[randerson3024]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oops, a stream-of-consciousness writing error on my part. Actually when I started writing my post, I was thinking I couldn't tell which was more transparent, but as the post now shows, I guess my thoughts became more concrete as I kept writing. My GS-1 does not have the DACT. I'm not sure what - if any - additions it brings sonically though. I believe there was a comparison about that written by kontai69. All I know at this point is that the GS-X is without a doubt the most technically accomplished amp I've ever heard, with a surreal level of finesse that can give me shivers. The music I heard last night was so real and finely textured, it was awe-inspiring and hair-raising! It was the kind of performance that made me realize how much that last 0.05% of upgraditis increase nets! Diminishing returns truly, but it's true what they say about these returns - the increases can be hard to justify financially, but when it's all down to the sound, that last bit of extra musical info adds the next level of enjoyment! And more than anything, I'm now left really curious what kind of sonic improvement would be had from something like the Meridian G08 and Ray's Apache. Not that I'll let myself fall to the darkness of upgraditis anymore though, but it would really be an interesting experience to be able to find out what the increasingly higher-end would bring. And now that I have a new base point of reference with the CD33/GS-X combo, I suspect this will enable to me to better review the CanAmp, GS-1, and *cough* Square Wave *cough*.

These reviews are really making me impatient for the delivery of my GS-X.

 

[warubozu]

I know how you feel. The wait was killing me when I had ordered mines a while back, it will be well worth it.

 

[euclid]

woah talk about gushing, get yourself together man! what happens when the next amp comes along and bests the GS-X?

j/k, glad you are enjoying it ASR, now you need to bone up and buy a Meridian so that transparancy can stretch its legs.

i warned you guys, the GS-X will not smooth over problematic gear, sources and headphones alike. its not a no-brainer "the best" upgrade unless its equally supported on both ends of the signal chain. and godddamnnnn it can work nice as a preamp!

regarding the unity gain im not 100% sure how it works but i have read there is higher bandwidth the lower the gain, this does fall in line with my personal findings. the difference between unity and med gain is not the difference between listening to the straight source vs. listening to an amped signal, they sound exactly identical in tone and character, the difference is in MICRO and MACRO dynamics, depth and imaging. for me they are better and more apparant in unity gain.

med gain will boost the body dynamics for a slightly punchier and more energetic sound, but i feel that with most music some purity is lost, some of the finer micro/macro dynamics and overall transparancy in presentation is lost. its slight! especially with headphones, as a preamp where the GS-X output is boosted though another gain stage, plus the soundstage of a speaker system being easier to grasp, the difference in gain settings becomes more obvious.

BTW: how did Justin adjust the feet to fix the wobble? mine does this too, did he have to remove the board?

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by euclid /img/forum/go_quote.gif woah talk about gushing, get yourself together man! what happens when the next amp comes along and bests the GS-X? j/k, glad you are enjoying it ASR, now you need to bone up and buy a Meridian so that transparancy can stretch its legs. BTW: how did Justin adjust the feet to fix the wobble? mine does this too, did he have to remove the board?

There will be no more amps above the GS-X for me now, the GS-X is the highest I'm ever going to go. Those are NOT famous last words either.

And I do have a new source on the way too, it's balanced this time, yay!

IIRC, Justin pressed the chassis down hard on the other pair of rubber feet, I think he said something about them not being in all the way.

 

[Asr]

UPDATED IMPRESSIONS - 200 HOURS

The GS-X is cementing my theory that burn-in does not exist on discrete solid-states. I haven't been noticing any changes in its sound since zero hour. Never noticed any sonic changes with the Square Wave either, or the GS-1, or the Gilmore Lite, as far as I can remember anyway.

The pairing with the CD33 is a good one, I've been enjoying picking up new never-before-heard details with it. When I'm paying attention, it's actually kind of creepy how much detail there is on CDs.

I've been putting the GS-X through its paces with my still-new HD650. Wow, finally I know why the HD650 has such a devoted following. This headphone is really something. Can't say if I like it yet, but the tonal weight is the richest and boldest I've heard yet. It's like a river of chocolate. And it works great out of the GS-X, the pairing definitely helps brighten up the headphones a bit without taking away any of its authority and power.

Really looking forward to my imminent balanced CDP. Not that I'll be able to used it balanced right away though, but single-ended should offer me a taste of it, should be sweet.

Btw, I kinda indirectly compared the GS-X to the Square Wave in the review linked in my sig. Pay careful attention to the points where I criticized the Square Wave and read between the lines.

In that respect, the GS-X nailed the areas I mentioned in the review. The GS-X has just about everything sonically - the absolute best soundstage I've heard yet, with a surreal level of depth and width and total precision over positioning. No gaps. No excess air. And the most balanced FR I've heard yet too - no roll-off or decrease anywhere, just strong and clean all the way up and down. True to form it has the HeadAmp/Gilmore sound, taken to the extreme, which I'll cover in more detail much later in a full review. All I'll say for now is that this kind of sound is probably an acquired taste - you really don't want this kind of sound if you're using a low-end source, and even with high-end sources you should be really careful to get an ideal sonic matching. It's the kind of amp to match to a source, whereas with most other amps you could probably get away with merely matching them to headphones.

 

[upstateguy]

Very nice review Asr…. I don’t believe in SS burn in either.

