GUSTARD H10 High-current Discrete Class A output Stage Headphone Amplifier

[No_One411]

 
I'm enjoying my Gustard H10 with all three of these headphones. 
 
For the price and how good it sounds, I have very little complaints. 

 

[zilch0md]

 
 
I'm enjoying my Gustard H10 with all three of these headphones. 
 
For the price and how good it sounds, I have very little complaints. 

 
Thanks for this recommendation.  Which DAC do you use with the H10 and HD800?
 
Mike

 

[No_One411]

   
Thanks for this recommendation.  Which DAC do you use with the H10 and HD800?
 
Mike

Hi Mike, 
 
I use the H10 with Anedio D2, ODAC, and Geek Out 720 at the moment. 
 
Anedio D2 sounds the best to me, and the Geek Out 720 edges out the ODAC. Very happy with all of them with the H10 and HD800. 
 
With the +6 dB preamp gain on the back of the Gustard H10, I'm at around 9 o'clock on the volume knob. This amp has so much flexible power available it's ridiculous. 
 
For whatever reason, the balanced line out from the Anedio D2 into the Gustard H10 XLR inputs sounds a bit different, a bit more dynamic with a little bit wider soundstage, but might be my imagination. I try not to worry about it too much. The combo sounds great to my ears. 
 
The H10 and HD800 did sound a little bit thin when I first received the unit, but it sounds great now. Might be brain burn in or just me getting used to the sound. 
 
Hope this helps. I haven't had the amp for a long time, but I am very satisfied with it.

 

[zilch0md]

^ Interesting!
 
In your opinion, would you say that the HD800 sounds better with the GO 720 Line Out to your ODAC or with the HD800 plugged directly into the GO 720 Headphone Out?
 
I'm asking, because a lot of people say the HD800 sounds great from the GO 720 or 1000 Headphone Out, but I've always wondered - is it the GO's DAC that's responsible for their satisfaction or the amp?
 
This would help me get a better feel for what you wrote, above.
 
By the way, Flysweep has both the H10 and the GO 1000, but he doesn't currently have the HD800 - and its the HD800 I'm curious about for use with the H10.
 
Also of interest is your statement that the H10 is improving with time - that's definitely FlwSweep's conclusion, as well.  Apparently, you will enjoy it getting better and better for a while yet.
 
Thanks!
 
Mike

 

[No_One411]

  ^ Interesting!
 
In your opinion, would you say that the HD800 sounds better with the GO 720 Line Out to your ODAC or with the HD800 plugged directly into the GO 720 Headphone Out?
 
I'm asking, because a lot of people say the HD800 sounds great from the GO 720 or 1000 Headphone Out, but I've always wondered - is it the GO's DAC that's responsible for their satisfaction or the amp?
 
This would help me get a better feel for what you wrote, above.
 
By the way, Flysweep has both the H10 and the GO 1000, but he doesn't currently have the HD800 - and its the HD800 I'm curious about for use with the H10.
 
Also of interest is your statement that the H10 is improving with time - that's definitely FlwSweep's conclusion, as well.  Apparently, you will enjoy it getting better and better for a while yet.
 
Thanks!
 
Mike

Hmmm, don't know about GO 720 line out to ODAC, but GO 720 line out to H10 sounds great. I generally don't plug in the HD800 directly into the GO 720 since I'm using the stock cable and don't like using adapters. The couple of times I did try it, the HD800 sounded fine straight from the GO 720. A little rough in the treble, but nothing outrageous.
 
For me at least, the GO's DAC implementation is the key. I've found that even the Vali sounds better to me out of the GO instead of the GO directly. Also, I can only speak for the 720 unit, and I'm not sure if there are any other differences between each variation other than power. That's not to say that the amplifier portion of the GO is bad by any means, I simply use it more for the DAC and use an external amp from the line out.
 
With regards to the H10 improving over time, what I mean with that statement was that I initially enjoyed the Vali with the HD800 over the H10, when I first received the amp, but would have taken the H10 over the Vali for planar magnetic headphones. Now, a couple of weeks since I received the amp, I find myself simply plugging everything into the H10 and leaving the poor Vali sitting cold on my desk. It could be a number of things, but I am starting the enjoy the H10 a lot more than when I first received the amp. Noise may be a factor as well, since the H10 has a much lower noise floor than the Vali, which still hums during startup even after the muting relay is shutdown.

 

[zilch0md]

Thanks for answering!  Sooner or later, I think I'll have to try an H10...

 

[bala]

Has anybody else pulled the trigger for the H10, this thread seems to lack the usual "hype-drive" associated with Headfi gear threads 

. Though I take that as a good sign!

 

[No_One411]

  Has anybody else pulled the trigger for the H10, this thread seems to lack the usual "hype-drive" associated with Headfi gear threads 

. Though I take that as a good sign!

I think people are a little bit wary of purchasing something made in China that looks very similar to Violectric amps...
 
It's a shame since the amp does sound fantastic. I think I may be one of 2-3 people with this amp at the moment, and I lack the motivation to push this to hype status. 

