[JonasRas]

Hi there! I'm getting back into the headphone game, and I've decided that the Audeze LCD-2's should be my next set of cans. I only have an Onkyo A-9010 Amplifier atm to drive them, but I plan on upgrading as soon as I can. It might be a while though. Will the Onkyo be enough juice for the LCD-2's, or should I just wait until I have the money for both a new amp and the cans? Also, what amp would be great for the LCD-2's within the $1500 range. Thanks a lot

 

[Monsterzero]

The LCD-2 isnt too hard to drive,and although I do not have experience with your receiver,I would assume that it should be able to drive it.

Best to give it a go and decide for yourself upon listening.

 

[JonasRas]

Yeah. You're probably right. Thanks for the reply

 

[cossix]

Honestly I wouldn't buy anything towards the top of your budget if you're not upgrading your cans. I run the LCD-2F from a Jotunheim and it's amazing; I doubt the performance gains from buying a $1500 amp would be good enough to be worth the price. Perhaps a decent amp around $500 is the sweet spot in terms of value! And like stated above, they're not too hard to drive. I do want to hear them balanced though, because the Jot puts out much more power that way. I just need to buy the ZMF Atticus that I want because that balanced cable will work for my Audeze

 

[JonasRas]

Honestly I wouldn't buy anything towards the top of your budget if you're not upgrading your cans. I run the LCD-2F from a Jotunheim and it's amazing; I doubt the performance gains from buying a $1500 amp would be good enough to be worth the price. Perhaps a decent amp around $500 is the sweet spot in terms of value! And like stated above, they're not too hard to drive. I do want to hear them balanced though, because the Jot puts out much more power that way. I just need to buy the ZMF Atticus that I want because that balanced cable will work for my Audeze

Thanks for the advice, mate! As you can hear I have a lot to learn. Haha. I will probably end up buying the LCD-3's at some point in time, but that may be years from now, so a cheaper amp might be a more wise choice. The Jotunheim looks great!

 

[cossix]

Thanks for the advice, mate! As you can hear I have a lot to learn. Haha. I will probably end up buying the LCD-3's at some point in time, but that may be years from now, so a cheaper amp might be a more wise choice. The Jotunheim looks great!

I feel you haha. It all comes down to how good your hearing is, but I'd hate to recommend an amp that costs a ton of money when the performance upgrade is only 3% increase. The Jot+LCD-2 is great IMO because it's a bright amp to start which pairs well with the laid-back Audeze signature for this model. I'm not sure if the slight extra brightness of the Jot would be too much with the LCD-3 but I think that would also be fine! It puts out 3 watts into 50 ohms which is pretty close to the 70 ohm (I think) resistance the LCD2 has. So much power going balanced!

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Hi there! I'm getting back into the headphone game, and I've decided that the Audeze LCD-2's should be my next set of cans. I only have an Onkyo A-9010 Amplifier atm to drive them, but I plan on upgrading as soon as I can. It might be a while though. Will the Onkyo be enough juice for the LCD-2's, or should I just wait until I have the money for both a new amp and the cans?

The LCD-2 is a 70ohm headphone with sensitivity at 100dB/1mW. As far as power is concerned the A9010 would still not do as well as a real headphone amp, but if you don't crank it up it won't be a problem. 70ohms isn't high enough to get around the high output impedance on speaker amps' headphone outputs, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just get the LCD-2 now, you might not even feel the need to get the headphone amp, unless you need something smaller (ie if you're using this on a desktop system as opposed to using the LCD-2 for late nightlistening).

Also, what amp would be great for the LCD-2's within the $1500 range. Thanks a lot

AudioGD NFB-11 (digital input only so no go with TTs) or NFB-28
Meier Audio Classic FF (pair it with the DACcord FF if you need a DAC) or Jazz FF
WooAudio WA6
Violectric V100, V200, or V281
Schiit Lyr2 or Asgard2

 

[JonasRas]

I just purchased a pair of LCD-2's from a fellow Head-Fi'er. I am beyond excited