That is touched on a little here: Audeze LCD-5 - Official Thread - #85 by hifiDJ
Either; both have the same power output.
Though in general I use 4-pin XLR connections when they’re available (even if they’re only a convenience option and not a true balanced connection), since it avoids potential shorting issues that occur with TRS sockets and means one less cable-end to swap over.
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Thank you! I’ll give a try tonight, your songs too 
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I prefer the XLR, purely as I doesn’t clunk clunk as the T pushes past the R/S contacts.
But alas, TT2 has no XLR.
EDIT: Also think I might just change the Rean connectors over to Switchcraft or Furutech. I opened them up, they aren’t hot glued or anything, so should be a quick change over, 10min or so.
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That’s another good reason.
You can always build a cable to let you use the twin 3-pin XLRs on the back of the TT2. Dual 3-pin XLR to one 4-pin female XLR. Then plug your normal 4-pin male headphone cable end into that.
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Yep. Thought about it. I’m currently using them to some Acoustic Energy AE1, though they are just as happy with RCA, so could change that over. Rob said don’t run speakers off the XLR in a balanced setup (18W), but I would think headphones would be just fine. Though I don’t believe there would be any sonic benefit.
I have a female XLR to right angled 1/4" on my desk, could use that too from the front.
All requires effort though Torq. And I’m tired, with only more tiredness on the horizon (twins), so I may just have to be happy with it as it is !
For headphones, you’d lose some transparency using the rear XLRs. Rob Watts has suggested that the perceived power benefit for even the Abyss 1266 is likely simply bias because it’s louder, but if you properly volume match, the sound will be equal if not better from single ended.
He also has a slight warning on low impedance headphones out of the XLRs:
“XLRs into 16 ohm loads or greater is fine. But 18v RMS is a lot of voltage to feed into a headphone!”
Poke through that thread and several people mention that properly volume matching the Abyss shows that the XLR does not improve the sound relative to the single ended output on the TT2.
Though frankly, if I had the Abyss, I would probably do it anyway just for raw bragging rights.
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Thanks for the link. Currawong gave the GSX Mini his stamp of approval with LCD5, so should be good for when I can order the new cans.
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And just like that, I’ve got an HSA-1b showing up tomorrow (if UPS delivers on time) to replace my V550 for my LCD-5s.
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Can I ask what you didn’t like about the V550? It’s on my shortlist of SS amps to try.
Been messing with EQ the past few days…
Tweaked Resolve’s treble and toned down a few db as he stated and tweaked Essentials’ bass a bit and this is sounding amazing to me on the new Mini and X26 Pro.
Non-bassheads need not apply. Usual tested track:
Will try to modify to 10 band for Toneboosters and UAPP and test it on the M15 later this week.
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I don’t necessarily have any issue with the V550. It’s well built, and I love the remote. Truth be told, I am very happy w/ the way I currently have the LCD-5’s setup. They sound stunning. But, that doesn’t mean that they couldn’t sound better…
Below is the EQ (based on Resolve’s) and HQP config that I’ve been running.
My decision here is due to me following the feedback of others (like Torq) with what they heard/believed was the better pairing. I don’t have the experience with all the different amps that someone like Torq has, and it’s unlikely that I ever will as I’m not a reviewer and don’t intend to buy them all, so I’m following his lead on what he believes is the right pairing. So far, I’ve been happy with his recommendations (which have also led me to order the CRBN’s and the Carbon CC - which I received 2 nights ago).
One other thing is that I really need to spend time with my gear to determine how I feel about it. I could never gain this knowledge from going into a store, or an event. This is just me, but this goes into how I shop, purchase, and use my gear. There’s no right/wrong here for anyone but for me in this case.
I’ll be able to listen to the HSA-1b and compare tomorrow. If I feel that the V550 is the better amp, I’ll ship back the HSA and eat the restocking fee (which I REALLY hate that companies still charge). But I very much believe that this won’t be the case for the above-mentioned reasons.
I also have a Holo May KTE on order. Torq was able to borrow one, so he’ll have a greater ability to point me in the right direction w/ the full chain of items.
Some believe that you shouldn’t order gear until you’ve heard it, and even then, only do so after taking years to develop your tastes for this all. I don’t. I want to find someone I respect the choices of and copy them as they’ve done all the hard work. This then gives me a great place to work from. Right or wrong, I’m happy with where things are heading on my journey.
My guess is that I’ll settle on the CRBN’s or LCD-5’s, and sell the rest of the gear as I don’t see myself jumping from set to set. But who knows, maybe I’ll surprise myself.
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This might work in the very beginning. As I’ve listened to headphones for myself, I’ve learned that there isn’t one person out there that matches exactly what I like, what I listen to, and what I can afford to where I can blindly follow someone. I have a group of friends where I know their preferences well and can guess whether or not I will like something based on their reactions but even then, there are things that we will disagree about.
