[vlad951]

After doing some research to which headphones I should upgrade my Sennheiser HD555s, considering the HD600s, HD650s and some other phones, I decided that the LCD-2 would be a better option - a more considerable upgrade.
 
And now, I have a couple of questions to ask:
 
I have an Optical S/PDIF out from my motherboard, and I was wondering whether I should use that or the USB port for the digital output?
 
And also, is there a combined DAC/Amplifier solution, or should I get two separate units?
 
What would you recommend?

 

[guido]

read this http://www.head-fi.org/t/559794/matrix-quattro-dac-amp/30

 

[vlad951]

Quote:

read this http://www.head-fi.org/t/559794/matrix-quattro-dac-amp/30

Will the on-board amp on the Quattro DAC alone be sufficient to drive the LCD-2?

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

Will the on-board amp on the Quattro DAC alone be sufficient to drive the LCD-2?

I don't see why not. The LCD-2 is actually pretty easy to drive. A little more difficult than a K701. Not a high voltage requirement, but needs a healthy amount of current.
 
The Quattro is similar to the Benchmark DAC1, which worked great with the LCD-2.

 

[Elysian]

Quote:

I have an Optical S/PDIF out from my motherboard, and I was wondering whether I should use that or the USB port for the digital output?  
And also, is there a combined DAC/Amplifier solution, or should I get two separate units?

I don't think there's any point opting for USB over S/PDIF unless your DAC supports an async connection.  Even then, there's a lot of contention on whether the async USB really does produce a better sound.  Some people say that going off a S/PDIF from a budget sound card (don't need expensive, it's just transferring 0s and 1s) is better than the mobo.  If you're on a PC, I'd avoid any solution which utilizes Realtek drivers.
 
As a rule, you should avoid integrated solutions, though there are a handful of good solutions out there.  If you see yourself buying more equipment in the future, I'd keep each component separate so you can upgrade and A/B more easily.
 
The LCD-2 should be fine with the on-board amp on most DACs.

 

[vlad951]

Any thoughts on how the Asus Xonar Essence ST sound card would perform with these headphones?

 

[Elysian]

Don't get any ASUS sound card (including anything in the Xonar line).  I've owned a couple and each one is a driver nightmare.  The ASUS offical drivers are garbage, and the custom drivers (unified drivers) still don't fix a lot of the issues.
 
I've tried virtually every configuration of drivers and settings (including shared vs exclusive) and my system BSODs constantly with ASIO and WASAPI when outputting 24/96 (Win7 64, Memtest checks out fine, all drivers updated, very lean custom-built system).  If you plan on only using DirectSound, then the Xonars are fine, but if you want bit-perfect streaming, they are incredibly unreliable.  There are many, many pages of these comments if you run google seaches on Xonar WASAPI bsod, crash, crashing, etc.
 
You might want to consider a USB DAC or a USB-S/PDIF converter solution.  If you are set on having a sound card, if you are going to use ASIO, ASIO4ALL, or WASAPI, do not get an ASUS card--their drivers are terrible and their driver support is terrible.  Creative is not much better though a lot of people like the e-mu line.  The Auzentechs might be okay, but it all depends on your budget.  If you're on a Windows machine, you want to avoid doing as much with your sound card or the Windows mixer as possible.

 

[zenpunk]

The STX is a superb performer for the money. Never had any  issue with mine.

 

[vlad951]

Thank you all for your contributions!
In case i'm going for the DAC, how does the previously mentioned Matrix Quattro DAC compare to Burson HA-160D (as i've heard it goes very well with the LCD-2s), and is there any noticeable difference between the two hooked up to these headphones?

 

[chesebert]

What the - why is a thread like this in Summit-Fi? Sound card? Benchmark?