WA22 Owners using the LCD2's: Do you use low or high impedence?

[rmilewsk]

Do you keep the WA22 on the low or high impedence selection and why? I've noticed the WA22 manual is lacking in any real detail on what changing the setting does and which impedences should be used with certain headphones.

 

[dannie01]

Quote:

Do you keep the WA22 on the low or high impedence selection and why? I've noticed the WA22 manual is lacking in any real detail on what changing the setting does and which impedences should be used with certain headphones.

There are hints in Woo's website, the "Technical Specfications" below for your concern.
 
Output: 1500mw @32 ohms, 700mw @600 ohms 

 

[jc9394]

I use high, it seems like much more dynamic than the low setting.

 

[dannie01]

Quote:

I use high, it seems like much more dynamic than the low setting.

X 2

 

[rmilewsk]

Is that at the high setting or the low setting?
 
Quote:

There are hints in Woo's website, the "Technical Specfications" below for your concern.
 
Output: 1500mw @32 ohms, 700mw @600 ohms
 

 

 

[MacedonianHero]

The low setting is for low output impedance for the amp...a better solution for low impedance dynamic headphones. The high setting raises the output impedance of the amp to better match the damping factor for high impedance cans.
 
With orthos, as the driver moves very differently from conventional dynamic headphones, the damping factor isn't anywhere as much of an issue (thanks to kwkarth for that one).
 
Personally, I'm with the majority of WA22 owners and I use the high gain setting with my LCD-2s.

 

[rmilewsk]

Thanks for the info. Maybe I just need some training.
 
How do I know the damping factor of the LCD2's? Then again you say damping factor isn't much of an issue. Basically, how do I know which setting to use for any type of headphones? According to audeze the impedence of the LCD2's is 50 Ohms, nominal. Isn't that a low impedence? Wouldn't that mean that I should select the low setting?

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Thanks for the info. Maybe I just need some training.
 
How do I know the damping factor of the LCD2's? Then again you say damping factor isn't much of an issue. Basically, how do I know which setting to use for any type of headphones? According to audeze the impedence of the LCD2's is 50 Ohms, nominal. Isn't that a low impedence? Wouldn't that mean that I should select the low setting?

The damping factor is best explained here:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/comparison-beyerdynamic-dt-880-32-ohm-dt-880-250-ohm-and-dt-880-600-ohm-headphones
 
As I mentioned, the LCD-2s are low impedance, but they are orthos, so the driver move very differently from standard dynamic headphones, which is why damping factor isn't as big a concern. Not sure why, the high output impedance setting does work better with them on the WA22.
 

 

[ardilla]

The Hi / Low button doesn't alter the sound more than a tad with the LCD-3 compared to what it did with the HD800 (which is a dynamic) It was like switching phones. I actually liked the HD800 with both - in very different ways. Saves you a lot of money, that switch - if you have a HD800 - rwo cans in one.