GS Audio Impressions Thread
Sep 12, 2021 at 11:41 AM Post #647 of 1,414
Got GD3A, been listening for a month or so and today I noticed that treble was super-sharp with stock tips on certain tracks, when A/B-ing with Tin T2 and Kbear KS1. Due to the sharp treble, I couldn't really find a comfortable volume level. It was either too low, or too high.

Changed to Spinfit CP145 and the ear-piercing highs got fixed, otherwise I thought I might have had a defective unit.

I was mostly bothered by treble on these 2 tracks, so you can see for yourself:

The snare that comes in at the beginning:



Everything right from the beginning 😁:

 
Sep 12, 2021 at 1:39 PM Post #648 of 1,414
Some photos below as well. I went with a safe-ish shell design because I thought the gold spots etc. on some of them ones might look cheap in real life. But now I've seen more photos, I could have gone with something a bit louder as well, most of them look good. Maybe for the next pair.

Besides the treble issue that I fixed with eartips, I'm really enjoying GD3A and it is now my "reference" for any future IEMs that I purchase. For an upgrade, I'm interested in Aladdins, or something more advanced from the GS audio lineup. Just need to wait for more reviews to come in on the rest of their lineup.

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Sep 12, 2021 at 2:45 PM Post #649 of 1,414
For an upgrade, I'm interested in Aladdins, or something more advanced from the GS audio lineup. Just need to wait for more reviews to come in on the rest of their lineup.
gd3a.jpg

Aladdin is a good upgrade path, but it's not as fun sounding as the GD3A.

gd3a1.jpg


If you can stretch your budget, GS Audio SE11 will be a good option too with highly resolving Mids to Highs.
 
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Sep 12, 2021 at 2:53 PM Post #650 of 1,414
Cheers, and thanks for the advice :) yeah the SE11 is quite a stretch right now, but who knows where I'll be in 3 months with this journey. I'm mostly using IEMs on the move, and having $800 or whatever the SE11's cost lying around in my hoodie pocket might be a little stressful 😁 not that I often lose stuff, but still. Then there's the Mangird Tea as well, and who knows what else is dropping. Lots of choice these days, it's a fun hobby.
 
Sep 12, 2021 at 7:31 PM Post #651 of 1,414
I have finally received my SD9 :)

Impressions after a few hours are:
-Detailed, quite a lot of details.
-Fairly bright, neutral signature, good extension on both ends, cymbals do not sound truncated.
-Makes my Dunu SA6 sound warm and my Blessing 2 Dusk very bassy (after SD9 brain burn-in).
-Can verge on sibilant. Something in the high-mids / lower-treble can be fatiguing on some tracks (the 4-6 KHz bump that can be seen in the graph??)
-Likely not for treble sensitive listeners.
-Doesn't sound too "in my head" for an IEM.
-Bass level is relaxed, only slightly above neutral, just the way I like it (Blessing 2 Dusk is too bassy for me, by some considerable margin).
-Probably not enough bass for most listeners here, definitely not for bass-heads.
-Bass texture seems good with good punch.
-Bass reminds me of my Sundara, similar level, It's present when it's supposed to be and competent.
-Sub-bass is... I don't know, I don't listen to music with sub-bass. It goes low enough for me.
-Mids sound good as well and with the treble presence / extension, guitars and pianos sound very clear and clean.
-Overall, it sounds tight, detailed, punchy, bright (neutral), balanced (complete) and competent.
-It sound closer to a good studio monitor than a typical IEM / headphone with a "fun" signature.
-Not for everybody because of the neutral bass and the bright, potentially fatiguing signature.
-Cable is "meh".

2021-09-12 18-44-57.JPG
 
Sep 12, 2021 at 8:11 PM Post #652 of 1,414
Got GD3A, been listening for a month or so and today I noticed that treble was super-sharp with stock tips on certain tracks, when A/B-ing with Tin T2 and Kbear KS1. Due to the sharp treble, I couldn't really find a comfortable volume level. It was either too low, or too high.

