[stevenswall]

Have you listened to the Koss KDE250's, they are my current favorite headphone, and I have yet to see a review.

 

[kostalex]

No yet. Would you like to review them? I am eager to read about them.

 

[Ko Nectic Jazz]

Pal, thank you for bringing us this great comparison.

Thanks to you, I've discovered in further this promising Chinese company Yuin.
I just have received a brand new pair of G2A from Head-Direct and I'm burning it up.

It definitely needs some. At the beginning, I was even thinking "a lot of" but I should say it impresses me every minute after another. I hear it getting better and better on my O2 with some lushy post-grung and some deep and silk IDM in lossless. The stage is opening-wide progressively, the bass is controlled, yet still a bit shy but I'll be patient. Medium is punchy and foot-tapping! Now I think it does need more time get more dynamic.

After an hour with Bretschneider - Rhythm (raster-noton) I already get some interesting dynamics with a rather round and flexible bass. Highs are becoming clearer but not agressive.

It is a promising piece of Chinese hifi portable phones for sure.

 

[Xcalibur255]

Thank you, kostalex, for a great review. This was my first exposure to the G1A and G2A and they sound very promising. I ordered a pair of G2A from Head Room right after reading your review. If they sound promising I might follow up with the G1A as well.

I've had terrible luck over the years trying to find headphones I actually enjoy listening to. I own AKG K701s so I've definitely climbed the price ladder trying. After making some upgrades to my dedicated 2ch music setup I've found I can no longer listen to the K701s at all. They sound thin and absurdly bright to me on all types of material. I drive them with a Channel Islands VHP2/VDA2 combo so source and amp definitely aren't letting them down.

I find myself going back to my Koss KSC75s, of all things, because at least I can listen to them without getting a headache. The VHP2 seems to overwhelm them so I'm hoping these Yuins are a good match for my tastes and will work well with it.

How would you comapre the upper mids and treble energy of the G1A and G2a with the K701? The AKGs just feel like they are nothing but treble and seem unbalanced, yet they are often praised for being a balanced headphone. I'm unusually sensitive to higher frequencies more or less. Do you think the Yuins are going to be a good match for me? Thanks for any input you can offer.

 

[kostalex]

G1A is opposite to K701. It is very simillar to HD650 in terms of sound signature.

 

[Xcalibur255]

That is exactly what I was hoping to hear. Thank you.

 

[kostalex]

Or try hybrid amp (say EF-1) for your K701.

 

[Xcalibur255]

A tube amp was probably the way to go for the K701, but I didn't want to get into that. I can be obsessive so I figured it was better to not even start down the tube rolling road so to speak. It's not that the K701 is a bad listen, it just became more clear to me after upgrading the desktop system that their sonic signature was a poor match for my tastes.

As for the G2A I've already got my pair and I'm pretty impressed so far. I once thought to myself if Koss would take the KSC75 and pull the bloat out of the bass, restore the scooped out mids, and improve the detail and resolution in the highs they'd have the ultimate portable headhones. Yuin basically took that thought out of my head and made a pair of headphones from it.

They almost go a bit too far in the midrange, to the point were they border on nasal sounding with certain material, but for the most part the balance is good.

I wasn't expecting too much when I plugged them into the VHP2, but when you said they don't respond strongly to amplification maybe you didn't throw a big enough amp at them.

The VHP2 really wakes them up, more than I thought it would. The biggest improvement is at the bottom end. The bass picks up considerably more weight and authority, and gains even more speed and precision. Detail resolution in the highs improves a bit as well. The highs sound a tiny bit disconnected from the rest of the spectrum, but this could be taken as good as well as bad since it improves the perceived soundstage width. Not disconnected in terms of speed, they just always seem to occupy their own space in the headstage in a way that doesn't seem completely natural to me. Without an amp they do sound a bit heavy on the top end. Not overbearing but the treble is dominant. The VHP2 balances them out nicely with the added low end presence. There is little to no sibilance and they sound well controlled at the high end. The overall synergy with the VHP2 is excellent I must say, probably better than with any other headphone I own.

