[drxpert]

I have a budget of around 400 for a home amp and I've been looking at the Heed Canamp and GLite. My concern is that I need a gain switch for use with my etys and beyers, something that doesn't seem to be available on those 2 amps. Would the hornet be comparable in performance with these home amps? Or would Justin be able to install a gain switch in the GLite?

 

[`Black]

I think with the Etys the Hornet is absolutely comparable to the Canamp and GLite but with your Beyers they would be a better choice imo. But my HD650 sounds really good with the hornet @high gain and it has fantastic synergy with my UM2s, so if you want to use it with both headphones the hornet is a good choice and you can use it on the way.

 

[daggerlee]

You could always buy an impedance adapter, I use my Etys with both a 75 and a 100 ohm impedance adapter and they sound great from my Heed.

 

[jmmtn4aj]

Why not just adjust the volume pot to compensate?

 

[drxpert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmmtn4aj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why not just adjust the volume pot to compensate?

I listen at low volumes and my ears are very sensitive to channel imbalance. With just one gain setting my etys might become unlistenable

, which is the case with my LD2+ now.

 

[jmmtn4aj]

I'm listening to the GLite with the pot at 1st notch position using my A700s, about seven o'clock, and I detect no channel imbalance. Channel balance seems the same as I slowly raise the volume..

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmmtn4aj /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm listening to the GLite with the pot at 1st notch position using my A700s, about seven o'clock, and I detect no channel imbalance. Channel balance seems the same as I slowly raise the volume..

x2, never noticed any channel imbalance on GLite with high or low impedance headphones.

 

[drxpert]

Andrew, in your experience does the GLite with dps really come close to the performance of a GS-1? With the DACT, your GS-1 costs twice the GLite setup, and I'm curious about your usage frequency of both amps. When I got my LD2+ I found it hard to switch on my Supermini anymore.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

It might be ~90% of GS-1 if that's measurable.
The difference is quite marginal, but noticeable.
First of all it's better positioning and more expansive sound stage, I would blame that on DACT. And what I cannot explain, somehow GS-1 manages to sounds a tad warmer.
I use them both equally, GS-1 in home and GLite in office setup.

 

[Asr]

AFAIK, the GL can't be customized to be outfitted with a gain switch. I looked up the impedance rating for your ER4P and it's only 24 Ohms, so I think you should go with a battery-powered amp instead, as the Heed has a large gain setting (11x) and the GL doesn't really comfortably power <=24 Ohm headphones either (gets too loud too early). Hornet should be fine, but you might want to wait for the HeadAmp AE-2 as well, which is going to include a 3-way gain switch.