ECP DSHA3F Ravenswood 3F

DSHA-3F has deeper mids, I mean sits deeper in stage and may be one the reason why it pairs well with a Metrum or Sonnet DACs as they have forward mids. I have seen ZMF in Canjam using DSHA-3F and Metrum Onyx with their headphones so the pair must be doing something right for manufacturer to use this pair to display their headphone and I have no complain running this amp with Metrum/ Sonnet and Schiit Multibit DAC with Dynamic drivers like Focals/ Sennheiser and ZMF. Never tried with Planar unfortunately

 

My direct experience was with Meze Empyrean, which was a hair under 100db at 31.6Ohm. Arya is ~94db at 32Ohm. Arya is certainly sensitive vs. others, but Empyrean takes little to excite it. Maybe I just liked the pairing.

 

Something like the LCD-X 2021 is even more sensitive again at 103 dB/mW. The DHSA3F surely has enough power for that.

But 5R output impedance is probably just way too high for a 20R headphone. Just not an ideal pairing. I'm sure that's what @rhythmdevils is seeing here.

 

I'll ditto the LCD-x/3F impression - not a good match... but I was surprised that I think the LCD-X and A&S Mogwai is a good match, and that is an 8ohm tap (I like it better than the LauX).

But I very well could have broken ears...

 

rhythmdevils said this was an amp with nickel transformers. Is it really a 3F as I thought that was supposed to have a transformerless output?

 

DHSA3F has transformers for voltage gain at the inputs.

 

Let's call it "Ravenswood". I also use "3F" when bytes optimization is necessary, but ravenswood sounds way, way more lovely.

 

Re: pairing.

So, from my experience, and considering the investment (as an OOP it's not only about money cost but also searching cost), below might be considered as the highest tier to pair with this amp.

• Focal dynamics between Elex and Utopia. Hands down. These are why this amp was born.
• Senn HD600 (and by extension I'm pretty sure JAR580 or 600 will work greatly, too). They don't match Focal speed.. but worked very well with this amp anyway.
• ZMF Auteur and Verite. Tbh it's a little unexpected synergy as I don't think these headphones resemble sounding structure of focal open-backs at all.

I tried some orthos (HE6 se, Arya v1, HEX v2, Sundara og, Verum, Ether 2, Aeon, LCD 2C/GX etc.) but wasn't very impressed regardless of sensitivity or Z. But didn't think as negatively as RD did. Zero shorting issues (Verum was really low Z), too.

PS. If I recall correctly, the birth of Ravenswood (3F) came from the original "3" by simplifying later stages. The purpose of doing so was to give Focal loads more transparent and faster sounding. So, by construction, 3F loses a little bit of generalizability from the beginning. I also remember 4 added a little more juice/power addition parts for difficult loads. I don't think there are many non-f 3/4s in the wild tho.

 

The 3F @rhythmdevils was evaluating is mine, which I've only used with ZMF Verité (both open and closed) and a few resistor array DACs (Sonnet Morpheus, OG Yggdrasil, Holo May). I still own a couple of DCA planars but I've not used them much recently as ZMF really works so well for my music choices and taste. When I offered to lend the 3F, I totally forgot RD's ortho focus. I used to have some beefier amps, but with my ZMF drift, they are mostly gone now (wondering if Af has low enough impedance to would allow me to go on an ortho expedition...)

 

I didn't mean to say that the amp was crap or anything. I heard good things, like I said. It's just I've heard this recessed and clouded vocal range issue in so many amps with Audeze's now that when I hear it it's like "ok there it is again" and I just want to move on.

I guess @purr1n is probably right about what's causing it. Makes me wonder what is unique about the Liquid Gold X that plays so nicely with Audeze's. Apparently he designed it with them in mind, but it's not voicing that is causing this.

I have a feeling that most people listen/hear Audeze headphones at their worst.

 

Not being nearly as discriminating as either of you... the two amps I cared for with DCA Ether Flow C planars were Schiit Lyr 3 and Neurochrome HP-1. As I got on the ZMF bandwagon, they became less relevant and I sold them. But maybe I should have at least one amp around that does low-impedance headphones well.

 

Would the LCD-2, LCD-3, and/or LCD-4 be a better match for the 3F than the LCD-X and LCD-5?

LCD-2: 70 ohm resistance, 101 db/mW sensitivity
LCD-3: 110 ohm resistance, 101 db/mW sensitivity
LCD-4: 200 ohm resistance, 97 db/mW sensitivity

LCD-X: 20 ohm resistance, 103 db/mW sensitivity
LCD-5: 14 ohm resistance, 90 db/mW sensitivity

For comparison:

Utopia/Elex: 80 ohm resistance, 104 db/mW sensitivity

It seems like the LCD-2 and LCD-3, and to a lesser extent the LCD-4, are similar to the Focals in terms of impedance and sensitivity. Is there some other factor that would make a difference?

 

I unfortunately have my LCD-4 out on loan right now so I can't try it. But I've heard the same vocal recession with them on a lot of great tube amps and I would guess it would be there as well.

Maybe the problem is caused by something else.

 

Wow, if I saw this before it did not get through to my consciousness - this is speaker amp territory no? Any review not using a speaker amp should be chucked out the airlock, or at least a giant asterisk.

Both LCD-5 and the LCD-X are not going to be a fit for non-near-zero OI amps for most folks preferences. I enjoyed @BarryT "Black Amp" for lots of reasons, but it (the previous version that was on a tour) had a very high OI and most folks picked up on this.

 

I need a quiet First Watt amp. I've so far only gotten the DIY versions which have been too noisy. I'd love a real PASS First Watt Aleph J or something for these headphones.

 

Yeah, the LCD-5 is extremely inefficient on paper. But still not as bad as the HE-6, which at 84 dB and 50 ohms requires a smidge more current and a lot more voltage.

 

No because it is 90 db 1mW and not at 1 watt.
Flat 14 ohms impedance (and decent sensitivity) speakers would be a god send.

 

Lots of people run similarly inefficient HE6, Susvara, etc. from speaker amps. They need close to 100 mA RMS to reach good volumes, which is difficult for a lot of amps no matter what their spec sheet says in terms of max power output.

 

I should mention that I find my LCD-3 enjoyable on the 3F, but I like several of my other headphones better. I would say my current order of enjoyment:

Utopia > Auteur/Verite Closed > LCD-3 > HD6XX >> T50RP Mk3

I don't think I'd characterize the vocals as recessed when using the LCD-3s with the 3F. I would say they sound similar to the Verites in terms of how forward the vocals are. The Utopias and 6XX are definitely more vocal forward.

I think that the LCD-3s sound overly smooth sometimes, making things sound a bit unnatural. They also have a 'plucked' timbral quality that I associate with planars. However, they're great with electronic and synth-heavy music.

 

The non-F version has output transformers right? Could that transformer be chosen to optimize for low impedance loads?