[Dreadhead]

Hello all,

I'm going to do this review in stages. Today I'll give the background and my first initial impressions after about 5 hours of listening.

Background (Skip if you only want comparison):
For several months I agonized over which balanced SS headphone amplifier I should get (GS-X/Headroom Max/Apache) and I finally settled on the GS-X (due to it's absolute transparency) and placed my order. About 2 days later I stumbled over the beta22 and I HAD to hear it but there was not much I could do at this stage.

After a while I lucked out and got my GS-X second hand (about 5 weeks ago) and then suddenly a balanced beta22 turned up on the FS forum for a resonable price and I jumped on the chance to have one. Hence this post.

The Headamp GS-X:
This amp is just plain transparent as best I can tell. It hides nothing and it adds nothing. It's beautifully built (the best looking of the SS balanced amps IMHO) and the attention to detail is amazing.

As far as topology goes it is apparently based on the Gilmore dynalo design though I have not got any official confirmation of this. It has ICs and is not fully discrete

****** Correction: I recieved a PM from Justin stating that in fact the GS-X is fully discrete the IC's are for the DC servo and would not act for anything below 0.2 Hz. ******

Balanced beta22:
My balanced beta22 has 4 beta22 boards and one sigma22 board mounted in a single case. Many other people here use two sigma22's in their designs but looking at the specs there is no reason to do this unless you're driving something very power hungry (speakers/K1000s?).

Also in general people tend to place the amplifiers and power supply unit in two separate cases. I'm thinking that I may place a metal barricade in my case to simulate this as that's all you really need to cut down the noise (if any).

It doesn't have SE output so it's straight balanced.

Sources
All music is ripped CD's (used EAC to lossless WMA) and is played back through foobar2k using ASIO4all to talk to my Benchmark DAC1 though a usb connection. There is no resampling.

The DAC1 goes directly to the inputs of the GS-X and the the loop out of the GS-X goes to the beta22.

Headphones
I have balanced versions of HD650's and balanced AH-D5000s that I have modded with the markl mod (these are my best headphones).

Music
Classical: symphonic and solo string pieces,
Radiohead: Kid A, In Rainbows
male and female vocals: James Blunt, David Gray, Norah Jones,

First Impression
I have spent about 5 hours listening to both the beta22 and the GS-X after spending some time volume matching the two. After listening to several pieces again and again and switching back and forth between amps with the same headphones when I noticed a particular detail all I can say is right now I can not tell the difference between the two amps. I have tried this with both pairs of headphones of course...

Of course this is my first impressions but it is what it is. I will be doing a lot more listening over the next several days but work has been nuts so it may take a while.

MORE TO FOLLOW

 

[Dreadhead]

More impressions:

I've got a couple more hours under my belt and I think I'm starting to hear a bit of a difference. I'm not 100% settled if I'm hearing it or not but It seems like the beta22 has a little more sweetness to the midrange or warmth, it's sort of as if it you're drinking hot chocolate. Crap I hate describing things in that colorful and entirely personal way but it's all I can come up with.

To be honest I'm a bit disappointed for this kind of topolgy difference and for all the talk of the beta22 being the ultimate etc I was expecting more of a difference. Every time I notice something in the music that I would think was an area that the other may have a problem I switch and it's still there and identical with the other amp. I then listen on with whichever amp and switch back when I find something else. This has been going on for a while now.

I'm doing my comparison with my HD 650s because I find they show the benefits of balancing much more than the D5000s. Because of this I assume if the amp is working harder and any amp difference should show more.

 

[Asr]

Sounds like you need another balanced source to play with.

Also what XLR interconnects are you using?

Also I don't think you need to be disappointed by not hearing much of a difference. It's probably a good sign that the GS-X and Beta 22 are relatively equal-sounding.

 

[soundfreq]

hey chris, thanks for the updates regarding your impression on these amps. aside from the music you stated in your first post, did you try to listen to demo cds/samplers? i think it would reveal more subtle differences in your system. i tried it on my system and i notice more variable that i overlooked before.

 

[Dreadhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundfreq /img/forum/go_quote.gif hey chris, thanks for the updates regarding your impression on these amps. aside from the music you stated in your first post, did you try to listen to demo cds/samplers? i think it would reveal more subtle differences in your system. i tried it on my system and i notice more variable that i overlooked before.

Soundfreq,

I don't own any "sampler" CDs but I've listened to the following:

Radiohead Kid A (so complex and good) and In Raindows (so good)

London Chamber Orch: Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Quite wonderfully recorded, quiet as black as night and lots of detail from the wind sections breathing to reverb and anything between.

David Gray: White Ladder. Fairly well recorded (especially since I heard he did the mix himself).

Flamings Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. I love it and some of the drum bass hits are fun but not "reference"

O Brother Where art thou soundtrack: stunning recording throughout with so much detail and I can't notice any distortion anywhere. "Down to the river to play" is an amazingly beautiful piece and with either of these amps you can hear and locate each member of the choir.

Sarah Brightman: Classics. Lovely recording again no difference. Both reveal an amazing amount of detail.

Tool: Lateralus. TOOL need I say more....

I think that's about it right now. I'm trying to think of other music in my collection that is well recorded that I'm very familiar with.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[crappyjones123]

so which should i save up for? gsx, b22 or the mk 6? >< bah i hate this website sometimes.

 

[grawk]

I'd recommend testing with recordings you know are poor, but that you still like, as well.

 

[Dreadhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd recommend testing with recordings you know are poor, but that you still like, as well.

I have some stuff Norah Jones for example where the engineer should be drawn and quartered

I listened to her as well and she's equally lovely on both again (where there is no distortion). Of course the distortion is barely audible in some setups but still.

The one joy of EAC is that now I can check to see if my rip was 100% accurate (according to accruaterip) and generally it was and if so I blame the engineers. I can't believe the crap some of these people release but I guess most people aren't really listening.

Currently working my way through Andrea Boccelli: Sacred Arias.

MORE TO COME...

 

[fierce_freak]

^ yeah, that's a good addition to testing, imo

Also, comparing back and forth like crazy can make your brain melt (or maybe that's just my own low-grade brain ;p), so I also suggest listening to just the b22 for a day or two to really get used to it, then switch back to the gsx. I find things are more apparent when I do that.

 

[pompon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreadhead /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm doing my comparison with my HD 650s because I find they show the benefits of balancing much more than the D5000s.

Just a small interruption if you permit .. do you prefer HD650 balanced to Denon overall using your b22 or gs-x ?

 

[pompon]

If they close at this point ... why peaple what to pay to have an assembled B22 .. just to buy a GS-X ? If B22 is 1200 just in part ... GS-X at 2000$ it's a very fair price no ?

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pompon /img/forum/go_quote.gif If they close at this point ... why peaple what to pay to have an assembled B22 .. just to buy a GS-X ? If B22 is 1200 just in part ... GS-X at 2000$ it's a very fair price no ?

Because someone at some point claimed it to be an ultimate balanced amp?

 

[naamanf]

To bad you don't have some AKGs to use for your comparison. K1000s Or K340s might show a difference between the amps.

 

[grawk]

The B22 and the GS-X aren't the same amp. And I think you'll find there are a LOT more gs-x's out there than B22s at this point.

 

[Dreadhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pompon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just a small interruption if you permit .. do you prefer HD650 balanced to Denon overall using your b22 or gs-x ?

Overall the markl mod D5000 is my favorite headphone. I find it has more detail and is just as flat to my ears. What I was saying is that the 650's show the effects of balancing much more and are harder to drive.

For the D5000s I think I notice a little more control in the bass when balanced vs SE but the effect of balancing is just not as pronounced.