I too think it's rather confusing. Why not make like 2-3 impedances? It feels like they have like five. 2 would be low impedance for ease of drive off of mobile devices (which struggle with high impedances), high for being able to use higher output impedance amps. Maybe a medium impedance option, but no more than that.

The way it currently stands, it feels like one is supposed to be the 'best', but that's not really the case, is it?

Then again, it seems like if you had access to any amp you could find, low sensitivity transducers offer the best. Most ToTL are low sensitivity, and when Audeze changed the 4 to 4z, many seemed to find a reduction in sound quality.

Idk man, I thought this was a subjective hobby 🤔

The cayin sounds way better... To him. The Topping sounds better to you. There is room for both opinions lmao

Ah my bad, I forgot you don't believe in audible differences that are currently immeasurable through non-human diagnostic tools. ;)

Right? All these people pretend like they have the answers but they don't know what they are talking about at all. It's very frustrating they drag down the community into arguing over their vapid copy and paste ideas.

Have you ever heard two amps where one can be perceived as more detailed than the other? FR wouldn't explain that since almost every SS amp is dead flat

So how about detail differences in amps when they measure the same FR and similar distortion?

Amps totally have different sound qualities even when measuring well. The changes are just very subtle, but definitely perceptible. More noticeable than 320kbps mp3 vs 16/44.1k. If you can consistently pick out lossy vs lossless, you can definitely hear changes in amps. BTW, that's like 1% of the population. Maybe if you can't reliably hear the difference, you fall into the majority of listeners.

That being said I've never heard a headphone only sound good on certain amps. If I like the headphone, I will like it on any amp. If I don't like a headphone, I probably won't like it on any amp. It's not a big deal, but a way to achieve a sound closer to what you'd like (changes in dynamics and soundstage which can't just be EQ'd in)

If you didn't like the Dianna, a different amp won't make you like it. You might like it more, but I'm sure there is something else out there that will actually wow you regardless of what amp it's being run on.

Yup, something funky has been going on with the stepped relay attenuator. Most owners seem ok, but others have had multiple units go bad on them. I would suggest only buying it new so you are covered with the warranty. But it's a really good amp. Extremely dynamic with lots of details. Excellent extension. A little tube soundstage. It's fun to tube roll with because you can always switch back to ss for a quick reference instead of having to wait for the tube to cool down. And the remote is a nice touch with a mute switch for when the SO is asking a quick question.

I really liked my unit until it died! Lots of others on Head-Fi experienced the same failure as me, so just beware. Can't wait to get my repaired amp though! It was a massive upgrade to my Asgard, especially on Planars.

I have LCD - X and love them! Haven't had any problems with them at all and I trust Audeze to take care of anything I do have issues with. They are tanks for sure unlike the plastic of the Penrose

Audeze seems to offer minimal support for their lower line products and great support for their main line and up. Guess you have to buy an LCD2 or better for them to care about you.

I know they overseas more of their production for these lower line products compared to their LCD line. I wonder if that includes support too?

Completely disagree. You can DIY speakers, hell even design your own speakers if your knowledgable enough. And you don't need a $50000 rig to measure speakers. Just $100. You don't need to worry about fitment in every shape of ear possible.

It's not hard to design a decent speaker with low distortion. But it's extremely difficult to design a room with good accoustics. That's not up to the speaker designer though, ha! So the IEM designer has to think about your ears accoustical shape, but the speaker designer can ignore your rooms accoustical space.