[lator]

Guys any thoughts on the fact that on audioscience review audio gd products generally measure poorly? I actually have an HE9 and I love it as a headamp and preamp.. but I just found out now that audio gd products all measure bad (at least the ones that have been tested). Is it possible for a product to sound great but measure poorly?

This is a very good question and as many of my previous headphone amps have indeed measured very well I had my reservations too. In theory if I have understood correctly 96 dB SNR is enough for 16bit audio. I have usually kept this in mind while making choices about upgrading equipment. Perhaps my ears are getting too old or maybe my dac has very poor SNR but haven't really noticed much difference between redbook and hi-res formats.

So keeping all that in mind it's probably not very relevant to get extremely good measurements at least for me. Upgrading from THX 789 amp with immaculate measurements I can easily discern more detail, larger and more accurate soundstage and improved dynamics with Audio-GD Master 19. Of course this is all theoretical because we only have the measurements published at Audio-GD website and they have already been proved questionable in the past with their product line.

 

[GU1DO]

Guys any thoughts on the fact that on audioscience review audio gd products generally measure poorly? I actually have an HE9 and I love it as a headamp and preamp.. but I just found out now that audio gd products all measure bad (at least the ones that have been tested). Is it possible for a product to sound great but measure poorly?

I am perplexed because before researching and buying the he9 I used master9 reviews as a reference and they were mostly all super positive.

That review was a joke , he was clearly biased , he didn't even talk about its sound, also better mesuerment doesn't mean more transparency, i owned the Formula S which is clearly way above the M9 in clarity , and i am sure it measure better , but with the Formula S i couldn't tell the difference between my DAC filters, though i could clearly hear the difference with the M9 ,, WHY this could happen ? I guess because the M9 whole design is better though it doesn't have the ultimate resolution.


btw with a quality power cable i reached almost 80-90% of the resolution of the Formula S

 

[lator]

btw with a quality power cable i reached almost 80-90% of the resolution of the Formula S

Swapped Siltech Ruby Hill G6 power cable from integrated amp to Master 19 just for giggles. My god there is the bass impact I was looking for. Soundstage depth layering improved as well. It never ends huh (we love it just never admit it lol).

 

[GU1DO]

Swapped Siltech Ruby Hill G6 power cable from integrated amp to Master 19 just for giggles. My god there is the bass impact I was looking for. Soundstage depth layering improved as well. It never ends huh (we love it just never admit it lol).

hehehe yeah it never end

 

[borrego]

My first impressions of Audio-GD Master 19 vs. Massdrop THX AAA™ 789 headphone amps as promised:

• Soundstage, especially height, more spacious and natural with M19. THX 789 soundstage in comparison is compressed and seems to be limited to left-center-right with space between somewhat hollow. The most vivid first impression was the first song I played with M19 and thought to myself that this is the most speakerlike sound I have ever heard from traditional headphones without crossfeed technology.​
• THX 789 emphasizes leading edges of the notes, reminds me of NAIM speaker amplifiers quite a lot, decay seems unnaturally fast. M19 has more balanced approach making listening experience more relaxed (not boring).​
• M19 has better distinction and more natural timbre with instruments and vocals. THX 789 makes every cymbal sound the same.​
• THX 789 has punchier bass but on some records it feels almost forced. Again M19 sports more variation and detail retrieval of lower registers seems to be couple of notches higher.​
• With M19 even in studio recordings it feels like you are listening in a natural lifelike setting. There is more space around the instruments and overall sound is effortless. THX 789 is almost like listening in a laboratory rather than a studio or live gig.​
• EDM is where THX 789 shines, probably because there is no reference to how different artifical samples are supposed to sound like. M19 can't reach the same level of "urgency". Still undecided if M19 is slow or that I have gotten used to THX 789 sound (probably the latter).​

Overall for around €1000 with 10 years manufacturer warranty I am completely ecstatic about this purchase. The external build quality also surprised me. This monster doesn't picture that well but doesn't look out of place at all in my main rig.

The feeling that I would missing out too much when forced to swap from speakers to headphones with the same front end is finally gone. Mission accomplished!

Once you have listened to non-NFB design amp like the M19, all other opamp based amps would taste like army rations. I go so far to avoid opamp in the signal path of my gear that even my potable amp does not have opamp. Now there are only opamps in my DAP and phone.

