fewtch
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2003
- Posts
- 9,559
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- 37
Note -- this is truly a "first impressions" thread, not a review. I have listened to the amp for a total of about thirty minutes so far, with selections from three or four different CDs. It's already well broken-in, having had at least two owners over the course of as many years.
First off, I'd like to say that the fit and finish on this amp is awesome. I thought from the pictures that it looked a little bit "DIY-ish" compared to the most recent iteration of the GLite, but I was wrong. Justin was getting it right from the start, and it's hard to imagine how the latest model can improve too much on what I have on my hands here (other than the loop out and upgraded circuit board/caps). I expect the v1 represents the Headamp Gilmore Lite sound well, despite aforementioned improvements.
I will include a picture, but to be honest the amp looks about ten times better in real life. The body of the amp is soft brushed-aluminum silver, and the knob and headphone jack are sharp chrome-type silver... a great choice IMO as the eyes go immediately to what they need to see... either the jack to plug in phones, or the (smooth as silk turning) volume knob. The bright blue LED is nice, although I'm a "red LED guy." The whole thing is smaller and more compact than what you might imagine from the picture.
I don't know if Justin has improved the volume pot in the Lite v2 (didn't he say so?) but I don't understand what needed improving. I tried listening at a very low volume, and the two channels remain well balanced. The feel of the knob turning is very nice, with a certain weight/heft and smoothness reminiscent of classy hi-fi gear from the 70s. I guess my only complaint is that it's a little bit on the small side and "slippery" (not that easy to get a good grip on while turning).
The amp gets quite warm, as a result of class "A" operation. Almost hot, in fact. It's easy to see why an all-metal case is essential to this design.
As far as the sound goes, what you guys may have heard about clarity and transparency is true. This amp has made me realize that others I've owned have been mid-fi... albeit well done and good sounding mid-fi.
The Gilmore Lite passes on the music from the source it's connected to. And it's absolutely ruthless!
Using my Pimeta with OPA627s (a warm/romantic but somewhat muffled sounding amp) I'd suspected I had a decent source in the Denon DCM-370 CD player. Thankfully the Gilmore Lite has verified this. This is not an amp you want to use with a mediocre source. It hides nothing and adds a minimum of its own 'sound', unlike a lot of amps out there. Make sure that's what you want before you drop the cash on one of Justin's latest sweeties.
I feel that the Lite matches pretty well with my Beyer DT880s. The highs can be a little sharper and more crystallized than with a warmer amp like a Pimeta, but the fact is that you're hearing the music as it really is, rather than a romanticized interpretation of it. Nothing wrong with the latter, it's just not my main audio goal. Despite the clearer highs, I seem to have chosen my source well; there's still no sonic fatigue evident on long term listening, but those more realistic highs will take a little getting used to. Poor recordings are more evident as such with this amp.
A much blacker background (than the Pimeta) and greater transparency was immediately evident in the fact that every song is sounding different -- the Pimeta imparts a certain sameness that, while good sounding, homogenizes things somewhat. In other words, the OPA627s and BUF634 buffers in the Pimeta have a "sound" that's always present no matter what you're listening to. The Gilmore appears to have no such built-in sound, although on a more subtle level there are many comments to be made about soundstage, mids, dynamics, etc. But that's for another thread, after I've listened quite a bit longer.
Justin (Headamp) and Kevin Gilmore have a real winner in the Gilmore Lite. Thanks Justin for this piece of high end gear I have sitting on top of my CD player (and thanks again to meat01 for selling me the amp, $165 shipped is quite a bargain for what I ended up getting). In audio, going with my intuition has always lead me true, and it was worth putting off my K701 purchase in order to pick up an amp more worthy of what I'll be getting.
First off, I'd like to say that the fit and finish on this amp is awesome. I thought from the pictures that it looked a little bit "DIY-ish" compared to the most recent iteration of the GLite, but I was wrong. Justin was getting it right from the start, and it's hard to imagine how the latest model can improve too much on what I have on my hands here (other than the loop out and upgraded circuit board/caps). I expect the v1 represents the Headamp Gilmore Lite sound well, despite aforementioned improvements.
I will include a picture, but to be honest the amp looks about ten times better in real life. The body of the amp is soft brushed-aluminum silver, and the knob and headphone jack are sharp chrome-type silver... a great choice IMO as the eyes go immediately to what they need to see... either the jack to plug in phones, or the (smooth as silk turning) volume knob. The bright blue LED is nice, although I'm a "red LED guy." The whole thing is smaller and more compact than what you might imagine from the picture.
I don't know if Justin has improved the volume pot in the Lite v2 (didn't he say so?) but I don't understand what needed improving. I tried listening at a very low volume, and the two channels remain well balanced. The feel of the knob turning is very nice, with a certain weight/heft and smoothness reminiscent of classy hi-fi gear from the 70s. I guess my only complaint is that it's a little bit on the small side and "slippery" (not that easy to get a good grip on while turning).
The amp gets quite warm, as a result of class "A" operation. Almost hot, in fact. It's easy to see why an all-metal case is essential to this design.
As far as the sound goes, what you guys may have heard about clarity and transparency is true. This amp has made me realize that others I've owned have been mid-fi... albeit well done and good sounding mid-fi.
The Gilmore Lite passes on the music from the source it's connected to. And it's absolutely ruthless!
I feel that the Lite matches pretty well with my Beyer DT880s. The highs can be a little sharper and more crystallized than with a warmer amp like a Pimeta, but the fact is that you're hearing the music as it really is, rather than a romanticized interpretation of it. Nothing wrong with the latter, it's just not my main audio goal. Despite the clearer highs, I seem to have chosen my source well; there's still no sonic fatigue evident on long term listening, but those more realistic highs will take a little getting used to. Poor recordings are more evident as such with this amp.
A much blacker background (than the Pimeta) and greater transparency was immediately evident in the fact that every song is sounding different -- the Pimeta imparts a certain sameness that, while good sounding, homogenizes things somewhat. In other words, the OPA627s and BUF634 buffers in the Pimeta have a "sound" that's always present no matter what you're listening to. The Gilmore appears to have no such built-in sound, although on a more subtle level there are many comments to be made about soundstage, mids, dynamics, etc. But that's for another thread, after I've listened quite a bit longer.
Justin (Headamp) and Kevin Gilmore have a real winner in the Gilmore Lite. Thanks Justin for this piece of high end gear I have sitting on top of my CD player (and thanks again to meat01 for selling me the amp, $165 shipped is quite a bargain for what I ended up getting). In audio, going with my intuition has always lead me true, and it was worth putting off my K701 purchase in order to pick up an amp more worthy of what I'll be getting.
