650's sound better with GS-1 than with the GS-X...Am I CRAZY?

[daltonlanny]

Hello,
I just received a used HeadAmp GS-X a couple of days ago.
While it sounds very impressive to say the least, it seems like my 650's actually have a better synergy with the HeadAmp GS-1!
As a disclaimer, I am still running the GS-X single-ended while I wait on my used balanced SAA Equinox 650 cable to arrive.
With the GS-1, my 650's sound very detailed, natural, organic, involving, and full of body. When I switch over to the GS-X, the sound seems to become thinner, more sterile, and less natural.
While the sound is slightly more detailed and open per se, it is also slightly more fatiguing and bland over the long haul.
Am I crazy or what?
Just curious.

 

[grawk]

Since the GS-1 and GS-X are identical when used single ended, perhaps you are just experiencing the caps breaking in?

 

[daltonlanny]

Both units have atleast 500 hours on them.
I bought my GS-1 brand new and the sound has never changed at all on it.

 

[Killercrush]

The GS-1 is known to be warmer than the GS-X, GS-X is known to be much more neutral, resolving and wire with gain.

I guess you like a warmer sound. With the GS-X, you should hear only your Cambridge sound sig. Maybe a different source should help to tailor the sound to your likings.

See this review for GS-1 vs GS-X :

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=250293

 

[vcoheda]

maybe you are just used to the GS1 sound and that's why it sounds better. i would give it more time.

 

[Patu]

Or maybe more money spent doesn't automatically mean better sound quality?

 

[euclid]

ASR's review is very good.

i feel there are nagging weaknesses with the GS-1 that absolutley cannot be overcome, the GS-X does not suffer from them its very close to perfect.

its understandable to prefer the GS-1 with the HD-650 which are somewhat fuzzy and can use the emphasis on the highs combined with rolloff of bass.

the DT-990 would probibly sound better with the GS-1 too.

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Or maybe more money spent doesn't automatically mean better sound quality?

unfortunately, that hasn't been my experience. but that's not what i was implying. what i meant was moving to a new sound signature sometimes sounds worse for the sole reason that it is different from what you are used to hearing. so, as i said, give it time. let your ears adjust for a while before you make any conclusions, one way or the other, in terms of better or worse.

 

[luidge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Or maybe more money spent doesn't automatically mean better sound quality?

X2

Or maybe the GS-X only sound his full potential when played balanced. Let us know for sure!

 

[Asr]

I'm not at all surprised by your findings, daltonlanny. As close as the GS-1 is to being almost fully transparent, the GS-X transcends it by a significant margin. The GS-1 has a slight warm-blanket sound to it, ultimately less realistic bass, and less refined treble. What you're likely hearing is almost entirely the sound of your CDP now, whereas the GS-1 didn't get as far. Anything you're hearing now is very likely a fault of your CDP.

There are two ways you can go from here: (1) a different CDP, or (2) back to the GS-1. If you choose to get a different CDP, be careful though. This kind of thing can easily drive one to jump from one CDP to another in madness and possible futility!

 

[pianomav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daltonlanny /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hello, I just received a used HeadAmp GS-X a couple of days ago. While it sounds very impressive to say the least, it seems like my 650's actually have a better synergy with the HeadAmp GS-1! As a disclaimer, I am still running the GS-X single-ended while I wait on my used balanced SAA Equinox 650 cable to arrive. With the GS-1, my 650's sound very detailed, natural, organic, involving, and full of body. When I switch over to the GS-X, the sound seems to become thinner, more sterile, and less natural. While the sound is slightly more detailed and open per se, it is also slightly more fatiguing and bland over the long haul. Am I crazy or what? Just curious.

I'm looking into getting a gs-x as well.... i'm interested on your impressions on your gs-1 vs gs-x when you get your balanced cables...

 

[sacd lover]

I have a Singlepower Square Wave and the Square Wave XL. When I first received the XL I did not have a balanced cable. So, I used the XL single ended. The XL sound while very good didnt seem as involving and transparent single ended as the single ended Square wave running single ended. I was using the same pair of Senn 600's and the same source and the same IC.

I am theorizing that possibly the conversion from balanced back to single ended is causing some artifacts. I can tell you once I got a balanced cable for the XL version the comparison was no contest in favor of the balanced XL .... and the standard Square Wave is a very good SS amp. In fact, having owned two single ended GS-1's .... I prefer the single ended Square Wave.

 

[greggf]

Wes Phillips, the Stereophile writer, somewhere or other mentioned that he found a balanced rig w/650s or 600s too antiseptic for him to find it enjoyable.

I think there's such a thing as getting too much detail and too much just wire-with-gain. Are you a recording engineer, or a human being who just wants to boogie to the music?

By rep, I think the Cambridge has as cool and detailed a sound as any cd player on the market. So does the GS-1, and the GS-X compounds that. Using it balanced will compound that further.