 

[mixman]

Audio-GD Master 19 in the house (ignore the MCRU LPS on the right, yes that is supposed to be a led blocker)​

My first impressions of Audio-GD Master 19 vs. Massdrop THX AAA™ 789 headphone amps as promised:

• Soundstage, especially height, more spacious and natural with M19. THX 789 soundstage in comparison is compressed and seems to be limited to left-center-right with space between somewhat hollow. The most vivid first impression was the first song I played with M19 and thought to myself that this is the most speakerlike sound I have ever heard from traditional headphones without crossfeed technology.​
• THX 789 emphasizes leading edges of the notes, reminds me of NAIM speaker amplifiers quite a lot, decay seems unnaturally fast. M19 has more balanced approach making listening experience more relaxed (not boring).​
• M19 has better distinction and more natural timbre with instruments and vocals. THX 789 makes every cymbal sound the same.​
• THX 789 has punchier bass but on some records it feels almost forced. Again M19 sports more variation and detail retrieval of lower registers seems to be couple of notches higher.​
• With M19 even in studio recordings it feels like you are listening in a natural lifelike setting. There is more space around the instruments and overall sound is effortless. THX 789 is almost like listening in a laboratory rather than a studio or live gig.​
• EDM is where THX 789 shines, probably because there is no reference to how different artifical samples are supposed to sound like. M19 can't reach the same level of "urgency". Still undecided if M19 is slow or that I have gotten used to THX 789 sound (probably the latter).​

Overall for around €1000 with 10 years manufacturer warranty I am completely ecstatic about this purchase. The external build quality also surprised me. This monster doesn't picture that well but doesn't look out of place at all in my main rig.

The feeling that I would missing out too much when forced to swap from speakers to headphones with the same front end is finally gone. Mission accomplished!

edit: I checked Filip's preview video after my writeup and have to add that I agree with his impressions about dynamics as well. Compared with THX 789 this is another standout and easy victory for the M19.

Associated equipment used in comparison
headphones: MrSpeakers Ether Flow 1.0 with Forza AudioWorks Noir Hybrid HPC (Furutech XLR 4-pin)
sources: Simaudio Moon MiND 180 (streamer) + MCRU LPS via Lifatec TLTLG-OS (optical) & Oppo BDP-103 (media player) via UIT Audio DMP-RCA (coax) to Burmester 052 (dac, also Pure Class A)
interconnectors: UIT Audio IMP-RCA interconnect cables from dac to M19/THX 789 AAA (RCA unbalanced connection, dac has only one set of XLR outs unfortunately)
power: AudioQuest NRG-Y2 (THX 789 AAA), Shunyata Diamondback (BDP-103, M19 & Moon MiND 180) and Siltech SPX-800 (Burmester 052) power cables via Burmester 038 power conditioner with Shunyata Copperhead to wall outlet
audio sources: .flac files stored on a NAS drive & blu-ray concert lossless .m2ts files (LPCM Stereo) played from a USB thumbstick with full 24bit resolution (optical blu-ray discs limit to 16bit via coax due to copy protection)

Not sure but this mini review does not sound like a ringing endorsement of the M19 compared to the THX? Especially considering it costs over twice as much here in the US.

 

[lator]

Not sure but this mini review does not sound like a ringing endorsement of the M19 compared to the THX? Especially considering it costs over twice as much here in the US.

Enjoying the M19 more and more every day. The sound is so different that I am used to with headphones lately. Reminds me of Singlepower MPX3 tube amp back in the day with NOS TungSol & KenRad 6sn7's. M19 sound is much closer to my speaker setup which is a good thing.

 

[Rayzilla]

Guys any thoughts on the fact that on audioscience review audio gd products generally measure poorly? I actually have an HE9 and I love it as a headamp and preamp.. but I just found out now that audio gd products all measure bad (at least the ones that have been tested). Is it possible for a product to sound great but measure poorly?

I am perplexed because before researching and buying the he9 I used master9 reviews as a reference and they were mostly all super positive.

Having the HEDDphone for a few weeks now, I only tried it with the Master 9 for the first time just yesterday. I have to say, I like how they sound together. Very clean and transparent with what I think is one of the more transparent headphones I've tried. I think I'm going to go with this for a bit to get familiar with the combination and then do a comparison after some days. The dac is the Line Magnetic LM-502CA. Super clean with the LM in transistor setting and a little added warmth with the tube setting, as well as a little extra in the bass, which is not really necessary to start with but I'll see which I prefer.

Try some Rufus du Sol with this amp.

 

[smodtactical]

Ok one thought...that somebody should hook a measuring device up to that website

LMAO!

 

[smodtactical]

Having the HEDDphone for a few weeks now, I only tried it with the Master 9 for the first time just yesterday. I have to say, I like how they sound together. Very clean and transparent with what I think is one of the more transparent headphones I've tried. I think I'm going to go with this for a bit to get familiar with the combination and then do a comparison after some days. The dac is the Line Magnetic LM-502CA. Super clean with the LM in transistor setting and a little added warmth with the tube setting, as well as a little extra in the bass, which is not really necessary to start with but I'll see which I prefer.

