[Dreadhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreadhead /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well guys and gals I ended up buying the SPL gauge and checking my volume match and it's as close as I can get it with my stepped attenuators. They both read 67 db. I guess I do have superhuman ears

I guess I'll take the stunned silence as a positive sign

I didn't have time to do a listening session yesterday but I'm working on it today.

Sorry to post so much to my own thread but I figured people would like to be kept in the loop.

 

[Dreadhead]

Micro Meet
Well Vlad (vvs_75) came over today with his edition 9s and did a couple hours of listening. He couldn't hear any difference between my two amps either. His own 4 board beta22 (with 4 sigma22s) unfortunately suffered a failure mere hours before we were supposed to meet (he had just cased it and there was a problem) so we haven't done a comparison to his premium component beta22 but his impression (Vlad correct me if I'm wrong) was that the only difference he could be sure off is that his high quality stepped attenuators didn't crackle when changing the volume and mine did

(they don't once properly engaged don't worry).

Edition 9's
The edition 9s were nice but not my cup of tea. Very good rock phone but a bit uneven and over bassed for me.

Comparison Conclusion
For my ears and my headphones the two amps perform identically for me in the sonic sense.... Which means that both of them are jaw droppingly good at what they do and just plain amazing amplifiers for headphones. I am almost entirely convinced that if I did DBT on a these I'd not be able to tell the difference.

The GS-X
It's a headphone amp first with both SE and balanced drive and a preamp with both balanced and unbalanced outputs. It also has loop outs and balanced and unbalanced input. As far as connecting various things this is probably the most versatile amp I've ever seen

To boot for the headphones that I own it is as transparent as it comes.

The beta22
The beta22 I would say is much more versatile as far as load but for most headphones I feel that its performance is possibly going to waste, that said it can generally be built and or obtained for less than the GS-X which is a plus. I'm sure a beta22 with all the extra connectors and unbalanced to balanced transformer would drive a beta22 up to the GS-X range especially if it was cased to the same level.

My particular unit is balanced only which is another issue for me but not a big one. A little solder can fix anything right?

Prologue
I've reached my audio nirvana and not with one but two amps

life doesn't get much better than this. I'm going to miss wanting to upgrade though. Honestly I sort of miss it, on a psychological level it's more fun to want something than it is to have but then you just have to think about what you have in front of you. Also the e500s that I have to listen to at work always remind me what I have at home

 

[vcoheda]

interesting.

 

[Dreadhead]

I didn't mention that we also tried out Vlad's new LisaIII which was very interesting and quite enjoyable but much like the edition 9's not really my speed.

It's sad but I can't justify having two amps of this caliber and having one just sitting there so I'm planning on keeping my beta22 until after the VA/MD/DC mini-meet next month and then it will almost certainly be going on sale. If you're interested please PM me and I'll give you a heads up for the sale.

If this breaks any of the forum rules sorry in advance.

Cheers,
Chris

 

[kugino]

dreadhead, thanks for the listening comparisons. i especially welcome the conclusion that for the most part, there is very little to separate these two strictly in terms of sound (there are, of course, many other differences that may sway people one way or the other). i also mulled over the gs-x vs. beta22 and picked up the gs-x b/c i got a good second hand deal and i could have it right away rather than waiting a month or so for the beta22 to be built.

i've especially been pleased with the gs-x's versatility. at the moment i have some balanced rs-1 hooked up the balanced outputs...some computer speakers hooked up via the loop output, and the pre-amp feeding into a pair of monoblocks that power my k1000. i probably shouldn't have all hooked up at the same time, but what the heck...i can.

 

[soundfreq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreadhead /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's sad but I can't justify having two amps of this caliber and having one just sitting there so I'm planning on keeping my beta22 until after the VA/MD/DC mini-meet next month and then it will almost certainly be going on sale. If you're interested please PM me and I'll give you a heads up for the sale.

what made you stick with the gs-x?

 

[Dreadhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundfreq /img/forum/go_quote.gif what made you stick with the gs-x?

Basically aesthetics and connections:

For the price I paid for my GS-X it's not economically feasible to re-case the beta22, and the current case while effective is huge and does not fit in my rack (sitting on the floor under it right now).

