[buke9]

But from what I noticed they have not measured any stand alone amp ever so I dont how it will fair from the previously measured DAC/Amps.

No they do dacs and amps both not just dac/amps. They just love the JDS Labs Atom and hate the Magni 3 for distortion in pretty
inaudible range but do love the new Heresy. I think they hated Schiit for a while but couldn’t ignore them when they made a amp that measured well

 

[axtran]

But from what I noticed they have not measured any stand alone amp ever so I dont how it will fair from the previously measured DAC/Amps.

I was going to add just this. I had an Audio-GD DAC/Amp combo before I bought the Master 9, there was something special about it, although I really disliked the DAC's USB module being so finicky... Didn't deter me from moving to the Master 9, though. Even the lesser expensive DAC/Amp still had quite a silent noise floor, but that's another benefit of this Master 9 that I can't emphasize enough regarding my appreciation for it, after listening to shittier stuff.

 

[Shahrose]

Love the Master 9. Haven't heard a headphone amp that's better yet, especially for the price (see my profile for what I've owned). I also prefer it to my speaker amp for the Susvara (Kinki EX-M1+).

What impresses me most is the transparency to the source. I've heard it be slow and blistering fast. Dark and bright. Expansive and small sounding. Very DAC-dependent.
It also plays well with every headphone I have, regardless of specs.

 

[ufospls2]

Love the Master 9. Haven't heard a headphone amp that's better yet, especially for the price (see my profile for what I've owned). I also prefer it to my speaker amp for the Susvara (Kinki EX-M1+).

What impresses me most is the transparency to the source. I've heard it be slow and blistering fast. Dark and bright. Expansive and small sounding. Very DAC-dependent.
It also plays well with every headphone I have, regardless of specs.

Very interesting. I much prefer my Kinki Ex-m1 to my old master 9.

 

[Shahrose]

Very interesting. I much prefer my Kinki Ex-m1 to my old master 9.

We likely have different preferences so I'll describe the differences I hear. First of all, I felt a silver cable on the Susvara was necessary to truly reveal its transparency. Testing amps with the stock cable just homogenized the subtle variations by smearing transients and focus. Interestingly, the bass impact and force actually went up with Silver Dragon.

The Kinki has a larger, more distant soundstage with more bass and less treble. The bass slams really hard. It has great speed though the leading edges are slightly rounded. In my system the Susvara already has more than enough bass, so the Kinki is too much of a good thing at times.

The M9 has a more balanced tone. It's again more transparent to the track, ie, it changes more from one recording to another and generally has more pinpoint and holographic imaging, faster/more incisive attack and a greater perception of impact/punch (I say perception because the Kinki slams hard, it's just the M9's more balanced treble adds to the effect). There's also more nuance and delicacy with the M9, especially in the treble.

 

[ufospls2]

We likely have different preferences so I'll describe the differences I hear. First of all, I felt a silver cable on the Susvara was necessary to truly reveal its transparency. Testing amps with the stock cable just homogenized the subtle variations by smearing transients and focus. Interestingly, the bass impact and force actually went up with Silver Dragon.

The Kinki has a larger, more distant soundstage with more bass and less treble. The bass slams really hard. It has great speed though the leading edges are slightly rounded. In my system the Susvara already has more than enough bass, so the Kinki is too much of a good thing at times.

The M9 has a more balanced tone. It's again more transparent to the track, ie, it changes more from one recording to another and generally has more pinpoint and holographic imaging, faster/more incisive attack and a greater perception of impact/punch (I say perception because the Kinki slams hard, it's just the M9's more balanced treble adds to the effect). There's also more nuance and delicacy with the M9, especially in the treble.

Ah well, we all hear differently. I thought the M9, whilst good for the money, definitely lags behind the Kinki in terms of detail, transparency, and timbre.

 

[Jackula]

Ah well, we all hear differently. I thought the M9, whilst good for the money, definitely lags behind the Kinki in terms of detail, transparency, and timbre.

