Yes, the GS-X does a very, very good preserving the original signal. Cavali's stuff (is very good) has it's own signature which results in a loss of transparency. The GS-X is more chameleon like.
I have noticed the same thing with the LAu and my TotalDAC. It colors the sound a bit too much for my taste (ie. loss of transparency and details). I did not have that experience at all with my GS-X mk2.
If I found the GSXMKII too bright, even using HE1K's, but I was feeding it with an XSABRE DAC, would you be surprised? Was I hearding the DAC alone or is the amp truly bright ? I liked everything else about it but what I heard as excessive high end energy. The moon audio HA430 was more neutral to my ears.
If I found the GSXMKII too bright, even using HE1K's, but I was feeding it with an XSABRE DAC, would you be surprised? Was I hearding the DAC alone or is the amp truly bright ? I liked everything else about it but what I heard as excessive high end energy. The moon audio HA430 was more neutral to my ears.
If I found the GSXMKII too bright, even using HE1K's, but I was feeding it with an XSABRE DAC, would you be surprised? Was I hearding the DAC alone or is the amp truly bright ? I liked everything else about it but what I heard as excessive high end energy. The moon audio HA430 was more neutral to my ears.
To those out there who own both the Dave and the LCD-4 I would appreciate hearing views on the need for an external amp with the LCD-4 or straight out of the Dave...I currently own the Moon Neo 430 which is an outstanding amp that I used when I had the TT but the Dave drives the LCD-4 better than the TT but as great as it sounds straight out of the Dave I find myself going back and forth between amp and no amp...the LCD-4 is a beast in terms of needing power to drive it...any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated..thanks all
To those out there who own both the Dave and the LCD-4 I would appreciate hearing views on the need for an external amp with the LCD-4 or straight out of the Dave...I currently own the Moon Neo 430 which is an outstanding amp that I used when I had the TT but the Dave drives the LCD-4 better than the TT but as great as it sounds straight out of the Dave I find myself going back and forth between amp and no amp...the LCD-4 is a beast in terms of needing power to drive it...any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated..thanks all
Are you going from the DAVE's XLRs or RCAs? If XLR try the RCAs. It seems to me that Rob Watts had said something about the RCAs being better out of the DAVE.
The NightHawks are supposedly one of Rob Watts' favourite headphones, so you have to suspect that a lot of the testing during the Dave's design was done with him wearing the NightHawks.
I have been thinking about this quite some time also how different the DAVE should have sound if Rob have used a pair of a Abyss / Utopias or HD800 instead, during the testing process, because the Nighthawks are not so revealing, so i wonder how it was possible to distinguish the difference between very small micro details and nuances and tuning the noise shaper / HF filter and other hard tasks, using one of the most dark sounding headphones on the market as a reference tool..
(I know ( you Rob ) he where using a pair 20 years old german no-name speakers monitors also, probably good sounding, but not the most revealing or most linear speakers either on the market ? )
I have been thinking about this quite some time also how different the DAVE should have sound if Rob have used a pair of a Abyss / Utopias Or HD800 instead, during the testing process, because the Nighthawks are not so revealing, so i wonder how it was possible to distinguish the difference between very small micro details and nuances and tuning the noise shaper / HF filter and other hard tasks, using one of the most dark sounding headphones on the market as a reference tool..
I don't imagine NightHawks were the only cans he used, though. From what I infered Rob used speakers as well as other cans. Or maybe it's just that I feel like the king of only remembering half of what Rob says. Heh.
one more quick question,on my TT or Hugo i noticed that if you switched to DAC only mode where it was set at -3 you could still adjust the volume but with the Dave when you put it in Dac only mode the volume is fixed at -3....I am curious why this might be?Is there a particular reason?
If I found the GSXMKII too bright, even using HE1K's, but I was feeding it with an XSABRE DAC, would you be surprised? Was I hearding the DAC alone or is the amp truly bright ? I liked everything else about it but what I heard as excessive high end energy. The moon audio HA430 was more neutral to my ears.
