Rico613
1000+ Head-Fier
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- May 5, 2012
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I just compared a new GS-X MK2 with my Balancing Act and I have to agree with most of what Purrin says.
I don't own the amp anymore. However, the amp is far from what was described.
Again, I urge caution. The Vahalla 2 is not an artificially warm sounding amp, so I have concerns with HD800 pairing depending upon source. If you already find the HD800 bright, I recommend Anax mods or DPEQ (digital parametric EQ) to tone down the brightness. Personal taste and choice of recordings will matter of course.
What a load of crap..I'm talking straight BS
Nope. I also heard the GSX mk2 + H800 and it was a pretty darn bright combo. Proly better with something like an HE-500 or similar signature.
I know at some point you paired your HE-6 with the GSX mk2. I find that rather painful. Protect your hearing man.
I consider myself duly warned. For some reason, the HD800 has never struck me as overly bright though. Uber detailed and airy, yes, but never bright, never fatiguing. The only thing I really want from the Valhalla is a touch of tube warmth, while hopefully retaining all of the HD800's stellar attributes, namely: its airiness, its immersive sound-stage, its almost subterranean sub-bass. (A pitch black background would be nice too.) Put another way: I don't want to muck up the HD800's essential character with syrup, so to speak. For context, even the little dot mkiii was slightly too "tubey" sounding for me. So, I think the Vahalla 2 might be just what I’m looking for. If not… well, I can always return it. Again, thanks for your advice.
Prepro, I can tell you Purrin and I were sitting at Justin's table and gave a few tunes a go with the MK2 + HD800. I can tell you that Nirvana's "Come as you are" cymbals at the beginning of the song made Purrin and I cringe. This is not an exaggeration and not the only time this combo was heard either.
Maybe you just don't listen to anything with cymbals? Or maybe you are not sensitive to this issues? Dunno man. But I'm being honest.
The BHSE + 009 combo in that same table sounded uber-mellow by comparison.
Using "come as you are" as a test track for cymbals? I could think of better tracks. You didn't give the GSX much of a chance did you?
We tried some other ones in Justin's setup (not sure, but I think we tried the usual Hotel California and Daft Punk's Get Lucky deal with similar results), but that one is the one that delivered the most pain going by memory.
I feel that particular track is good for testing brightness. Heard the same song in Justin's setup through the BHSE + 009 and it was rather pleasant.
IMO using jazz and classic music to test gear is not always as telling as using not so optimal tracks that are more revealing of a rigs performance in different areas.
What do you think of Talking Heads and The Eagles?
Going by your music preferences I think you might be better off with your current HD-800 pairing.