After many months of deliberating, tomorrow I’ll be heading into an actual store to audition a pair of Audeze LCD-X 2021 paired with a Rupert Neve amp. I’ve absorbed a lot of enthusiasm from various threads on this here forum and I’m hoping this is the right combination for me. The other component in the mix was the RME ADI-2 DAC, but I’ve been told they don’t have a unit on display to demo
I’ll hopefully get to hear a set of Sundara’s, LCD2C’s and/or something else for good comparison. Who knows maybe I’ll prefer one of those.
I’m aiming for a big upgrade over my current equipment of HD58X, Grado SR60, Tin P1 and Shuoer Tape. The Grado’s I’ve had for 20+ years and love them to this day, but I mostly listen to the P1’s driven by the Hiby R5 balanced - hence my interest in a pair of full size planars.
I’m not sure I need the RNHP, but I doubt it’ll do any actual harm. I’m prepared to wait for a desktop DAC, as I’m pretty sure I’ll be happy routing my music out of the Hiby into the RNHP and listen to my CD’s via my trusty iBasso D12 Anaconda. I think a Soncoz sgd1 or the la-qxd1 could plug that requirement sometime in the future.
So any advice from the community here before I set off tomorrow?
Could be that the audeze will be a bit dark, lack a bit of energy in the treble region if you’re coming from a set of grados, so maybe also look if they have a set of hifiman for example to see if those could be more to your liking
Hiby R5 and Tin P1? That’s how I started out too! Excellent way to start, the P1s are strange but pretty great with the R5.
If I were you, I would keep my mind open and try to suss out what you really like. It sounds like you’re after mids and treble more than bass, maybe? If that’s the case, I’d look at Hifiman too as that may be more up your alley than Audeze.
One thing to note is that while the LCD-X and RNHP will work well together, if you find that you’re really into planar over dynamic, the RNHP won’t be able to offer the power necessary for more demanding planars.
A real life hifi store!? I’m not sure if I’m jealous or ready to call bullshit. It’s like claiming to have see a unicorn, it could exist, but I’m not certain of it. I think I’ll need photographic proof that such a live store exists
Nice little setup. I keep the exact same setup around for travel! Not perfect, but does the job.
Only harm to your wallet! And the good news is the second hand market is strong if you need to resell.
Take it for what it’s worth: the RNHP was my first “expensive” amp purchase. It’s great, you’ll love it. But I ended up selling it and going with a lake people G111. Similar price and sound quality, but more voltage range and power for things like DT880 600ohm. Even my Sundara sound better on the G111 (imho). I’ll likely buy a RNHP again in the future, but for my limited setup right now the G111 is more versatile.
All that said, you can’t go wrong with Rupert, and you’ll have fun no matter what!
I really enjoyed listening to the various headphones and did some testing between Sundara, Ananda and LCD-X. The big surprise was the Audeze were not for me. And stranger still I wasn’t convinced that the RNHP made any of them sound better than running them off my Hiby R5! Shocking, I know.
Left the shop with a pair of Amanda’s. Sound absolutely gorgeous to my ears. Listening now off my Fiio M9 and sound incredible.
Thanks for the advice, prior. Finally got something better than my P1’s for home listening.
Not too surprised. The R5 does sound good. And you upgraded both headphones and amp at the same time.
Sometimes hard to separate amp differences with headphones you aren’t really used to listening to. Give it some time listening with the Anandas, and then go back and try the RNHP again. Once you get used to how the Ananadas sound on the R5, your ear might be better able to pickup on the differences. As always, YMMV. But that’s my experience.
