Where did you buy yours?
Hah, you ain’t lyin! Let me know what you think! I’ll stick w/ my stock tubes for a bit.
Also, I played w/ my DAC for pre-amp tuning so I don’t hit the dreaded 11-12 volume increase. I had to to reduce it by 10dB so @ 130 (unity gain level) the volume was as loud as I wanted it. Volume control is now consistent from 0 to the volume I want 
There’s no decrease of sound quality performance with adjusting pre-amp via DAC, right? If I didn’t have a DAC w/ pre-amp, could I just not decrease the pre-amp in Equalizer APO by 10?
Are these the exact tubes you purchsed? I don’t see anything in the description about them being platinum, also the box says “gold”.
Thanks!
Yeah. The “platinum” designation is just on the tube matching that you get as identical in performance pair of tubes. They tend to all use no specification meaning no attempt to match was made. Then gold meaning it’s withing a certain tolerance, then platinum meaning it’s withing an even tighter tolerance. The idea is that you get the same level of sonic performance from both tubes.
Read though the LP thread so you know what to expect when burning them in. They’ll take 75 to 100 hours.
Gotcha, thanks for the info. Do you think the $75 upgrade is worth the sound improvement?
Every little bit helps but honestly it’s a minimal improvement. They’re hybrid amps so the sonic difference isn’t nearly as dramatic when you tube roll on it. For now I’d skip it and use the Electro Harmonix until they die, just replace them then.
Save your money for a balanced DAC… like a Geshelli Enog 2 pro. If only there was someone in the community that was selling one at the moment. 
Wouldn’t I get more of a sound improvement from tubes than a DAC? I’ve read at a certain tier DACs don’t really improve the sound, and the Topping E30 is considered a great DAC.
That amp is a hybrid, with a solid state output stage. Tube rolling is not such a big deal in that case.
A balanced DAC would at least raise the gain . This wouldn’t matter if you did careful volume matching, but it would give you a perceived bump in sound quality if you’re like most people. It would also help eliminate ground loops, but if you don’t have a problem with that, you don’t need the solution either.
I’d stick with what you got and enjoy — you don’t have junk! And buy new headphones if you have money burning a hole in your pocket — that’ll give you most bang for buck in changing sound at least.
Thanks for the reply! I feel like the LCD-X is a great headphone, so I’ll stick w/ that for now 
As for buying a new DAC… what is a recommended quality balanced decently-priced DAC?
I had my Geshelli Enog 2 Pro attached to the LP for a long time. Getting rid of my DACS now that I bought a high end DAC.
It is! But for some reason in this hobby one headphone usually doesn’t cut it:
That looks like a lot of $$ sitting on a table. I guess that’s the rabbit hole of this hobby 
Indeed! But, you can deal hunt and buy used. Everything you see there was either bought on a big sale or second-hand.
And it goes…so…deep
I wasn’t thinking of upgrading your headphone! Just getting something else for variety. Totally not needed if you’re a one-headphone kind of guy. You’re a rare breed if so
There are so many DACs out there that I don’t know where to begin … you have a suggestion for an Enog2; I’d look at the Topping D70… but there are a bunch more.
I also think your E30 will stand up, so long as you don’t need different features/connectivity on the source side, and so long as you don’t have any ground loops. The “perceived” improvement I mentioned from increasing the gain can be replicated by turning the volume up on the amp, in most instances!
This is the way.
So, I’ve been experimenting with Tidal/Amazon Music HD, and am trying to get the most high-quality sound I can get from them, but it seems like to have the sample rate changed automatically of the track being played, I have to use exclusive mode. This bypasses Equalizer APO (obviously), which is a problem for me since I have my LCD-X’s heavily EQ’d. What is the solution for EQing when you use exclusive mode? From my research, it seems like only a service like Roon or a very expensive DAC like RME ADI-2 is the only way. If so, that’s unfortunate :’(
Note, Amazon Music doesn’t automatically change sample rate of the song in exclusive mode for whatever reason. Must be a bug. Also, my Topping E30 doesn’t support Tidal’s MQA so I just don’t even use the Master tracks… lots of debates about if it’s even good.
Stupid suggestion, but hardware EQs/DSP?
I have a bunch of thoughts here and some questions. To really help you out, we need to know what “LCD-X’s heavily EQ’d” means. What have you adjusted from stock and by how much? Other thoughts:
If all you use is a bass boost, I’d consider flipping the E30 for an iFi Zen. It has a good bass boost on it. If you do more than bass boost…
Hardware EQ is the best EQ option when using exclusive mode. These can be simple external EQ boxes like the Schiit Loki or the internal EQing of the RME ADI-2. Some pro models give balanced connections so you could use a balanced dac with your Liquid Plat. They’re big and ugly, though, and may not be the most transparent (beyond the intentional messing with the sound). You could also look into one of the MiniDSP units. If you do the MiniDSP I recommend getting one with digital output because MiniDSP units typically don’t have great dacs. A MiniDSP could process the signal and the you could use your E30 still as a dac.
Next best EQ option is to use a software app that allows for EQing with exclusive mode. Foobar does this, but only for local files. Audirvana 3.5 allows you to use VST 3.0 plugins for EQ, works with exclusive mode, and has Tidal and Qobuz (but not Amazon) integration. Audirvana runs 75USD. There are free, but often limited, EQ plugins and there are some paid plugins that will give you improved functionality. I know Audeze has some EQ presets for LCD-X. Those might be available as VST plugins as well.
You’ve stated previously you love the LCD-X, and I don’t question that. What I’m wondering is under “heavy EQ” if it’s truly the best match for your tastes, though. I encourage you to give thought to if you might be better off selling LCD-X and using that money to get something closer to your preferences without EQ. I’m not an anti-EQ person, but I do think EQ should be minimal and simple. It sounds like you’re adding quite a bit of complexity. Among the users of HFGF I’m quite confident we can find you a pair of headphones at your budget that is a better match for your preferences and will make overall system operation smoother for you. Food for thought.
When I say heavily EQ’d, I mean using oratory1990’s EQ here. This really makes my LCD-X’s sound much better.
I think I’m just going to skip exclusive mode altogether and be happy w/ CD lossless quality. I think I’m going too deep into this lol.
Also, it’s commonly known that LCD-X’s need EQ unfortunately for them to really shine.