Dac/amp for Audeze LCD2 Classic

[GogettO]

Hello everyone. I'm looking for some help / suggestions from more experienced audio enthusiasts
My current setup looks like this:

Asus Xonar Essenct ST (which plays the role of a dac - yeah I know, it's not perfect)
Graham Slee Solo II (without PSU1 power supply)
Audeze LCD2 Classic

And I'm fairly happy with this setup. Nothing too fancy, nothing too crappy either.
The point is, I'm going to upgrade my entire PC, which means that my old soundcard will not fit in modern motherboards.
I don't want to buy a new soundcard on a PCI-E slot or any PCI -> PCI-E adapter either. I'm more interested in some proper DAC for my setup or to sell everything and replace it with something brand new.
My amp, Solo II is fairly old and I don't know how it stands against more modern headphone amps - there are no comparisons on the Internet.

I don't know which option will improve my current setup:

• Keeping Solo II and getting some proper DAC (if so, then which one?)
• To sell everything and choose some combo (like Monoprice THX AAA Desktop Amplifier)
• To sell everything and choose something new (like SMSL SP200 oraz DROP THX AAA 789 + some DAC)
• Or any other reasonably priced dac/amp that You guys will suggest.

Thanks for any advice

 

[RickSanchez]

To see the various DAC and heaphone amp options that have been reviewed on ASR you may want to start here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/Audio_Equipment_Reviews/

That allows you to filter by device type and by price, and for the devices that you see there are links to the ASR reviews for you to do more research.

There are tons of great options for you with devices that measure / perform really well. As such you'll have to decide -- beyond performance -- what things are important to you: price, features, warranty, aesthetics, etc. Some options to get you started:

• Stack: Topping E30 + L30
• DAC/amp combo: Topping DX7 Pro
• DAC/amp combo: Sabaj D5

 

[RickSanchez]

One note researching headphone amps: besides finding an amp with enough power for your headphones it's also important to consider the output impedance of the headphone amp. (For more info see this article.)

The Topping DX7 Pro option will work fine with your LCD2 Classics but it would be something to keep in mind if/when you invest in other headphones.

 

[GogettO]

Thanks mate - I really appreciate your help!

 

[GogettO]

After some research I'm torn between these two options:

• Topping DX7 Pro
• SMSL SU9 + SH9 + XLR Cable Combo

Price-wise they're similar, but I'm not sure which one will be better.

 

[RickSanchez]

Throwing Amir's measurements in this thread for reference:

• Topping: DX7 Pro ($600 US)
• SMSL: SU-9 ($440 US) + SH-9 ($290 US) + XLR interconnects (maybe $30?)

A couple other articles about ASR measurements that may be useful to you:

1. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...derstanding-digital-audio-measurements.10523/
2. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-thresholds-of-amp-and-dac-measurements.5734/

In looking at the DAC side both options (DX7 Pro or SU-9) are excellent across the board: SINAD, dynamic range, linearity, jitter, IMD, multitone. And not that I pretend to hear the difference in filters but it's nice that both have multiple filters including some faster rolloff options.

On the headphone amp side:

• The DX7 Pro has a slightly worse SNR.
• The output impedance of the DX7 Pro is 6.2 Ω which is ... not great.
  • I didn't see a measurement for the output impedance of the SH-9 but you'll want to find out what that is.
• The SH-9 has an XLR headphone output but it's not balanced so it doesn't offer more power. That's fine I guess, just odd.
• Overall the SH-9 has more power than the DX7 Pro.

So a lot of it will come down to personal preferences on your part: price, features, aesthetics, warranty, etc. Looking at Amir's reviews -- assuming the SH-9 has a low output impedance -- I'd say that SU-9/SH-9 stack would probably be my choice between the two assuming money isn't an issue. The SMSL stack can likely pair with more headphones (ones <60 Ω impedance) and there's more power on tap. (I have a Sabaj D5 myself because of its measurements + features + price and I don't need tons of power.)

The only other thing I'd say is research here and other audio sites to get a sense of reliability. I have no idea what the build quality is for any of these pieces. And take a look at Apos Audio, they have gotten strong reviews from members here.