[Brighten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Then demo the Gold Point amp, cause it is on par with the GS1, and cost less too.

Anything you say I don't take seriously.

 

[gevorg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brighten /img/forum/go_quote.gif I haven't heard the Audio-GD C2C, but with the recent FOTM here I feel a cult of personality has gathered around Audio-GD components. Not to disregard the credibility of the owners of these things, but I think a certain level of skepticism should be taken when considering the opinions of others who claim a performance level on par with the GS-1.

Just because something is FOTM (in C2C's case its more like FOTY), doesn't mean that its users have a "cult personality". Glite was a FOTM too just a few years ago until better amps emerged. I agree, a certain level of skepticism is always good to have when reading gear reviews.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brighten /img/forum/go_quote.gif One example doesn't necessarily lower the bar. Finding a cheap transformer-coupled amplifier leaves you little to consider when trying to power low impedance headphones. What other tube amps besides the Woo Audio 6 can you suggest?

Whatever the bar is, its in the eye of the beholder. I'm not a tube guy, can't really give you suggestions. WA6 was just one of the tube amps I evaluated for my setup. You might find Skylab's list of 19 tube amps interesting.

 

[justin w.]

Since I began making the Gilmore Lite, the quality has improved significantly, and the cost of parts has gone up about 50%. The reason for the increase now is because I only have an extremely limited number of Gilmore Lites left that I can build, and I will not order more parts and I'm not working on a replacement.

 

[MomijiTMO]

And there is your answer.

Why have the costs increased so much? Is there some kind of global shortage from the gfc etc? I know there was a laser shortage during the first half of the year.

 

[Brighten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MomijiTMO /img/forum/go_quote.gif And there is your answer. Why have the costs increased so much? Is there some kind of global shortage from the gfc etc? I know there was a laser shortage during the first half of the year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin w. /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since I began making the Gilmore Lite, the quality has improved significantly, and the cost of parts has gone up about 50%. The reason for the increase now is because I only have an extremely limited number of Gilmore Lites left that I can build, and I will not order more parts and I'm not working on a replacement.

.

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MomijiTMO /img/forum/go_quote.gif And there is your answer. Why have the costs increased so much? Is there some kind of global shortage from the gfc etc? I know there was a laser shortage during the first half of the year.

Inflation is part of it, so is declining dollar value, also when I was beginning to build this amp I had just started working with a guy who had opened his own machine shop...larger machine shops were not interested in work of my size. With his inexperience in running the shop he gave me prices that were far too low, and today I pay as much as 4x for some of the parts as I did then, and he also has some employees and expenses that didn't exist at that time. In hindsight it worked out well for both of us because I'm the shop's 4th best customer and I told him if he hadn't given me those very low prices several years ago I never would have been able to get to get off the ground

 

[h.rav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gevorg /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're talking so 2005ish. With the horde of new Chinese amps in the last few years, buying Glite doesn't make sense anymore. For example, take a look at Audio-GD C2C. Its priced cheaper than Glite but has the performance on the level of GS-1 (if not better).

I disagree, the C2C is not on the same level as GS-1.
I've heard the C2C, it sounds decent at its price, but not at the level of GS-1. I would still pick GL w/ Elpac over C2C. If you look into the build quality, all HeadAmp products are superior to any Audio-gd products, just look at the soldering job. Btw, I own 2 Audio-gd products and one HeadAmp product.

 

[MomijiTMO]

Thanks for your post Justin

. Glad it worked for as long as it did.

 

[gevorg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by h.rav /img/forum/go_quote.gif I disagree, the C2C is not on the same level as GS-1. I've heard the C2C, it sounds decent at its price, but not at the level of GS-1. I would still pick GL w/ Elpac over C2C. If you look into the build quality, all HeadAmp products are superior to any Audio-gd products, just look at the soldering job. Btw, I own 2 Audio-gd products and one HeadAmp product.

Sorry, but these kind of statements put a shadow on your impressions of C2C vs Glite/GS1. As for the build and soldering quality, both HeadAmp and Audio-Gd look top notch, but I'm no engineer to judge. HeadAmp does have a better external design than any Audio-gd product though.

 

[h.rav]

^ Sorry but I don't count build quality into sound quality judgement.

Edit : What I meant with the bold words is HeadAmp has better build quality, especially the internal.

 

[episiarch]

@justin_w.: Do you foresee the GS-1 and GS-X being similarly close to EOL?

 

[nattonrice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gevorg /img/forum/go_quote.gif As for the build and soldering quality, both HeadAmp and Audio-Gd look top notch, but I'm no engineer to judge.

As long as the solder joints where the components meet the board are mechanically solid (no cold solder joints ect) then there is nothing technically wrong with how the audio-gd stuff is assembled.

It is the component alignment (box film caps ect) that just looks... poor.
Perhaps showing the haste in which the unit was constructed (by hand).
An entry level diy'er could do a much better job but, then again they are not running to meet a supply deadline.

From internal photos I've seen of both audio-gd and HeadAmp it looks as if a lot (!) more care is given to the construction process of the HeadAmp gear.

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by episiarch /img/forum/go_quote.gif @justin_w.: Do you foresee the GS-1 and GS-X being similarly close to EOL?

No

 

[MellowVelo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif One thing is, he doesn't really do custom work, unless you count adding SA's to GS-1s or case color choices as custom work. When I used the word custom I was thinking in terms of SP level customization (ie: many many combos that yield a singular product).

Forgive my ignorance (I'm relatively new here), but what are SAs, and what would be the benefit of adding them to the amp? Also, what is SP level customization? Thanks!

 

[nattonrice]

SA means Stepped Attenuator = a type discrete volume control (vs continuous control like a standard pot).

SP means Single Power = a disaster. You're best to just search around to find out about this particular charlie fox.