Changed to Spinfit CP145 and the ear-piercing highs got fixed, otherwise I thought I might have had a defective unit.

I was mostly bothered by treble on these 2 tracks, so you can see for yourself:

The snare that comes in at the beginning:



Everything right from the beginning 😁:


I had the exact same problem. Treble is ultra sharp. Like, TOO sharp. And, becuase of that, sometimes the volume is too high, and sometimes is too low.

I just use the kz tips that come with any kz iem, so... they fit like a glove, but things are just too sharp. Wel... I'm trying to get used to it. One thing is for sure: my tinitus got way, WAY worse!

Still have my doubts if its better than the LZ A7.

One strange thing: I like it to watch movies and videos! The sharpness actually helps with dialogues!

DannyDanz, those musics that you posted actually... sounded perfect! The sharpness of the treble got way worse with music with better quality! So... I'm actually searching for a way to tame these treble!
 
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Sep 12, 2021 at 8:56 PM Post #653 of 1,414
I have finally received my SD9 :)

Impressions after a few hours are:
-Detailed, quite a lot of details.
-Fairly bright, neutral signature, good extension on both ends, cymbals do not sound truncated.
-Makes my Dunu SA6 sound warm and my Blessing 2 Dusk very bassy (after SD9 brain burn-in).
-Can verge on sibilant. Something in the high-mids / lower-treble can be fatiguing on some tracks (the 4-6 KHz bump that can be seen in the graph??)
-Likely not for treble sensitive listeners.
-Doesn't sound too "in my head" for an IEM.
-Bass level is relaxed, only slightly above neutral, just the way I like it (Blessing 2 Dusk is too bassy for me, by some considerable margin).
-Probably not enough bass for most listeners here, definitely not for bass-heads.
-Bass texture seems good with good punch.
-Bass reminds me of my Sundara, similar level, It's present when it's supposed to be and competent.
-Sub-bass is... I don't know, I don't listen to music with sub-bass. It goes low enough for me.
-Mids sound good as well and with the treble presence / extension, guitars and pianos sound very clear and clean.
-Overall, it sounds tight, detailed, punchy, bright (neutral), balanced (complete) and competent.
-It sound closer to a good studio monitor than a typical IEM / headphone with a "fun" signature.
-Not for everybody because of the neutral bass and the bright, potentially fatiguing signature.
-Cable is "meh".

2021-09-12 18-44-57.JPG

Thanks for the report.

Doesn't sound like they're for me unfortunately :/
 
Sep 13, 2021 at 6:15 AM Post #654 of 1,414
Listened today to SE12 and the first thing I noticed was how good those high frequency notes sound. It's phenomenal.
On the other hand, SE12 lacks a bit in separation capabilities.. specially compared to the SD11.
I would say the SD11 is best iem I've listened to in terms of separation and soundstage.
 

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Sep 13, 2021 at 6:41 AM Post #655 of 1,414
Listened today to SE12 and the first thing I noticed was how good those high frequency notes sound. It's phenomenal.
On the other hand, SE12 lacks a bit in separation capabilities.. specially compared to the SD11.
I would say the SD11 is best iem I've listened to in terms of separation and soundstage.

:)
 
Sep 13, 2021 at 7:21 AM Post #656 of 1,414
I have finally received my SD9 :)

Impressions after a few hours are:
-Detailed, quite a lot of details.
-Fairly bright, neutral signature, good extension on both ends, cymbals do not sound truncated.
-Makes my Dunu SA6 sound warm and my Blessing 2 Dusk very bassy (after SD9 brain burn-in).
-Can verge on sibilant. Something in the high-mids / lower-treble can be fatiguing on some tracks (the 4-6 KHz bump that can be seen in the graph??)
-Likely not for treble sensitive listeners.
-Doesn't sound too "in my head" for an IEM.
-Bass level is relaxed, only slightly above neutral, just the way I like it (Blessing 2 Dusk is too bassy for me, by some considerable margin).
-Probably not enough bass for most listeners here, definitely not for bass-heads.
-Bass texture seems good with good punch.
-Bass reminds me of my Sundara, similar level, It's present when it's supposed to be and competent.
-Sub-bass is... I don't know, I don't listen to music with sub-bass. It goes low enough for me.
-Mids sound good as well and with the treble presence / extension, guitars and pianos sound very clear and clean.
-Overall, it sounds tight, detailed, punchy, bright (neutral), balanced (complete) and competent.
-It sound closer to a good studio monitor than a typical IEM / headphone with a "fun" signature.
-Not for everybody because of the neutral bass and the bright, potentially fatiguing signature.
-Cable is "meh".

