Other Gear > Headphones
Audeze LCD 4 - Which amp?
Doc B.:
Thank you!
Deke609:
Doc - Apologies for belaboring the issue, but I know myself: even if the S.E.X. sounds great paired with the LCD 4s, I'll always be wondering what they would have sounded like driven by the Stereomour. So I'm almost decided on replacing my S.E.X.order with an order for the Stereomour with all upgrades. The only thing holding me back is a question about noise floor. In a 2015 thread, Paul B. stated that the Stereomour should not be used drive headphones with an input impedance of 62 ohms b/c the noise floor would be too high. I don't know if Paul B's answer predated the the DC filament upgrade or whether he would have given the same answer in respect of the LCD 4s.
The LCD 4s, to which the amp I build will be dedicated, are a different beast: 200 ohms impedance and sensitivity of 97dB
For comparison: the LCD 3s (which I will not be using) have an input impedance of either 100 or 50 ohms and sensitivity of 102dB
The BH description of the DC filament upgrade includes the following:
"This supply will reduce the already exceptionally low noise floor of the AC heated Stereomour II amplifier to levels acceptable for use with the most sensitive horn speakers. Its installation is recommended in particular for use with speakers above 96dB@1W@1M sensitivity. "
That sounds like a good match for the LCD 4s with their sensitivity of 97dB. Am I wrong about this? I can live with a faint hum at quiet spots in the music in exchange for greater dynamics.
many thanks in advance,
Derek
Doc B.:
Yes, the Stereomour II with the DC filament supply will work well and be very quiet. The comments from 2015 are about an earlier version of the kit that did not have the DC filament upgrade. You will of course have to make up some sort of adapter to connect the speaker cable binding posts to your headphone cable. Your best bet is to contact Eileen tomorrow (queen at bottlehead dot com or 206-451-4275) when she is back in the office and she can help you with upgrading the order from S.E.X. to Stereomour II.
Deke609:
That's great. Thanks a million, Doc. I will contact Eileen tomorrow as you suggested.
Paul Birkeland:
Those comments I made were indeed about the Stereomour I, which would work OK on a very power hungry headphone like the K1000, but would be too noisy for much else that was on the market.
The Steremour II with the DC heater upgrade will be significantly quieter and capable of driving just about any headphone you can think of.
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