Try some Rufus du Sol with this amp.

Sounds like a super neutral and spacious sound. I can only imagine. Maybe something like my HD800S + HE9 except much better.

 

[Dobrescu George]

I made a more in-depth video review about the Audio-GD Master 19 Amplifier

It acts as both a PRE and a full sized, high-end headphone amplifier, with enough power to drive anything under the sun. Pretty magical stuff, and although it is pricey, it is totally worth it

 

[JPlaquia]

Audio-GD Master 19 in the house (ignore the MCRU LPS on the right, yes that is supposed to be a led blocker)​

My first impressions of Audio-GD Master 19 vs. Massdrop THX AAA™ 789 headphone amps as promised:

• Soundstage, especially height, more spacious and natural with M19. THX 789 soundstage in comparison is compressed and seems to be limited to left-center-right with space between somewhat hollow. The most vivid first impression was the first song I played with M19 and thought to myself that this is the most speakerlike sound I have ever heard from traditional headphones without crossfeed technology.​
• THX 789 emphasizes leading edges of the notes, reminds me of NAIM speaker amplifiers quite a lot, decay seems unnaturally fast. M19 has more balanced approach making listening experience more relaxed (not boring).​
• M19 has better distinction and more natural timbre with instruments and vocals. THX 789 makes every cymbal sound the same.​
• THX 789 has punchier bass but on some records it feels almost forced. Again M19 sports more variation and detail retrieval of lower registers seems to be couple of notches higher.​
• With M19 even in studio recordings it feels like you are listening in a natural lifelike setting. There is more space around the instruments and overall sound is effortless. THX 789 is almost like listening in a laboratory rather than a studio or live gig.​
• EDM is where THX 789 shines, probably because there is no reference to how different artifical samples are supposed to sound like. M19 can't reach the same level of "urgency". Still undecided if M19 is slow or that I have gotten used to THX 789 sound (probably the latter).​

Overall for around €1000 with 10 years manufacturer warranty I am completely ecstatic about this purchase. The external build quality also surprised me. This monster doesn't picture that well but doesn't look out of place at all in my main rig.

The feeling that I would missing out too much when forced to swap from speakers to headphones with the same front end is finally gone. Mission accomplished!

edit: I checked Filip's preview video after my writeup and have to add that I agree with his impressions about dynamics as well. Compared with THX 789 this is another standout and easy victory for the M19.

Associated equipment used in comparison
headphones: MrSpeakers Ether Flow 1.0 with Forza AudioWorks Noir Hybrid HPC (Furutech XLR 4-pin)
sources: Simaudio Moon MiND 180 (streamer) + MCRU LPS via Lifatec TLTLG-OS (optical) & Oppo BDP-103 (media player) via UIT Audio DMP-RCA (coax) to Burmester 052 (dac, also Pure Class A)
interconnectors: UIT Audio IMP-RCA interconnect cables from dac to M19/THX 789 AAA (RCA unbalanced connection, dac has only one set of XLR outs unfortunately)
power: AudioQuest NRG-Y2 (THX 789 AAA), Shunyata Diamondback (BDP-103, M19 & Moon MiND 180) and Siltech SPX-800 (Burmester 052) power cables via Burmester 038 power conditioner with Shunyata Copperhead to wall outlet
audio sources: .flac files stored on a NAS drive & blu-ray concert lossless .m2ts files (LPCM Stereo) played from a USB thumbstick with full 24bit resolution (optical blu-ray discs limit to 16bit via coax due to copy protection)

Nice review. I am just wondering, can I have a side by side pictures of M19 and THX789? .. I just want to see the size difference of the two amps. Front and top view if it is okay.

Thank you.

Also if anybody here has a GSX Mini and can compare the M19 to it. It would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.

 

[lator]

Nice review. I am just wondering, can I have a side by side pictures of M19 and THX789? .. I just want to see the size difference of the two amps. Front and top view if it is okay.

I sold THX. You can fit about 8 inside the M19 chassis

 

[JPlaquia]

I sold THX. You can fit about 8 inside the M19 chassis

I see, I wish they can make an amp with the same form factor as the THX one but with the same performance with M9 or M19.
I really like the Audio-GD, but the form factor of their amp is a big NO for me because of space constrains in my room .

 

[lator]

I see, I wish they can make an amp with the same form factor as the THX one but with the same performance with M9 or M19.
I really like the Audio-GD, but the form factor of their amp is a big NO for me because of space constrains in my room .

Yeah the downside of using discrete design instead of opamps I'm afraid.