Advice for newbie in regards to LCD-X amp pairings

[jam1988]

Hello,

I'm a beginner audiophile and I'm thinking about eventually purchasing the LCD-X as my next headphone. I would really be interested in running it balanced, and if I could afford it upgrading my Schitt stack to a Topping D90 DAC and either the Drop THX 789 or Monoprice THX 887 since these amps have been much hyped. Only thing I'm wondering is that the LCD-X is such a low impedance headphone at 20 ohms, and seeing that the Monoprice 887 pushes out 8800mW at 16 ohms/6000mW at 32 ohms and the Drop 789 pushes out 6000 mW at 16 ohms/6000mW at 32 ohms would these amps be too powerful to drive the LCD-X balanced? Per Audeze the recommended amp power for the LCD-X is 1 to 4 W. So would that mean that the LCD-X would not sounds as good if its outside this optimal range? I also read that the maximum power handling for these headphones is 5W RMS, which if I am reading it correctly means anything above 5W power is not recommended? My heart has kinda been set on the 789 or 887, and I know THX makes a dac/amp combo with balanced output that has less power, but I am kind of leaning towards a separate DAC and amp for an upgrade.

Appreciate any help and advice!

Joel

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I own LCD Xs and the Massdrop (I refuse to call it "Drop") Thx AAA 789 amp, and they pair perfectly. No it does not have too much gain. The THX has selectable gain, and can pair with just about anything. The water is fine on this one. Jump in.

 

[Fluffy]

Your understanding of the specs is not quite correct. A recommended maximum wattage for a headphone is the limit at which a headphone should be driven before it can potentially be damaged. But if you drive the headphones to that limit, your ears would probably be damaged way before that happens. You should really not be worried about the max wattage of the headphone, because you will never reach it.

And the max wattage spec of the amp is the potential maximum wattage it can push before it clips. And again, there is almost no chance you will ever reach that limit. So no worrying there either.

Basically, if the max output of the amp is higher than the max recommended power of the headphones, that's the ideal situation, because it means that the headphones can be pushed to ridiculous volumes without clipping or distortion from the amp.

And as noted above, this amplifier has selectable gain, so it should work with a wide range of headphone sensitivities and impedances.

 

[jam1988]

@phoenixdogfan That is great to hear. Do you run it balanced?

 

[Pe8er]

I run LCD-X through Monoprice THX 887, balanced. They sound clean and powerful. Amp's silly power output is not a problem, just don't increase the volume beyond sensible levels.