Following impressions are based on listening with the GO450 as DAC, Leckerton UHA-6S.MkII as amp (high-gain implemented), and Spotify in offline mode as source since I’m currently without internet at my place. Because the UHA-6S.MkII served as my amp, I used the single-ended stock cable that came with the Omni. While the stock balanced cable would’ve worked with my EF-6, I’ve already packed that up so I can list it in the classifieds. The UHA-6S.MkII is my current reference amp for a reason. I prefer it to the EF-6 on several counts. My current...

Thanks to @Todd for putting together the loaner tour and for including me. @Todd’s contributions to the community are considerable. I bought one of my first higher-end headphones from him – a Grado PS500 – when I got into the hobby.   For a while now I’ve been looking for a headphone that strikes a balance between the LCD-2.2’s bass resolution and the HD800’s treble resolution. Given that the natural, realistic bass timbre of the LCD-2.2 can be attributed – I take it – to the planar driver, it’s possible that a dynamic headphone may not be able to...

Thanks to @TTVJ for the loaner. I was interested in the Dharma as a potentially bassier alternative to the HD800. While I do prefer the Dharma’s to the HD800’s bass, the Dharma’s treble and mids are dealbreakers. I prefer the HD800’s and the LCD-2.2’s treble presentation to the Dharma’s. I prefer the LCD-2.2’s bass and mids to the Dharma’s.   Spotify serves as my source. The GO450 serves as my primary DAC, although I occasionally used the iPhone 6’s internal DAC when listening to the Dharma. For amplification I use the UHA-6S.MKII or the EF-6. With...

I Background, gear used and manifesto I first got interested in the ECP Black Diamond around the time of its release. I was in the market for a “flagship” amp but still didn’t know what type of headphones I preferred: Dynamic, Planar or Electrostatic. While I’ve yet to hear an electrostat, I’ve found so far that I prefer the planars to dynamics. When I subsequently opted to go full-planar (for home listening, at least) I somehow lost sight of the Black Diamond. Reading recently that it was a good match with the LCD-3, and finding a great deal for a...