The GS-X wasn't too bright - the XSaber was too bright. The GS-X isn't a bright amp at all - it is maintains the fidelity of the original signal. If something was was bright it was either the headphones (not known as being bright) or the XSaber (known as being bright).
HA430 is a less resolving, less transparent, more lush sounding amp that was compensating for the DAC.
Funny, I just purchased the Nighthawk because of the sale on them right now ($300 off), and mostly because I wanted to hear what Rob hears with them. These are very early impressions but I can see what Rob likes about them. They are VERY good for low distortion, and very clean and smooth. I don't find that I'm missing detail with them at all. Yes, they are a bit warm, but not too far off from the Utopia IMO. I think these headphones are getting a bad rap based on the source gear driving them.
I'm currently using the Mojo because the DAVE is being used to break in the Liquid Gold at the moment. Of course very early impression and all.
Funny, I just purchased the Nighthawk because of the sale on them right now ($300 off), and mostly because I wanted to hear what Rob hears with them. These are very early impressions but I can see what Rob likes about them. They are VERY good for low distortion, and very clean and smooth. I don't find that I'm missing detail with them at all. Yes, they are a bit warm, but not too far off from the Utopia IMO. I think these headphones are getting a bad rap based on the source gear driving them.
I'm currently using the Mojo as the DAVE is being used to break in the Liquid Gold at the moment.
A case of the HD800's? People don't treat them as they need to be because of the price tag then complain that they don't sound good out of their iPhone?
one more quick question,on my TT or Hugo i noticed that if you switched to DAC only mode where it was set at -3 you could still adjust the volume but with the Dave when you put it in Dac only mode the volume is fixed at -3....I am curious why this might be?Is there a particular reason?
DAC mode is fixed because they decided to fix it. Use the pre-amp mode. The signal path is identical (AFAIK) but you get to use the digital volume control. You aren't bypassing anything and nothing degrades in the sound. I use pre-amp mode at -7 to get to the more common line-out level of 2V through RCA and 4V through XLR.
A case of the HD800's? People don't treat them as they need to be because of the price tag then complain that they don't sound good out of their iPhone?
I don't have the HD800 so I have no comment besides the fact that I found them too bright when I auditioned them long ago. The perceived detail from a frequency spike (6kHz) is different that the performance of the driver to deliver low distortion and a clean reproduction. The Utopia does this well without relying on a tipped up frequency response IMO. The Nighthawks are also good in this regard, though not quite at the Utopia level. Color me incredibly surprised. I know a lot of people will disagree, but that's how I hear it.
I'm not saying the HD800 is a bad headphone or isn't a capable headphone, I'm just saying that tonal preferences aside the Nighthawk actually does quite well for detail retrieval.
Edit: I just re-read your post and think I missed your point. I don't think with the Nighthawks they need a powerful amp. They are very easy to drive. What I mean is that they are a low distortion headphone that I think will be more revealing of the source gear, even though they are a warm headphone (in a good way IMO). I could be wrong, who knows. I'm just surprised with them as I expected a completely different sound than what I'm hearing with them. That's all.
Edit2: Again, these are my very VERY early impressions. I probably shouldn't have commented on them yet, lol.
If I found the GSXMKII too bright, even using HE1K's, but I was feeding it with an XSABRE DAC, would you be surprised? Was I hearding the DAC alone or is the amp truly bright ? I liked everything else about it but what I heard as excessive high end energy. The moon audio HA430 was more neutral to my ears.
But a Sabre based DAC (most anyway) are on the brighter side of things. I love using the GS-X Mk2 to review DACs as they just amplify what's coming in and that's basically it (with very, very low distortion). The HA430 is a darker sounding amp that is brilliant, but as with other great amps, you do give some back on transparency.
The GS-X wasn't too bright - the XSaber was too bright. The GS-X isn't a bright amp at all - it is maintains the fidelity of the original signal. If something was was bright it was either the headphones (not known as being bright) or the XSaber (known as being bright).
HA430 is a less resolving, less transparent, more lush sounding amp that was compensating for the DAC.
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