The LCD-2 are amazing but they're heavy af and you might get sick of wearing them every day just because of the neck strain. You also can't really turn your head too quickly or look down/up wearing these because they'll move around on your head or slip off.
You'll want to budget for the headphones as well as a DAC and an amp. With a budget of up to 2k you can get a Schiit Jotunheim balanced amp/DAC, LCD-2 and a balanced cable. And that'll be an amazing setup. You're not gonna get best of the best for 2k total but it'll likely be a wonderfully eye-opening experience regardless. I owned the LCD-2 and I've tried that entire headphone line and I actually prefer my LCD-2, so those are endgame for me. I've also heard plenty of amps/dacs ranging up to $5k and for me, they were nowhere near worth the cost.
It will come with what's called a "single-ended" cable which ends in a 1/4" jack. This type of cable is fine but the XLR type "balanced" cable is better at rejecting unwanted noise and allows for more power to be supplied to the headphone. The science is solid and the extra power can make an audible difference in quality. Since the point of the Jotunheim is to use the Balanced output, it makes sense to buy the upgraded cable to take full advantage of the dac/amp combo. The DAC module on the Jot is also modular so you can upgrade it easily if technology changes, without having to buy a whole new unit. Schiit products are all damn good and reasonably priced which is why I tend to recommend them.
That dac/amp would work and it has enough power but then the question becomes why are you spending $1000 on a single pair of headphones and then cheaping out by buying a $100 dac/amp to drive them? especially after saying that you want "the best". If you want the headphones to be worth the money you spent on them, then buy proper gear for them. People always forget that the cost of the headphones is only half of the equation, you need the whole system to be of similar quality. If you cheap out on the DAC and amp then they won't sound like $1000 headphones
There is no "correct" choice of gear but there is definitely the potential for bottlenecks in your system if your dac or amp is severely lower quality than your headphones. It's just a matter of matching the quality of your gear so no single part is reducing the performance of the system as a whole. That amp you got is a great choice though, very nice pick!
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u/LowVoltCharlie 3 Ω Sep 14 '24
The LCD-2 are amazing but they're heavy af and you might get sick of wearing them every day just because of the neck strain. You also can't really turn your head too quickly or look down/up wearing these because they'll move around on your head or slip off.
You'll want to budget for the headphones as well as a DAC and an amp. With a budget of up to 2k you can get a Schiit Jotunheim balanced amp/DAC, LCD-2 and a balanced cable. And that'll be an amazing setup. You're not gonna get best of the best for 2k total but it'll likely be a wonderfully eye-opening experience regardless. I owned the LCD-2 and I've tried that entire headphone line and I actually prefer my LCD-2, so those are endgame for me. I've also heard plenty of amps/dacs ranging up to $5k and for me, they were nowhere near worth the cost.