I have a thought for you to ponder. A few days ago I read a post by 909 where he was discussing how the audio industry has been into making louder and louder CDs for at least the past 5 years. I did some research on this and sure enough, I was able to find some renditions of the wave forms from old CDs versus the wave forms from new CDs. Apparently, the recording engineers have been using limiters and compressors to get the entire signal up to the limit of loudness CD can be recorded. FM and internet radio also uses similar technology to make all the songs the same volume, so you don’t have to get up and raise and lower the volume while you’re listening, but also to produce the loudest signal they can. They feel that the louder the signal the better it will sound to the casual listener….. but I’m sure you are aware of this as far as radio goes….

What I did was to dig out my old entry level DBX 118 dynamic range expander from a long time ago (that I used to expand FM radio and vinyl back in the day) and hook it up between my DAC and GS-1 and cued up the same KT Tunstall in lossless APE we listened to at the NY meet. Wow, you haven’t heard her until you hear her uncompressed…..

I split the output of the DAC and sent half to the DBX and into input 2, and the other half directly into input 1 so I could toggle back and forth. I can’t describe how much better it sounds, you simply have to hear it for yourself.

The only thing I will say is that when I toggle back and forth, I can easily hear how compressed the original version is…. and how much better it sounds with some of the original dynamics restored. There is no going back…. I'm now hunting around for one of the high end dynamic range expanders from that era.

Man, talk about "audible difference"....... don't need a double blind for this one.....

USG

Edit: the biggest surprise is what it does for the combination of the GS-1 and 650's sound stage....

 

[Asr]

Interesting, I'd like to hear the effect of that dynamic range expander. I wonder how that works, there's an algorithm that effectively cancels out compression? Hrmm...maybe I'll look at my software compressors so I can get an idea. It's true the KT Tunstall is kinda compressed, too bad too.

 

[darkless]

My digital EQ has a dynamic range expander. How do you determine optimal gain, threshold, ratio, attack, release for a track?

Too many parameters...

 

[kool bubba ice]

Yeah. I'd like to hear the differences between GSX & my DAC1 balanced.. Or maybe I shouldn't.. If theres a huge improvement I don't know what I'll do..

Hopefully I make Julys meet & find out..Maybe I should set my expectations too high just incase..

 

[Asr]

More pics, because I love taking them.

Inside the amplifier chassis

Inside the power-supply chassis

Glowing and ready for action!

 

[909]

well expressed impressions and beautiful pics

 

[randerson3024]

Those are fantastic pictures. It is killing me to have to wait for my GS-X, I can only imagine how good the Esoterics will sound with it.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif More pics, because I love taking them. Inside the amplifier chassis Inside the power-supply chassis Glowing and ready for action!

Wow.. I can't believe some people can be so smart

 

[Asr]

On a note related to the wobble of the rubber feet, I discovered that it can be related on how the front panel is screwed in. I haven't taken a close look at how the front panel affects it, but if you unscrew the left two or right two screws, it's possible to slightly re-adjust the panel so as to make all four feet sit flush with each other - just screw them back in once you've got the positioning right and presto.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow.. I can't believe some people can be so smart

Justin, you mean? Indeed, the level of craftmanship on the HeadAmp products is outstanding, simply outstanding. I took a lot more pics than what I posted, but I chose the ones above more than anything for what they reveal about Justin's work. Everything is so clean, organized, and symmetric on his amps, and it's incredibly obvious he thoughtfully and carefully plans out the schematics in line with that approach. There's such a deceptive simplicity to the layout. At the same time though there's still that sense of it being hand-made, with his handwriting on the PCB that makes it feel like every amp is personalized.

No need to quote my entire post btw, that just duplicates the pics.

 

[Asr]

UPDATED IMPRESSIONS - 300 HOURS

The GS-X continues to amaze. I've never been in this much awe of an amp before - it's revelatory what it's able to do. So much micro-detail, so much raw resolution. Its soundstage makes it feel like it's creating a black canvas instead of merely painting it.

The rare opportunity to have two high-end CDPs in my system, the Audio Aero Prima and the Arcam FMJ CD33 is truly enlightening. It's like having the best of the solid-state sound versus a kind of "hybrid" sound. I think I said before I didn't think the pairing with the Arcam was good. I take that back, the pairing with the Arcam is astounding. It's like the ultra definition of what's solid-statey, there's just so much information it's picking up and the GS-X is getting it all. Really euphonic for me, I love hearing everything on the CD.

And with the Prima, there's a different kind of sound, on the verge of being "hybrid-y" instead of outright tubey (the Prima uses a sub-miniature tube in its analog output stage). The GS-X throws a deeper, warmer sound with the Prima with so much focus it's eerie. The vitality behind the musical performance is just like a tube amp's.

And finally, since I have XLR interconnects I've been alternating the GS-X between its XLR and RCA inputs with the Prima. It's a great experiment, since the interconnect wires are fundamentally the same (Signal Cable's 5N all-silver wire used in the Silver Res Analog and Silver Res Balanced, only difference being the connectors). I have no idea how the signal traverses inside the amp between the XLR and RCA switches so that I can still use my single-ended headphones, but even without balanced headphones there is still a definite improvement in the amp's balanced operation. The mere act of flipping to XLR from RCA widens the soundstage by at least 150%, it's so obvious you can tell right away. The placement of individual instruments or voices has so much more focus too - and I thought there was already a huge amount of focus, but there's even more with the XLR operation!

I can't wait until all three of my main headphones are balanced, even single-ended all three show significant improvements merely routing the amp on XLR with my XLR interconnects!