[Windsor]

Quote:

Power doesn't just give you MOAR dBs, but can drive the headphones better too. Tighter bass, more liquid mids and can extend treble. Just something to consider too. And orthos really respond to MOAR power. Can the LCD-2/3 sound good under 1W, sure...but they do improve with more.

 
Thanks for that pointer, Peter. I can relate to what you said based on experiences I've had with other amps such as the Burson HA-160D which provided a more powerfully intense listening experience than with the Lavry DA10 (The Burson/LCD-2 was definitely the most fun I've had with orthos) - hopefully I'll get to hear the LCD-3 with a more powerful amp before returning the loaner LCD-3 I have. I definitely don't think the Lavry fulfils the maximal potential 'fun factor' of the LCD-3, but it definitely shows the LCD-3 as a fine headphone.

 

[Maxvla]

Only in the last 10-20% of the knob does any hiss come into play on high gain (20db), with the HD800 (among the harder to drive). Keep in mind, concert level decibels with this amp and headphone pairing is about 10'oclock. I usually listen around 8-9 oclock. I hear no hiss until about 4 oclock, a setting I'd never use with any headphones, I would imagine, not even K1000 would need that, I think.

The nice thing about this combo is like others have mentioned, the sound seems to come from out of thin air. It just is there. Very clean and transparent sound, not warm, not bright, not tubey, not etched. It sounds really good. I can't wait to get a better DAC to see if the purity of tone can get any better, which I'm having difficulty believing it can be improved. I'm not even using it in balanced mode at present.

Only down sides to this amp is it takes up a decent amount of space, and it runs HOT, not enough to really burn you, but hot enough that you wouldn't want to touch it by accident.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 
Thanks for that pointer, Peter. I can relate to what you said based on experiences I've had with other amps such as the Burson HA-160D which provided a more powerfully intense listening experience than with the Lavry DA10 (The Burson/LCD-2 was definitely the most fun I've had with orthos) - hopefully I'll get to hear the LCD-3 with a more powerful amp before returning the loaner LCD-3 I have. I definitely don't think the Lavry fulfils the maximal potential 'fun factor' of the LCD-3, but it definitely shows the LCD-3 as a fine headphone.

Hey no worries. 

 Just a heads up, the Burson was a fine amp with many dynamic headphones, but still not optimal for orthos (with only 250mW max out power). I'd recommend a few watts to really hear what they're capable of doing. But as I mentioned, the HD800s are fantastic headphones and one of the very best that I've heard.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

With my short time having this amp, I'd have to put the Bryston BHA-1 up there with the Gilmore amps in this department.

Have you tried the BHA-1 with some Edition 8's or A2000s  - I ask this because these are of the most sensitive headphones I've heard.  Still on the GS-1 I get nothing. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Have you tried the BHA-1 with some Edition 8's or A2000s  - I ask this because these are of the most sensitive headphones I've heard.  Still on the GS-1 I get nothing. 

Before you plug your Ed.8s into the BHA-1, how much power does the amp output? I (and grokit) each blew our Ed.8s when we plugged them into the Lyr. I think it was a bit of both the headphones and amp. The Lyr is a powerful amp and a turn-on transient was too much for the OVERLY efficient Ed.8s and both drivers blew out. Luckily, Ultrasone was good about both and replaced the drivers under full warranty. Top notch service!

 

[Maxvla]

In normal or even excessive listening with my UERM (21 ohm, 112db) I hear no hiss or buzzing of any kind on low gain. I do not own the headphones you mentioned.

 

[Windsor]

Quote:

Hey no worries. 

 Just a heads up, the Burson was a fine amp with many dynamic headphones, but still not optimal for orthos (with only 250mW max out power). I'd recommend a few watts to really hear what they're capable of doing. But as I mentioned, the HD800s are fantastic headphones and one of the very best that I've heard.

