Getting a GS-X

[Dreadhead]

Well after months of looking around and much oscillation I'm going to get a Headamp GS-X, balanced HD-650's and a DAC1.

Now all I have to do is wait until March!

 

[vcoheda]

should be a nice setup. i think march for a gsx is probably optimistic though. also, what bal cable for the 650.

 

[pianomav]

Way to go! Go for the top

.. I actually had the same setup as yours (dac1->gs-x->hd650/equinox) and it was very good. I still believe balanced is the way to go... I would recommend to get some nice, good quality IC and headphone cable upgrades to go along with this great setup. DAC1 and gs-x are great components, you don't want to compromise on cables.

 

[warubozu]

Congrats on making the leap for the GS-X, a great sounding amp and I'm still loving mines. Many comments have been made that a pair of balanced 650's and the GS-X is an awesome combo.

 

[Dreadhead]

Well I've got my fingers crossed but Justin said "about" 8 weeks so we shall see.

As far as cables go I'm just going to go with the Headroom Fat Pipe Balanced cable for the 650's (if it's long enough) and the balanced interconnect that they sell. I put up a post earlier (1 or 2 days ago) about the frequency response of cables (I did some calculations) and I can't see how they make that any difference as long as the connection is good. I'll go to the next Head-fi meet in my area and if someone can get me to notice the difference then I'll think about upgrading.

This is going to be a long 8 weeks....

it's like buying stuff for the house all over again.

 

[kugino]

i have a gs-x coming soon, too...still working on getting a balanced pair of rs-1, but that might be fixed very soon.

what balanced ICs are you guys using? i have an opus DAC also coming soon...

any word on justin's MOSFET modules? part of my reasoning for selling off my sig30 is the expectation that the gs-x w/the new modules will be able to drive the k1000 well enough. perhaps not as well as a dedicated power amp, but well enough...any thoughts?

 

[Dreadhead]

I don't know the details of what's going on re the MOFSET, I'd not heard that there was a change in the pipe but considering Justin's reputation I'm sure it's an improvement.

I picked the amp for its reputation for driving the the HD650 with very high accuracy. I sure hope that it works out for you with the K1000's but it sounds like you should talk to Justin about driving your load if you're concerned. I'm hoping to hear the k1000's some day, maybe at a meet.

Note that I'm getting the Fat Pipe cable to really see the difference between balanced and unbalanced because it comes with that adapter.

Man it's going to be a long couple months....

 

[twsmith]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreadhead /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well after months of looking around and much oscillation I'm going to get a Headamp GS-X, balanced HD-650's and a DAC1. Now all I have to do is wait until March!

I'm also thinking seriously of getting a GS-X -- I'm already using the DAC1/USB with a GS-1 and K701s, which is a really great combination, but I'm looking to go that extra step further to audio nirvana. I'll probably keep the SE K701s but since I like them so much, I will probably order another pr with balanced cables. I would be interested in anyone's thoughts about good but cost-effective (not cheap) balanced ICs that I can use between the DAC1 and GSX.

I agree that March could be an unrealistic wait period for a GS-X -- it took about 10 weeks to get my GS-1 and just a little more for the AE-2. Does 10 weeks sound about right or is perhaps 3-4 months a more likely scenario for the GS-X these days?

 

[Dreadhead]

Hey I realise that it's unrealistic, Justin emailed me and told me 8 weeks or so today so I'm guessing 10-12 from but hoping for 8.

I'll be using the DiMarzio XLR interconnects from Headroom. I figure if they use them on their Wadia player they can't be bad.

 

[pianomav]

As far as IC, i thought the SignalCable referece silver xlr was pretty good. Depends on if you want copper or silver but since gs-x is known for being transparent, silver cables are a good match imho.

 

[warrior05]

Another GS-X wannabe here.

Do you get a color choice? I really would like mine in black.

 

[pianomav]

Only comes in black.... i think. I've never seen any other colors.

 

[chouman]

silver as well i believe

 

[kugino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pianomav /img/forum/go_quote.gif Only comes in black.... i think. I've never seen any other colors.

i was hoping for the aluminum/silver color, but i'd only seen black, too. my opus is aluminum...oh well.

i used to have the GS-1/k701 combo fed by the da100...it was a very clean and almost sterile combination. thumping, accurate, and clear, but i always felt like there was just a bit of warmth missing. and the da100 is warmer than the dac1, i believe.

i always thought that the gs-x would do well with the k1000 b/c justin has those two paired together on his website...granted, many here who have heard the combination say that it's not as good as a dedicated power amp. i think the mosfets will help, but maybe not that much...we'll see. in any case, i'll probably get to compare the gs-x/k1000 to the sig30/k1000 soon...anyone in the phoenix area have a beta22 that i could listen to?

 

[pianomav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chouman /img/forum/go_quote.gif silver as well i believe

I think you're right. I remember someone posted a picture of a stack of headamps (gs-1,gs-x, glite) and they are all in silver. I think it was on the pico pictures thread...