own and use that for a start. If possible then audition them for yourself and trust your own ears. 
 
In short..The Lyr has plenty of power for any of the orthodynamics (although some think the HE6 benefits from even more power) and is a great bang for your buck.
 
IMO skip the Koss, very ho hum. The other headphones you are considering are much more fun to listen to and if you have the money you won't regret it. The Koss is a sidegrade or even downgrade from what you already own.

 

[Happy Camper]

The soundstage issue on the 6s is a result of being underpowered. I would be willing to submit that the majority of those who have heard the 6s have heard them underpowered. I am a proponent of speaker amps for the 6s. There are some owners using 300+wpc. I use 125 wpc (approx. 18wpc@50ohms). Using a quality older speaker amp is a lot cheaper than what these headphone amps are charging and won't deliver the current needed for this headspeaker. The problem with trying to review the 6s are that they sound really good with adequate power. Those who have gotten to this level are satisfied with it's performance. Get the speaker amp pigtail and see what a difference quality power can do to these great headphones. The benefit of the extra power is the reserves needed when the 6s start performing at moderate listening levels. Not that you will use all that power at normal listening levels as the amps have a quiet noise floor and dynamic clarity is excellent. But I have found myself turning it up because of how good they sound. Not loud but full and lively.

Getting away from the 6s, the 500s also preform better on a speaker amp but will do a little better on a headphone amp than the 6s. Both will stall the vast majority of amps designed for typical dynamic hps.

I will throw in the BDA-1 on the LCD-2. The ultra detailed performance brings the "darkness" out of the shade for a very nice paring.

 

[jsplice]

I currently own the LCD-2.2 and the Lyr, and will say that it is an excellent combo.  I also had the opportunity to demo the HE-500 and HE-6 on my Lyr for a 2 week period, and very much preferred the LCD-2.2 over both.  In my opinion, the HE-500 had a very bloated mid-bass.  Coming from the HD650s, I did not find this to be a welcome change, as the HD650s already have an exagerated bass.  To my ears, the HE-500s just weren't that exciting.  I tried hard to like them, but I just couldn't.  The HE-6 on the other hand were more refined, but it won't matter what I say, because people will jump in and say that you have to hear them with a speaker amp to hear them driven fully.  But for the purposes of driving headphones with only the Lyr, I'd take the LCD-2.2 over both the HE-500 and HE-6 any day.  The sound is very fluid, but tight at the same time.  Very music and engaging.  I wil say that my HD650 produce a wider soundstage, but other than that, I prefer the LCD-2.2 over them for everything else.

 

[paradoxper]

The LCD-2 and Lyr is a very good combo. The HE-6 and Lyr is less than ideal. While being adequately powered, the HE-6 is smeared and etched.
 
The HE-6 properly amped is much better than both LCD-2 and HE-500. You could argue LCD-3 and HE-6 are very close, but 
IMO, short of Stax no ortho, nor dynamic really touches the HE-6.
 
The HD-650 is much less exciting than both the LCD-2 and HE-500. Has sub-par bass with the exception of a mid-bass hump.
 
The HE-500 is very similar to LCD-2. Boast much smoother mids, but less impactful bass. Between these two, it's not a matter of which is better,
but which is preferred. 
 
Each of these headphones were very livable with the Lyr. the LCD-2 was excellent and most preferred.

 

[dc-k]

I too have a Lyr and LCD-2 combination and am very pleased with the performance and sound.