Maybe you've gone too far? Might a different (and perhaps cheaper, although as vocheda says, it seldom works out that way) cd player and a different amp, perhaps not run balanced, sound more pleasing to you?

I've done the spend-more-money, get-more-detail, get-less-fun route.

The guys here who keep pursuing more may be deeply obsessive, but they are WRONG about what better sound is. Wrong. Understand the psychology here. Stop listening to those who think better sound comes through the application of more of that money. It only does UP TO A POINT. After that, it gets you anal detail.

My personal example is Quad loudspeakers. I finally got 'em. They were the holy grail, because others said they were. They made a handful of cds sound better, but most sound thin and harsh and overly detailed.

Do you want to optimize 6 good recordings, or make 666 sound great?

Consider that you're possibly overshooting.........................get an Ayre or a Rega or a Marantz cd player, get a Musical Fidelity x-can and use your HD600/650, take a pill, read Arnold Rothstein's THE NARCISSISTIC PURSUIT OF PERFECTION, and enjoy the music!!

 

[sacd lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greggf /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wes Phillips, the Stereophile writer, somewhere or other mentioned that he found a balanced rig w/650s or 600s too antiseptic for him to find it enjoyable. I think there's such a thing as getting too much detail and too much just wire-with-gain. Are you a recording engineer, or a human being who just wants to boogie to the music? By rep, I think the Cambridge has as cool and detailed a sound as any cd player on the market. So does the GS-1, and the GS-X compounds that. Using it balanced will compound that further. Maybe you've gone too far? Might a different (and perhaps cheaper, although as vocheda says, it seldom works out that way) cd player and a different amp, perhaps not run balanced, sound more pleasing to you? I've done the spend-more-money, get-more-detail, get-less-fun route. The guys here who keep pursuing more may be deeply obsessive, but they are WRONG about what better sound is. Wrong. Understand the psychology here. Stop listening to those who think better sound comes through the application of more of that money. It only does UP TO A POINT. After that, it gets you anal detail. My personal example is Quad loudspeakers. I finally got 'em. They were the holy grail, because others said they were. They made a handful of cds sound better, but most sound thin and harsh and overly detailed. Do you want to optimize 6 good recordings, or make 666 sound great? Consider that you're possibly overshooting.........................get an Ayre or a Rega or a Marantz cd player, get a Musical Fidelity x-can and use your HD600/650, take a pill, read Arnold Rothstein's THE NARCISSISTIC PURSUIT OF PERFECTION, and enjoy the music!!

I dont know what you are basing your opinion on headphone system-wise, so maybe you could give some specifics. I was skeptical about balanced myself. But, atleast with the SS amp I am using the sound is just better. The better has less to do with detail and more to do with opening up the sound stage and adding linearity. There is more resolution but the detail seems to be presented in a more palpable manner; not in an edgy overly detailed manner.

Is the balanced SS amp as good as my single ended tube amps? No, not to me. But, the sound quality difference between my single ended tube amp and this particular balanced Singlepower SS amp I have is definitely less than in the past. But, if the forthcoming balanced PPX3 SLAM improves over the single ended PPX3 SLAM version as much as the balanced SS did over the Single ended SS .... oh baby!

The real question here to me is .... does running a balanced amp single ended cause the balanced amp to lose sound quality? Secondly, does this possible loss in sound quality render the balanced amps sound quality below the same single ended amp .... running single ended as designed?

 

[euclid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a Singlepower Square Wave and the Square Wave XL. When I first received the XL I did not have a balanced cable. So, I used the XL single ended. The XL sound while very good didnt seem as involving and transparent single ended as the single ended Square wave running single ended. I was using the same pair of Senn 600's and the same source and the same IC. I am theorizing that possibly the conversion from balanced back to single ended is causing some artifacts. I can tell you once I got a balanced cable for the XL version the comparison was no contest in favor of the balanced XL .... and the standard Square Wave is a very good SS amp. In fact, having owned two single ended GS-1's .... I prefer the single ended Square Wave.

i dont know the specs or exact operation of the Squarewave but there should be no conversion from balanced to single ended as you put it. if you are running balanced from your source and driving single-ended headphones the Squarewave XL should just be utilizing the 2 amps concerning the correct 0 degree phase and routing them directly to the 1/4" headphone jack. the other two amps driving the reverse phase should shunt to ground or just be lifted when no XLR headphone is plugged in. if the standard Squarewave is actually identical to the XL(minus the balanced amp section) then there should be no difference.

if the two amps are identical and there is SQ difference then its coming from the respecitve output stages on your source. the RCA single ended output stage might be worse than the XLR balanced, in which case use your sources XLR balanced output terminated to RCA connectors with pin 3 lifted on the source side, dont shunt pin 3 to ground. at that point when connecting the Squarewave single ended and the XL balanced but listening to single ended headphones, you are actually (only) using the same 0 degree output stage from the XLR on your source, the balanced side does not matter at all.

i edited this post like 5 times and it still sounds really confusing, but thats the best i can do.