I've only ever heard the HE9 vs the Kinki EX-P7 on preamp duties, the former is categorically better, the only thing is the Kinki had a higher gain at the cost of transparency (I had both preamps on max volume and the Kinki was many times louder).

I also listened to the Kinki EX-B7, while a very good monoblock I've never done a direct comparison to my M2H. I do suspect the M2H is better, while on different speakers, both systems are high-end and transparent enough to show the amp character, the M2H setup was more transparent and accurate (although the room was also better treated).

That said, I wonder if you've ever compared your EX-M1 to the Audio-GD Master 10. If both brands follow the same design approach as with their standalone pre/power, then I do expect the Master 10 to be technically better than the EX-M1, although subjectively different.

 

[ufospls2]

I've only ever heard the HE9 vs the Kinki EX-P7 on preamp duties, the former is categorically better, the only thing is the Kinki had a higher gain at the cost of transparency (I had both preamps on max volume and the Kinki was many times louder).

I also listened to the Kinki EX-B7, while a very good monoblock I've never done a direct comparison to my M2H. I do suspect the M2H is better, while on different speakers, both systems are high-end and transparent enough to show the amp character, the M2H setup was more transparent and accurate (although the room was also better treated).

That said, I wonder if you've ever compared your EX-M1 to the Audio-GD Master 10. If both brands follow the same design approach as with their standalone pre/power, then I do expect the Master 10 to be technically better than the EX-M1, although subjectively different.

No I've only heard the Master 9 not the Master 10.

 

[smodtactical]

Master 1 preamp and master 2H review here is just mind blowing

"To be fair, even after prolonged use, I don’t think the Master 1 achieved the level of refinement of which the Lejonklou and CH Precision preamps were able. Just like the Jeff Rowland Corus preamp, the Lejonklou Sagatun is superbly airy and finely nuanced, and in these fields, precious few others can compete. But, much in a Rowland manner, it is also quite sweet and polished and it sounds a little filtered, a little too much so for my current taste. The Master 1 has a directness and convincing purity that neither the Lejonklou nor the Rowland have. And the CH L1? Well, at its stratospheric cost, can you blame it for outperforming the humble Master 1 in certain aspects? Yes, certain aspects, because there are two areas in which I prefer it over the costly Swiss preamp. First, it has more potent bass with more substance and drive, and second, it has an energetic purity and directness that makes the L1 sound slightly lean and slightly filtered."

https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/re...s/audio-gd-master-2h-mono-power-amplifiers-1/

He finds that the Master 1 to be in some ways better than $31,000 CH precision preamp! The fact that its even comparable is mind blowing!!!! This isn't even the HE1 which perhaps would close the gap?

He remarks similarly about the Master 2H vs $60,000 Soulution 701 amps!

AGD = genius. I have little doubt that his top amps can handily out perform Kinki.

 

[borrego]

A very nice feature of the Master 9 and Master 1 preamp is "lossless" single-end to balanced conversion using the ACSS circuits, which many people overlook. One have to spend thousand of dollars on high grade transformers and not even achieving the same quality.

 

[Jackula]

My Audio-GD HE1 arrived to replace my HE9 and so far has approx 500 hours of burn-in (including factory). Before I start talking about the HE1, let's talk about the HE9 and why I felt the need to replace it.

The Audio-GD HE9 is hands down the best headphone amp to drive planars, while also being a superb pre-amp. I've not heard a pre-amp in any auditions that far exceeded the HE9, most come below it even those at massively inflated prices. Once I took it to a friend's house and he couldn't wipe his grin off his face while listening to the HE9, the only reason he didn't buy one was he couldn't justify replacing his pre-amp with a one at 10% of the price. It did however, make him restart his search for an endgame, and he did buy something with a bit more "prestige" than Audio-GD.

