That makes perfect sense, but 2.4w RMS @32ohms would never be considered lack of power, right?
yeah, 2.4W is definitely not âlack of powerâ lol.
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It should be plenty for really anything other than a few summit fi exceptions such as the Susvara too, no?
I highly doubt i need a more powerful amp for an Audeze to produce proper bassâŚ
For a Focal Clear, itâs definitely powerful enough - one shouldnât be looking for bass on Focal Clear anyway - they will just distort (driver will bottom out).
Audeze headphones DEFINITELY benefit from good clean power and high voltage - something I used to not really believe.
However, it depends on what bass youâre talking about.
If youâre talking about sub bass, then yes, a better amp (better components for current delivery) could benefit you, if youâre talking about 80hz and above, youâll be fine.
Do note as well that
A. Specs donât reveal everything, you canât just say âX amount of watts and X ohmsâ and expect it to tell the whole story.
B. Some amps are coloured more than others. For example, something like the THX 789 which has silly power, is rather linear and the bass rolls off - whereas something like the iFi has no such sound characteristic. Conversely, EQ exists, and if youâre not a purist, you can make wonderful things happen.
Tbh, thatâs what everyone on that forum shouldâve started with âHave you tried EQâ. Did anyone even ask you what songs you were listening to or what type of bass notes you were having issues with? Did anyone even ask for your reference (what you expect the bass response to be generally) or what youâre comparing to?
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The Focal Clear and LCD-X both donât actually need a lot of power. Not to say that they wonât sound different/better on a higher-end amp, but yeah, youâre not lacking in power and a more powerful amp isnât really going to give you some kind of bass boost effect.
EDIT: Iâve heard that running these kind of low-impedance headphones off of a higher impedance source like a Bottlehead Crack actually /can/ raise the bass quantity in some cases, but I only own low output impedance amps, so I havenât tried it myself. It might be something to look into though!
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I am not a purist, at all, i EQ all my headphones and IEMs, no exceptions.
I was not even complaining about lack of bass in Audezes, i was just asking if the LCD-X would have better slam than the LCD2-C and people started saying stuff like âif you think any Audeze lacks bass or slam you need a better ampâ.
Fu** that, i apply a low shelf filter to boost bass on Fostex X00 headphones, i like my bass and i am not ashamed of that.
I know with 100% certainty that i could buy a $25k amplifier (if that even exists) and i would still need some EQ settings to get the bass to where i like it, i am just really trying to make sense of what these people are talking about, like, WTH a 2.4w rms @ 32ohms amp does not have enough power to make an Audeze produce 100% of the bass it can produce?
This sounds like crazy talk to meâŚ
Again not talking about quality, i believe a higher end amp can deliver more quality overall, but not more bass quantity.
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It is crazy talk. You should ignore people who spout B.S.
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I think these people are just trying to justify to themselves that the $2000 dac/amp stack they invested in is making a night/day difference in their overall sound, completely ignoring the law of diminishing returns.
I mean, i am sure those stacks are awesome in many ways and i would love to have a setup like that some day, but to say that they have more bass quantity than i have with my setup is nonsenseâŚ
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Iâll be honest. Iâve had as much joy with IEMâs out of my $9 dongle on my phone as much as my nearly $1000 Bifrost 2 and THX 789 combo desktop rig, along with the cable interconnects needed.
You can all take away my audio credibility card, I never needed it anyway 
Headphones that are hard to power are another thing altogether. Power is required. No way around that. But how different the sound actually is between amps due solely to the excessive headroom being present in one over anotherâs just adequate supply? Iâm not sure about all that first hand.
I know a bunch of HE6SE people say a home theater receiver is needed to power them properly, but Iâm doubtful when I already love how they sound off a simple THX 789, or my TA-30 tube amp.
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Quality and quantity are two different thingsâŚthose two have to be balanced which is a fine line and entirely personalâŚbass nuances, textures and impact etc will come down to your chain, preferences and libraryâŚthereâs never a winner whether it be a $200 or $200K set upâŚas long as youâre happy with your jam then 
first.
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Honestly, I just think that people tackle these questions without any nuance and start making blanket statements.
Oftentimes thereâs a mixture of truth and BS and all it takes is someone to sit down and clarify whatâs going on.
If that occurred on every post though, it would be exhausting, albeit informative 
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its all justification on their purchase haha, wether its low end, mid, or high end. bang for your buck or going all out to get the best sound you can
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So to be fair, letâs not totally shit on the idea that the right amp can make a big difference. For example, I have some T50RPs that sound kind of lacking in fullness on every portable amp I own, but they sound fine on a desktop amp. I mean, if someone told me they either owned a Clear or an Arya or an HD800S, Iâd probably recommend a totally different amp depending on which one they had, so I dunno, it depends.
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Sure, but a Schiit Magni Heresy is no portable ampâŚ
I think many dislike the Magni just because of its price and nothing else. Like, something that cheap just cant sound right.
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This. The OG Clear was pretty bright and lacking bass for me personally but I generally love all the other aspects of the Focal Clear. Thatâs why when I heard about the changes that were made on the Clear successor, the Clear MG, I jumped and have been so happy with it. I donât want to listen to any of my other cans because of it.
Agreed. The point can be made that if your headphones are under powered and youâre not listening at a volume at which point the headphone transducers arenât working to their maximum potential, you wonât be hearing what your headphones can do. That makes complete sense to me. But for the most part, as long as your amp can boost the volume of your headphone past comfortable listening volumes and isnât altering the frequency response sent from the DAC, your amp is doing its job.
If your amp canât get your headphones loud enough, then thereâs obviously a problem.
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for me, itâs not a justification for the price,
but Ares ii + Singxer SA1/Jotunheim 2 is a good âvalueâ for around $1.5k
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I 100% agree with you on this, i got it because people praise its dynamic slam, say the bass is viceral, i swear i hear none of that in the Clear OG and that is why mine is currently for sale, hahaha
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@luizgarcia I love and enjoy my bass but generally I prefer to be able to hear a well balanced mix. I want to hear everything. Unfortunately, to be able to hear the bass the way I expect to hear it, it needs to be elevated past what most consider neutral.
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I agree with this.
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