I would say you needd to give the Dynamic Driver a GOOD amount of burn in cos when i reached out too GS for a bass heavy iem said the SD9,ST10 & SE12 were VERY vast in both quality AND quantity! And they seem to be spot on cos "headphone supreme" ((i think that's his tag?) has the ST10 and said it has as huge bass floor and needed to tip & cable roll to tame it! Also, in regards to that treble spike? There's a guy on YouTube who has reviewed a few GS Audio iem's and he pointed out that the SD5 was an amazing IEM but the treble spike made it nearly unlistenable! But after some Foam tip & cable rolling it has pretty much sorted it out! Unfortunately I'm not sure which tips & cable he settled on? But if you search GS Audio reviews on YouTube he is pretty much the only one so he's easy to find.
Hope this helps?
 
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Sep 13, 2021 at 7:40 AM Post #657 of 1,414
iv been reaching out to GS for a total alternative to my Bravado mk2 for listening to Rock,Vocal,Ballad,Live ect which my Bravado mk2 is not the best at! I was set on the GD3A because of the reviews but wanted to know what the next step was with roughly the same Sound but better Technicalities and this was their answer.
hi
GD5 is a choice of fully upgraded style of GD3A

ST4 is better at details and sound stages, I more suggest you that

SD3 have more quality sound than GD3A, but in details not good as others two
- - - - - - -
Hope this helps others in my position? Also iv asked for a better comparison between ST4 & GD5 and any other alternative in the £150 range which will also suit my needs? so will come back with their answer once i have it?
Happy listening🎵🎵🎶🎶🎶🎶
 
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Sep 13, 2021 at 8:43 AM Post #658 of 1,414
Iv been studying some of the FR Graphs and the ST4 looks VERY much like like the SE12?
The SE12 just seems to have more energy in the upper treble which I'm sure is those EST's at work but, other than that they look very similar. I'm not as compittent reading graphs as some on hear and would love your thoughts? Im caught between the ST4 & GD5 but if those graphs are as similar as i think it will defo push me towards the ST4?
 
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Sep 13, 2021 at 9:51 AM Post #659 of 1,414
I would say you needd to give the Dynamic Driver a GOOD amount of burn in cos when i reached out too GS for a bass heavy iem said the SD9,ST10 & SE12 were VERY vast in both quality AND quantity! And they seem to be spot on cos "headphone supreme" ((i think that's his tag?) has the ST10 and said it has as huge bass floor and needed to tip & cable roll to tame it! Also, in regards to that treble spike? There's a guy on YouTube who has reviewed a few GS Audio iem's and he pointed out that the SD5 was an amazing IEM but the treble spike made it nearly unlistenable! But after some Foam tip & cable rolling it has pretty much sorted it out! Unfortunately I'm not sure which tips & cable he settled on? But if you search GS Audio reviews on YouTube he is pretty much the only one so he's easy to find.
Hope this helps?
Thanks. I'm surprised that GS Audio recommended the SD9 as a bass heavy IEM. Just by looking at the graph, it clearly isn't.
From my perspective, all the comments I've made about the bass are positive, I like neutral.
Regarding the foam tips, I would not want to kill the treble that is past the peak.
 
Sep 13, 2021 at 10:07 AM Post #660 of 1,414
GS Audio also recommended the SD9 and ST8B for bass heavy IEM. Maybe they just went for most expensive in my budget range lol.
 

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