​

My endgame setup is a classic 2.0 speaker setup, headphones are for convenience and any serious listening is done through my speakers. I originally bought the HE9 because, well the HE1 can't drive headphones and I liked the idea of a little warmth in my setup. However it was this warmth that eventually drove me to look to the HE1. My current setup is geared towards neutral and believable, so the warmth was starting to really bother me. I've been in conversation with Kingwa for a long time before I committed to buying the HE1, as I love the HE9 to bits and didn't want to take any chances.

What I gathered from Kingwa is the HE1 is neutral and detailed, the HE9 is warmer and has a richer bass, it wasn't much to go on. So it was quite surprising that the HE1, fresh out of the box, was (to me) in every conceivable way, better than the HE9. And it only got better with burn-in.

The first song I listened to with the Audio-GD HE1 was Echos (Live) by Rodrigo y Gabriela, I turned up the volume because it was way quieter than my HE9 at low gain. I quickly realised my mistake when my eardrums almost popped as the music came on, it wasn't that the HE1 was quieter, it is more dynamic and hits way harder than the HE9.



Something very obvious to me was how dynamics is portrayed differently between HE1 and HE9. At times with the HE9, I felt there was harshness during dynamic passages, especially when rendering husky or female vocals. With the HE1, even though it is obviously more dynamic, it is neither harsh nor fatiguing.

I used Valse Astoria by 21st Century Jump to test soundstage. The placement of instruments is more pinpoint, and the overall stage was deeper while retaining the same soundstage width as the HE9.



Listening to Concerto De Aranjuez by Trio Montmartre, I never thought I'd say this, but it makes the HE9 sound veiled. At this stage I'm not sure what Kingwa meant by the "HE9 has a richer bass" because listening to this track it's obvious the HE1 renders the richer, snappier bass and overall more believable timbre.



Something unexpected with the HE1 is it's made me switch USB cables back to my Supra, the HE1 has more body than the HE9, and with my current DIY USB cable it suddenly has too much body and the previous "thin sounding" Supra USB now provides the more balanced sound when hooked up to the DI-20HE.

For the life of me I can't think of anything the HE9 actually does better. I tried to find something so the comparison won't be so lopsided. I suppose we could say the HE9 is 100% better at driving headphones, and perhaps it suits someone with a taste for a warmer sound at the cost of everything else. Thanks for reading and I hope that this quick comparison doesn't cause any buyer's remorse or any violence against me and my family especially after I've been recommending the HE9 for years (oops!)

 

[borrego]

For the life of me I can't think of anything the HE9 actually does better. I tried to find something so the comparison won't be so lopsided. I suppose we could say the HE9 is 100% better at driving headphones, and perhaps it suits someone with a taste for a warmer sound at the cost of everything else. Thanks for reading and I hope that this quick comparison doesn't cause any buyer's remorse or any violence against me and my family especially after I've been recommending the HE9 for years (oops!)

I always think the current version of Master 9 and HE9 have too much gain as proper preamp. I think the first version of the Master 9 / HE9 had only around 10dB of gain. Just blame it to those users who keep on requesting high gain factor but prefer setting low volume. Even Kingwa acknowleged it was non-sense in audio-gd's Chinese forum.

On the other hand I have been asking Kingwa to make a "headphone power amp" to be used with my Master 1. He said people will then conplain there will not be enough gain...

 

[triggsviola]

How hot is the Master 9 supposed to get? Mine gets quite hot.

 

[tumpux]

My master 9 driving a STAX L700. This is one hell of an amp!

Wow, never seen this.
You don’t need a power amp to drive the srd-7?

 

[ToddRaymond]

@Jackula Thank-you for sharing your impressions of the HE-1! I plan to eventually get one, but for now will upgrade from my R-28 to a Master 9 for both headphone and preamp duties.

I'm still holding out hope though that Kingwa (via a group buy commitment) will eventually offer the HE-350 again. Even though he said it doesn't quite deliver the same level of performance as the dedicated HE units, I just like the idea of having cooler-running components connected downstream from such a device, and leaving them on all the time – since I work from home, etc.