The only thing they fall down on in my opinion is piano. It feels to me like they are trying too hard to achieve the necessary weight and attack of the hammer strike and are not suceeding. The results just don't sound right, like the impact has a hollow-ness to it. I also perceive some resonanace from the enclosure that seems to make the decay of piano notes a little muddy. Aside from piano I didn't note anything else they seemed to have trouble with. They do both male and female vocals well, with separation and texture resolution the KSC75 couldn't dream of reproducing. Considering the improvement in overall performance I think they are just as good a value as the Koss are. If the G1A has a sweeter midrange that doesn't sound as nasal and a more relaxed high end then I plan to buy a pair of them as well to use exclusively with my VHP2.

 

[kostalex]

It seems that your G2A is not burned yet (100 hrs are enough). I doubt that it will show you any significant benefits from amping after burn-in completion. On the other hand, it may show you the benefits of the better quality sources & amps. Simply say - SQ is appreciated, amping power is not necessary.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xcalibur255 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... If the G1A has a sweeter midrange that doesn't sound as nasal and a more relaxed high end...

It has.

RE: Tube rolling obcession - get TTVJ Millet Portable. It has very rare micro tubes soldered to the board. Even if you are willing to solder, you unlikely find tubes to roll

Nice amp, BTW.

 

[Xcalibur255]

A quick question for kostalex: does the G1A offer any significant improvement in dynamic range over the G2A? As they're breaking in I find this to be their single greatest shortcoming personally. The dynamics feel very comrpessed. Better amplification only seems to highlight the limitation. I feel the KSC75 outperforms them in this area considerably, along with soundstage presentation. The narrow soundstange on the G2A is understandable given their design, but the narrow dynamic range really sucks the life out of music for me now that I've become fully aware of the problem.

 

[kostalex]

It is interesting. How do you feel this compression? What are the signs?

 

[Xcalibur255]

I always struggle to explain this one. The dynamic range just seems narrow, the difference between quietest and loudest elements in the music. Basically it makes everything sound like it has been normalized which is a bad thing. It also imparts a sense of the music feeling flat that is not related to frequency or balance. Comparisons to my K701's (which I admit isn't terribly fair) really makes it obvious.

The small soundstage could be exaggerating my perception of it. It isn't just that it's narrow, the placement of instruments often seems unnatural because the sound has "nowhere to go" so to speak.

I still think the G2A is a good headphone for its price but now that I've become better acquainted with its weaknesses as well as its strengths my enthusiasm has diminished somewhat. I'm still curious to hear this G1A which sounds similar to the HD650, but if it suffers from the same "smallness" in its dynamics and soundstage presentation it may not be worth the $150 asking price regardless of how nice the sonic balance is.

 

[kostalex]

You described compression precisely. Yes, it is a cornerstone of G2A sound, both its power and weakness. Your comments helped me to revise some points of my review, I found that I used wrong terms there at first. Thank you!

G1A does not have this "compression" character. Indeed, it is quite opposite to G2A in this area.

I see that you total requirements to the SQ are quite high. I am not sure that you would like G1A but it is pretty obvious that G2A is not in your league.

 

[Xcalibur255]

I can usually adapt my expectations to what I'm listening to. Even after hearing much better I still enjoy the KSC75 for what it is for example. I just needed time to get a bearing on the G2A. A person always seems to notice the good before the bad right?

My struggle has been one of finding a headphone with a sonic signature matching my tastes that doesn't have some deal-breaking flaw. It doesn't have to be world class or reference quality. My desktop stereo setup proved to me you can have both a smooth, relaxed character yet still have revealing detail and great snap all at the same time. Before that it seemed like I always had to choose one or the other. I just can't seem to find a headphone with the same qualities. My suspicion is the HD650 itself might be my ticket in the end but my financial position changed recently and it isn't an option anymore, plus I suspect it won't be too long before an HD700 comes out to replace it.

If you say the G1A doesn't suffer from this weakness then I'm still interested in trying it out. The hardest thing to find in headphones, if you ask me, is a sense of immersion. The sense of depth and space that loudspeakers produce just isn't there in most headphones, but if the dynamic capabilities of the transducer itself are limited it makes the problem so much worse which is what I feel is going on with the G2A.

 

[kostalex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xcalibur255 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...smooth, relaxed character yet still have revealing detail and great snap all at the same time.

This is how amped G1A does sound. Regarding sound imaging: G1A is not bad here, but modded KSC-35 has bigger soundstage. Nevertheless, both yields to full-size cans in this area.