View Single Post
  #4  
Old 07-03-2019, 12:30 PM
lance002's Avatar
lance002 lance002 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 46
Default

I had a somewhat similar experience with the LCD-X.

I started my journey with a headphone "amplifier" instead of headphones as it has no gain, uses autoformers for volume control and is designed for headphones up to 50 ohms.

First I tried the Fostex TH900 (I think 25 ohms) with great results, so I then bought the fazor LCD-X thinking 20 ohm headphones would be no problem and be a step up; however, I found that the same setup that drove the TH900 too loud at 12:00 ran out of gas wide open with the LCD-X, barely as loud as the Fostex at 9:00. I finally settled on a 16 ohm pair of headphones that provide spectacular performance.

I then relegated the LCD-X to a bedroom system driven by a dedicated headphone amplifier (Auralic Taurus MKII), but with that setup I could hear music (very quietly) even with the volume knob turned all the way down and music became very loud before 9:00; the DAC was W4S DSD SE and had a variable volume control so I could turn it down to help attenuate the volume on the amplifier to higher than 9:00. I have since replaced that bedroom headphone system with a dedicated unit.

The LCD-X did perform well with the Aurender FLOW run through my computer as a dedicated headphone system, but that now has use in my shop as a dedicated variable volume preamp/DAC straight into an amplifier and fed by computer instead of a headphone system connected to a computer.

I guess it is a case of too cold, too hot, just right. There should be several satisfying amplifiers to mate with the LCD-X; I would suggest "try before you buy" if possible.
Reply With Quote