As I mentioned in passing, I have a pair of SE530s and it is sometimes nice to hook them up to the GS-X for some SE listening. Also the fact it can take in unbalanced and balanced sources and has a loop out is also a big plus.

In the end all of the things that are making me lean towards keeping the GS-X are things that are easily rectified if you're ordering a scratch built beta22 (with the possible exception of the unbalanced input). Or if I was keeping it I could do them too.

Honestly I'd love to figure out a way to keep my beta22 at work but I just can't leave something worth that much sitting out in a cube and I'd also need to get another DAC1 and headphones (the 650's are out because of leakage and I only have one pair of D5000).

Cheers,
Chris

 

[grawk]

It's really simple to add unbalanced inputs to a balanced amp. You can balanced them using an IC or transformers, or just use half the amp for the unbalanced source.

 

[Dreadhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's really simple to add unbalanced inputs to a balanced amp. You can balanced them using an IC or transformers, or just use half the amp for the unbalanced source.

I knew this (mostly) but I just meant that the builder may need to do a separate board for this and add a source selector etc... that's more work. As you say I guess I was overestimating the difficulty.

Thanks for the info!

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Dreadhead]

I recently switched back to listening to my Denon AH-D5000s and noticed a transformer hum when using the beta22 that was entirely inaudible when driving the HD650s. After much messing around I fixed this by using a old metal container that I had lying around putting the transformer inside it (with some dynamat lining to make sure I couldn't hear the actual hum either

. This got rid of that issue and again back to identical for these phones as well.

 

[soundfreq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreadhead /img/forum/go_quote.gif I recently switched back to listening to my Denon AH-D5000s and noticed a transformer hum when using the beta22 that was entirely inaudible when driving the HD650s. After much messing around I fixed this by using a old metal container that I had lying around putting the transformer inside it (with some dynamat lining to make sure I couldn't hear the actual hum either . This got rid of that issue and again back to identical for these phones as well.

can you expound more on the transformer hum? do you hear it constantly? or only during times when you have no music playing?

i was hoping you would keep the beta22..........

 

[Dreadhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundfreq /img/forum/go_quote.gif can you expound more on the transformer hum? do you hear it constantly? or only during times when you have no music playing? i was hoping you would keep the beta22..........

I was hoping I'd keep it too. I still may. It just seems a waste and sort of mean to deprive someone who would use it more than me of the joy of using it

The hum was not audible when music of any normal volume was playing. I noticed it because I was in the middle of work and my play list ended and I sat there with my phones on and dead silence for a couple minutes. It's apparently known that you have to be very careful with the transformer placement when building a beta22 but most people just put the transformers in a separate box and that solves the problem entirely. After my fix it's entirely gone to my ears with both sets of phones (I can't check with my se530s because the beta has no SE output). I'm going to take the cover off and take some pictures of the fixed amp later today or tomorrow. I also want to use electrical tape to bundle up some of the wires as they are not the most organized in this particular amp and check the ground on the right channel stepped attenuator because there's a hiss with the Denons when you crank the volume to earsplitting levels (not audible at anything resembling a normal listening volume).

Cheers,
Chris

 

[grawk]

If you can solder, you can make a balanced to unbalanced cable that won't make anything fry

. Just use pin 2 as + and pin 1 as gnd from each channel into a 1/4" or 1/8" jack. You could even make it as a splitter, and use pin 2 and pin 1 to 1 jack and pin 3 and pin 1 to the other jack.

 

[Dreadhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you can solder, you can make a balanced to unbalanced cable that won't make anything fry . Just use pin 2 as + and pin 1 as gnd from each channel into a 1/4" or 1/8" jack. You could even make it as a splitter, and use pin 2 and pin 1 to 1 jack and pin 3 and pin 1 to the other jack.

Yeah I can solder and had thought of doing that but if I'm selling it I'm not going to bother. Maybe it's worth it I guess. That way if they don't have balanced phones they can at least enjoy their new amp. As you say I could make one up with the +ve channes and one with the -ve channels

, which is probably what they do on most balanced amps (actually I think the headroom amps do two per and end get 4 SE connectors out of it).

I was also thinking of doing a splitter so I can power 2 sets of balanced phones but to be honest in my head I started adding attenuators for separate volume control and impedance matching and it started to get too complex

I'll think about it if I feel like it I'll order the connectors and use the copper zip wire I have upstairs.