Like you said, right or wrong, you’re happy with how things are heading. So there’s no point in trying to tell you what is the best path. However, I’d encourage you to make your own path cause there’s really nobody out there that can really tell you that what you have is truly the best for you except yourself, even if they have worlds of experience more than you.
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This part of what I wrote was very intentional. It gives me a place to work from. And, as I said above, if I find I like the V550 more, I’ll keep it. I won’t pick something because someone else does. However, starting w/ a well-rated combo of products seems like the smart bet to start. Then, I can adjust. Right or wrong, it’s working for me so far. And, nothing is locking me into any of this. I can swap products at any time. There’s no shortage of dealers that are happy to take my money.
I will say, that I had never considered the HSA-1b to pair w/ the LCD-5’s. I knew about the amp, and someone had already offered it to me, but I didn’t give it a second look. That is until Torq posted his feedback, I then dug in further to read more about the amp, and decided to give it a go.
Why didn’t you grab the PDA-1a? That one is meant for headphones only unless you plan on picking up efficient speakers and/or Sr1a.
That’s a great question…
There probably wasn’t a good reason that I didn’t look at the PDA-1a aside from the fact that I do like the idea that I can run the SR1a’s if I later want. And, the HSA-1b was not only in stock, but the site I grabbed it from didn’t turn off their Black Friday deal as of today - resulting in the amp still being $750 off of retail. Lastly, the HSA was what was being reviewed by Torq. So, it was what I was focused on here.
Looking back, I don’t know that I would have gone about this differently, but more research would be needed to determine this I suppose. Maybe that would have been the right choice. I honestly don’t know.
In looking back at the site, I do see the PDA is in stock and discounted still as well. I can always swap if I change my mind, so I’m not out anything at this point.
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FWIW my HSA-1a is not great with dynamic or planar headphones (both via high power and regular). Noise is significant and tonality pretty harsh. Details and dynamics are good, though. I only use it with SR-1a.
I don’t know if the HSA-1b is a significant upgrade; I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you.
@Torq seems to think the 1b is better than the a. His review (on this site) indicates as much.
TBH, I don’t know what I’ll like or not like but will know in the coming week or two (I need time with it all to decide).
But maybe he can chime in further on this?
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I thought so … particularly for conventional headphones. I said as much in my review of the HSA-1b:
vs. HSA-1a
I loved the HSA-1a with the SR1a … so much so that I bought one purely on that basis. With conventional headphones, I was not quite as convinced. While certainly enjoyable, I felt it didn’t come close enough to my existing amplifier (at the time, an SPL Phonitor X ) to allow me to run with just the HSA-1a for solid-state duties.
The HSA-1b is an improvement over the “1a” in a number of areas, some more notable with conventional headphones. The background is blacker (this was never an issue with the SR1a), channel separation and lateral imaging is superior, midrange is more lucid/liquid and holographic, there is greater refinement in the highest registers, resolution has taken a step up and channel balance is perfect (again, never an issue with the SR1a).
In fact it has improved enough with conventional cans that it is now my only solid-state headphone amplifier.
With the LCD-5 there is NO noise at all, even at full volume (with nothing else playing), unless you use the Ribbon output (which would yield an output level of 123 dB, so no one is doing that), and then only on the last two positions.
Short of someone recommending it, and specifically with the LCD-5, it’d be a shot in the dark …
As it is, it’s an unknown.
I have never seen a review of it, nor do I know anyone who has one - much less that has tried it with the LCD-5.
It may not sound anything like the HSA-1b. It might be better, or worse, but it is almost certainly different as it doesn’t have the same implementation. And at a minimum, the aspect I think is most likely attributable to how much I like the HSA-1b with the LCD-5 is the one that has had the biggest change in the PDA-1.
I offered to review it back when it was announced. That got acknowledged, but never went further and it wasn’t something I was compelled to pursue. I was just interested (though more interested in their pending tube amp).
The LCD-5 has surprised me as it pairs better (for me, which should always be an assumed caveat) with amplifiers I didn’t expect it to, and not as well with some that I did.
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With some more listening today, so far I like the LCD-5 best straight out of the Chord DAVE’s headphone output. Via the HSA-1b is a close second.
Though I didn’t get a chance to run it on my tube amp yet (that’s next).
I wasn’t expecting the LCD-5 to be something I took to so quickly. Prior to hearing it, I’d been skeptical that it’d be something I enjoyed more than the LCD-4 (with or without EQ). It hasn’t taken very long to put that concern to bed.
Absent some magic with the LCD-4 and my tube amp, that doesn’t manifest with the LCD-5 (which is entirely possible given their very different drive requirements), I suspect the LCD-5 will wind up replacing both my RAD-0 and my LCD-4 and become the sole planar can in my collection.
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