 
I'm still enthralled by the clarity of the HD 800 (and their fullness since changing the cable). I'd love to hear a recabled LCD-3 with a more powerful amp side-by-side the HD 800/DA10 though. 

  

 

[Maxvla]

Before you plug your Ed.8s into the BHA-1, how much power does the amp output? I (and grokit) each blew our Ed.8s when we plugged them into the Lyr. I think it was a bit of both the headphones and amp. The Lyr is a powerful amp and a turn-on transient was too much for the OVERLY efficient Ed.8s and both drivers blew out. Luckily, Ultrasone was good about both and replaced the drivers under full warranty. Top notch service!

I can't find the exact figure, but I seem to recall it was 8wpc. Here's what I can find presently. I'll keep looking. http://bryston.com/PDF/brochures/BHA1_BROCHURE.pdf

Edit: Seems to be 6wpc at 32ohm. I think Mjolnir is 8wpc hence my confusion.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 
I'm still enthralled by the clarity of the HD 800 (and their fullness since changing the cable). I'd love to hear a recabled LCD-3 with a more powerful amp side-by-side the HD 800/DA10 though. 

  

Good point about a re-cabled LCD-3. The stock cable in the end is a bottleneck. Between these two cans, you've got your bases covered (a baseball analogy here in North America 

...and no its not rounders).
 
Quote:

I can't find the exact figure, but I seem to recall it was 8wpc. Here's what I can find presently. I'll keep looking. http://bryston.com/PDF/brochures/BHA1_BROCHURE.pdf

 
Based on that, I'd stress extreme caution should you or anyone try and plug in the Edition 8s into this amp. Thanks for the info!

 

[Maxvla]

Here's the owners manual: http://www.audioadvisor.com/pdf/bybha1_owners_manual.pdf

"Power Output: Maximum: 6 Watts per channel into 32 Ohms
Nominal: 500 milliwatts per channel into 50 Ohms"

Output impedance is supposed to be around 10ohms.

 

[olor1n]

Quote:

Only in the last 10-20% of the knob does any hiss come into play on high gain (20db), with the HD800 (among the harder to drive). Keep in mind, concert level decibels with this amp and headphone pairing is about 10'oclock. I usually listen around 8-9 oclock. I hear no hiss until about 4 oclock, a setting I'd never use with any headphones, I would imagine, not even K1000 would need that, I think.

The nice thing about this combo is like others have mentioned, the sound seems to come from out of thin air. It just is there. Very clean and transparent sound, not warm, not bright, not tubey, not etched. It sounds really good. I can't wait to get a better DAC to see if the purity of tone can get any better, which I'm having difficulty believing it can be improved. I'm not even using it in balanced mode at present.

Only down sides to this amp is it takes up a decent amount of space, and it runs HOT, not enough to really burn you, but hot enough that you wouldn't want to touch it by accident.

 
I have a Mjolnir incoming and have just commissioned a balanced Q cable for the HD800 from Steve. I'll also be using the Bifrost until I decide what to upgrade to. I hope I'm able to describe the sound in those terms when it all comes together in the next few weeks.

 

[Maxvla]

Hope it does well for you. At present I have no desire to go the Mjolnir route, but I'd certainly be interested in hearing one.

 

[Windsor]

Also, in line with my most recent comments about the HD 800, I recently won a copy of Amarra Hifi that has added extra weight and impact to the sound of what I hear with the HD 800. For those with a computer-based source, I highly recommend Amarra Hifi. IMO it's much better value than the Amarra products before their recent price-drop. 

 

[MorbidToaster]

Just to chime in. Even with the LF I ended up selling my LCD 2 in favor of the HD800. No under powering there
 
I'd really like to hear an LCD 3 though.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Just to chime in. Even with the LF I ended up selling my LCD 2 in favor of the HD800. No under powering there

I'd really like to hear an LCD 3 though.

I found the LCD-3s better in every way over the LCD-2s. Not night and day different/better, but better nonetheless and a very welcomed improvement. Having both, as I mentioned, covers all of my bases.