tuckers
100+ Head-Fier
I got a GCHA recently, and I have been comparing it to my Melos SHA Gold. I have been using the Senheisser HD 650s with a Moon Audio Silver Dragon cord. I also have Sensaphonic 2x headphones, a MG OTL, and a Xin Feng SM3 V6 with custom opamps.
My Melos had been lightly worked on recently, but I don't think any major mods have been applied. It still has the photo-potentiometer. I have my favorite 6992 tubes in it, Amperex Orange Globes.
The GCHA is a very nice amp, it has a very low noise floor, is very neutral, and extended at the top and bottom. It has a lot of gain with the HD650s, and is very dynamic.
It's physically a lot larger and heavier than it looks in the pics! It's very deep, deeper than the Melos by an inch or so. So it takes up more room on the rack than it appears. I won't comment on the USB dac, as I work with a company that makes a digital front end.
The GCHA takes a good 200 hours to settle down. The sound is crisp and controlled, the overall impression is clarity and neutrality.
In comparison to the Melos, things get interesting. The Melos has a wider and deeper soundstage. The soundstage in the GCHA does stay pretty much between the phones, but the Melos opens them up quite a bit. The midrange blooms more with the Melos, and the highs are more extended. More detail and information comes through the Melos in all frequencies, especially the midrange. There is that magic sense of air in the recording venue the Melos reveals, and it adds a sense of 'you are there' presence. You know those moments where you turn your head becuase you are fooled for a second into thinking a sound effect or something is real while wearing headphones? This happens frequently with the Melos and less with the GHCA.
While the GCHA specializes in midbass and is very tight and controlled, the Melos is very full and powerful in the last octave. The GCHA is rolled off in the last octave. The deepest organ pedals come through loud and clear with the Melos and sound like they are just hinted at by the GCHA.
I guess you can surmise that I like the sound of tubes, and for me a good tube rig just pulls more music from the source than solid state. This remains true for me with the GCHA. So, if you are really a fan of good solid state, the GCHA may be your ticket to heaven. But if you have a Tube Jones, the GCHA may not feed your need. It also could be improved in the lowest bass, and obscures another layer of detail and air.
I recently figured out how to connect my HD650s directly to my preamp, and the results have been revelatory. My preamp has output transformers and more than enough juice to drive the HD650s. Plus the HD650s have an impedance of 65 ohms, which is quite close to the 75 ohms the preamp is expecting. I'll comment more on this topic layer. But the sound is in a completely different league than the Melos.
Happy Listening!
[Edit] Here are a couple of crappy photos of the rig.
My Melos had been lightly worked on recently, but I don't think any major mods have been applied. It still has the photo-potentiometer. I have my favorite 6992 tubes in it, Amperex Orange Globes.
The GCHA is a very nice amp, it has a very low noise floor, is very neutral, and extended at the top and bottom. It has a lot of gain with the HD650s, and is very dynamic.
It's physically a lot larger and heavier than it looks in the pics! It's very deep, deeper than the Melos by an inch or so. So it takes up more room on the rack than it appears. I won't comment on the USB dac, as I work with a company that makes a digital front end.
The GCHA takes a good 200 hours to settle down. The sound is crisp and controlled, the overall impression is clarity and neutrality.
In comparison to the Melos, things get interesting. The Melos has a wider and deeper soundstage. The soundstage in the GCHA does stay pretty much between the phones, but the Melos opens them up quite a bit. The midrange blooms more with the Melos, and the highs are more extended. More detail and information comes through the Melos in all frequencies, especially the midrange. There is that magic sense of air in the recording venue the Melos reveals, and it adds a sense of 'you are there' presence. You know those moments where you turn your head becuase you are fooled for a second into thinking a sound effect or something is real while wearing headphones? This happens frequently with the Melos and less with the GHCA.
While the GCHA specializes in midbass and is very tight and controlled, the Melos is very full and powerful in the last octave. The GCHA is rolled off in the last octave. The deepest organ pedals come through loud and clear with the Melos and sound like they are just hinted at by the GCHA.
I guess you can surmise that I like the sound of tubes, and for me a good tube rig just pulls more music from the source than solid state. This remains true for me with the GCHA. So, if you are really a fan of good solid state, the GCHA may be your ticket to heaven. But if you have a Tube Jones, the GCHA may not feed your need. It also could be improved in the lowest bass, and obscures another layer of detail and air.
I recently figured out how to connect my HD650s directly to my preamp, and the results have been revelatory. My preamp has output transformers and more than enough juice to drive the HD650s. Plus the HD650s have an impedance of 65 ohms, which is quite close to the 75 ohms the preamp is expecting. I'll comment more on this topic layer. But the sound is in a completely different league than the Melos.
Happy Listening!
[Edit] Here are a couple of crappy photos of the rig.
