Best source/amplification for LCD-5?

[dazkyl]

I know the lcd5 is not as hard to drive as the susvara, but it still needs plenty of juice to make it shine.

This will exceed my budget but so far my best option is the Violectric DHA V590 MK2 Pro

Theres also the the Benchmark HPA4 Black + Benchmark DAC3 B

or

SPL Phonitor xe black + DAC768



Any other suggestions are welcome but I listed those as I am very limited on what I can buy here in Malta.



Thanks

 

[Human Bass]

I mean, if you dont have any bias against chinese products:

Aune S17 Pro, Topping A90D, SMSL VMV P2

 

[Matias]

With one of those and balanced cables you have plenty of clean power and DSP to correct the FR of the LCD-5, all in one. Free shipping to Malta.

RME ADI-2/4 Pro SE

High-End AD/DA Converter and Headphone Amplifier SteadyClock FS, RIAA equalisation, High-resolution IPS display, Multi-format converter (AES, SPDIF, ADAT) with monitoring, Powerful headphone outputs (2.1 W unbalanced, 3.4 W balanced into 32 Ohm,...

www.thomann.de

Audeze LCD-5.pdf

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[dazkyl]

With one of those and balanced cables you have plenty of clean power and DSP to correct the FR of the LCD-5, all in one. Free shipping to Malta.

RME ADI-2/4 Pro SE

High-End AD/DA Converter and Headphone Amplifier SteadyClock FS, RIAA equalisation, High-resolution IPS display, Multi-format converter (AES, SPDIF, ADAT) with monitoring, Powerful headphone outputs (2.1 W unbalanced, 3.4 W balanced into 32 Ohm,...

www.thomann.de

Audeze LCD-5.pdf

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

so with the RME ADI-2/4 Pro SE and balance cables, I should be taking 100% of the lcd5 potential?

 

[Matias]

Clean sounding DAC and HP amp, high power, DSP and all in one. What is not to like?
And Thomman has 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee too.

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee – Thomann United States

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee - hassle-free- at www.thomann.de

www.thomann.de

 

[staticV3]

According to Audeze, the LCD-5 has a sensitivity of 108.5dB/Vrms at 14Ω.

Amir's and WolfX-700's measurements of the L30II indicate that it can output about 6.9Vrms into a 14Ω load, or about 3.4W per channel.

Therefore, the L30II can drive the LCD-5 to an absolutely insane 125dB SPL Peak.

@dazkyl You do not need to spend thousands on an Amp to get 100% of the LCD-5's capability. A little over $100 is enough.

 

[MRC01]

It's not all about raw output power. In fact, the LCD-5 doesn't need a ton of power. Even more important is how clean the amp is at moderate listening levels. That's why I think the 50 mV SNR is one of the most important measurements for an amp. It reveals things that SINAD can hide, since nobody actually listens at the max output levels at which SINAD is measured.

Note that the RME mentioned above is respectable in both of these measurements, and in all other ways.

 

[staticV3]

Compared to the L30II, the ADI-2/4 has over 2x as much noise (+12dB) in IEM mode and over 3x as much noise (+17dB) in Lo-power mode.

 

[dazkyl]

Compared to the L30II, the ADI-2/4 has over 2x as much noise (+12dB) in IEM mode and over 3x as much noise (+17dB) in Lo-power mode.

So which one would you go for? Price is quite the difference between them

 

[dazkyl]

Compared to the L30II, the ADI-2/4 has over 2x as much noise (+12dB) in IEM mode and over 3x as much noise (+17dB) in Lo-power mode.

Theres also the RME ADI-2 DAC FS. Which one would you go for?

 

[dazkyl]

According to Audeze, the LCD-5 has a sensitivity of 108.5dB/Vrms at 14Ω.

Amir's and WolfX-700's measurements of the L30II indicate that it can output about 6.9Vrms into a 14Ω load, or about 3.4W per channel.

Therefore, the L30II can drive the LCD-5 to an absolutely insane 125dB SPL Peak.

@dazkyl You do not need to spend thousands on an Amp to get 100% of the LCD-5's capability. A little over $100 is enough.

what dac would you choose to pair with the L30II?

 

[staticV3]

what dac would you choose to pair with the L30II?

Depends on how much I want to spend, what kinds of inputs I need, whether I need a remote, etc

 

[dazkyl]

Depends on how much I want to spend, what kinds of inputs I need, whether I need a remote, etc

balanced, no need for multiple connections. i will be connecting only these headphones. a remote is not necessary. total budget of dac+amp is around 1k to 2k give or take.

 

[staticV3]

balanced, no need for multiple connections. i will be connecting only these headphones. a remote is not necessary. total budget of dac+amp is around 1k to 2k give or take.

The L30II is a single-ended Amp, so a DAC with balanced output would be kind of useless (unless you want to future-proof).

 

[dazkyl]

The L30II is a single-ended Amp, so a DAC with balanced output would be kind of useless (unless you want to future-proof).

i need to be able to connect the lcd5 via balance cable, so if youll do a combo for me, please take note