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Two amps in the running if you are looking something which will work well with LCD-3, Abyss, and HD800. I own Abyss and HD800, but sold LCD-3 a while back (not necessarily because I didn't like it). Those two current production amps are the EC 4-45 and Schiit Ragnorak. That being said, there are many other amps which should also be considered if you want to focus on one particular headphone, or one type of headphone.
The 4-45 is actually a wee bit insignificantly brighter than the Ragnarok. The Ragnarok is mid focused if even anything could be said about it. The Rag has the smoothest more liquid sound, especially in the treble, lack of grain, that I have ever heard in an amp regardless of tube or solid state. Amps like the Leben are also smooth, but that amp is overly warm, syrupy, and distorted, therefore not considered. Both the Rag or 4-45 do lend themselves to the tonal balance of the LCD-3 and Abyss quite well. With the HD800, I prefer the use with some sort of Anax mod (just the liner without the foam). It's just the nature of the HD800 and that those amps aren't necessarily what I would call dark or warm. But that does not mean they are analytical, antiseptic, or lean, which I do not like. Both Rag and 4-45 have a subdued bass, which slams hard when it's called for. I would not say that the treble is rolled off on either amp, but I would say that the treble is not unnaturally harsh, edgy, etched, etc. which I find the GS-X2 to be (GS-X is lean in comparison, it also does not resolve as well).
The bass is cleaner on the Rag. The resolution and microdynamics is better on the 4-45. Overall articulation is better on the Rag - incredibly clean transients. I prefer the HD800 with the 4-45. The 4-45 is more capable of reproducing the low level information which only the HD800 is capable of reproducing. I prefer the Abyss on the Rag. The Abyss is slightly less resolving, so a super high resolving amp isn't necessary. (I still consider the Rag the most resolving SS amp I've heard.) However the extra power and control of the Rag grabs the Abyss by the balls. The LCD-3, I no longer have, but it would be an educated guess that it would be somewhere in between. I know the Audeze guys have borrowed EC's amps for some shows here and there; and Audezes are known to have synergies with the Schiit Stack (Mojo+Gung).
So basically consider Rag vs. 4-45. Those are two amps which I consider equivalent, but different. Those are the two amps I consider the best in terms of the flexibility that you require in terms of powering low impedance orthos and high impedance dynamics.
DACs are a personal thing. The setup I use (Schiit Wyrd --> Empirical Audio Off Ramp 5 (with only i2s regulator upgrade) --i2s--> Audio-GD Master 7) is rather convoluted, but it gets results; otherwise I would have gone for a $10K DAC. But I'm cheap if it does the job.
Since this a DAC thread, I cannot guarantee the above results if a DAC used does not have smooth treble characteristics or is not sufficiently resolving. DAC is crucial at this stage in the game.