 

[FlySweep]

My apologies for not giving more impressions on this amp.. consider my silence as a very big compliment to the H10.. even after two plus months of continuous/daily use, I'd rather listen with it than type about it (LOL).
 
Really though.. it's a wonderful amp.. to my ears, it took a good 100 hours or so to "open up."  The soundstage is really spacious, but accurate.  What I love most about this amp (aside from the soundstage and lack of grainy resolution) is that's it's able to sound very neutral and transparent.. yet remain wonderfully full bodied and natural (in terms of timbre).  If you associate the words "cold" & "clinical" sounding with "neutral" amplifiers, I'm confident your opinion will change after you use this amp.  I've found the H10 to pair exceedingly well with the LCD-2/F and HE-560.. and am quite confident it'll sound great with all the other well-regarded planars of today.  I recently decided to get the HD650 (again) so I'll provide impressions on that pairing as well.. but again, based on how well it's sounded with everything else I've tossed at the H10, I highly doubt the HD 650 will sound anything less than terrific.
 
As I've said before.. I've heard and/or owned a lot of solid state amps.. many impressed me.. but over time, some flaw or quality revealed itself to me and eventually became distracting enough that I had to jettison the amp.  After having (heavily) used the H10 for the better part of nearly three months, I'm honestly hard pressed to find anything I don't like about it.  It's might not wow you with "wiz bang" fireworks, but for me, I've always been more impressed with solid state amps that tend to do fewer things wrong than try to get everything right. The H10 does just that.

 

[Kyno]

  My apologies for not giving more impressions on this amp.. consider my silence as a very big compliment to the H10.. even after two plus months of continuous/daily use, I'd rather listen with it than type about it (LOL).
 
Really though.. it's a wonderful amp.. to my ears, it took a good 100 hours or so to "open up."  The soundstage is really spacious, but accurate.  What I love most about this amp (aside from the soundstage and lack of grainy resolution) is that's it's able to sound very neutral and transparent.. yet remain wonderfully full bodied and natural (in terms of timbre).  If you associate the words "cold" & "clinical" sounding with "neutral" amplifiers, I'm confident your opinion will change after you use this amp.  I've found the H10 to pair exceedingly well with the LCD-2/F and HE-560.. and am quite confident it'll sound great with all the other well-regarded planars of today.  I recently decided to get the HD650 (again) so I'll provide impressions on that pairing as well.. but again, based on how well it's sounded with everything else I've tossed at the H10, I highly doubt the HD 650 will sound anything less than terrific.
 
As I've said before.. I've heard and/or owned a lot of solid state amps.. many impressed me.. but over time, some flaw or quality revealed itself to me and eventually became distracting enough that I had to jettison the amp.  After having (heavily) used the H10 for the better part of nearly three months, I'm honestly hard pressed to find anything I don't like about it.  It's might not wow you with "wiz bang" fireworks, but for me, I've always been more impressed with solid state amps that tend to do fewer things wrong than try to get everything right. The H10 does just that.

 
Thanks a lot for the feedback!
 
Having the HD-650 on my head at the moment, I'll definitely be interested to hear more about the pairing. I was also thinking I might try orthos with the HE-560... this would come in handy.
 
I was hesitating with Garage 1217 Polaris, but I'm starting to be very curious about the H10.

 

[stuartmc]

You guys have me REALLY interested in this amp.  It can now be had for $356 delivered and that's ridiculously inexpensive for the build and sound quality you guys are talking about.  I have a DAC with balanced outputs coming soon and I've been searching for an affordable balanced amp to pair with it.  Since this one has beaucoup gain settings and can drive just about any headphones, I don't think I need to look much further.  My favorite cans right now are HD600's, so I too am anxious to hear FlySweep's take on the HD650 pairing.

 

[FlySweep]

I've been listening to the Paradox Slants w/ the H10 (and Geek Out 1000.. on the latest firmware) this evening.. I'm so impressed.. and more importantly, extremely satisfied with this combination.  The Paradox Slants are deceptively power hungry, too.. on standard (0 dB) pre-gain, the H10 boasts strikingly precise driver control and clarity  For being a closed phone, it's remarkable how "open" the Slants sound.. and the H10 does nothing but allow the Slants to completely "show off" in this regard.  I hear terrific instrument separation and layering that comes across in a very effortless manner.  Again, the words "grainless," "transparent," "resolving,"and "natural" keep coming to mind when I want to describe this amp.  The stage is vast and images impeccably well.  I love how detailed the treble is, yet it isn't harsh or peaky in the slightest.
 
I'm planning on sending my Slants on a CONUS tour (like I did with my original Paradox).. maybe I need to include the H10 with it?  

 

[cocolinho]

FlySweep

By coincidence I also own GO1000 and a set of Slants and I'm interested by this V200 clone... Reading your comments I will give a try.
So how big is the difference between GO1000 headphones out and GO1000 + H10? What is the biggest benefit?
Thanks

 

[stuartmc]

Hey FlySweep, you really know how to get the juices flowing - it's a gift brother and you've got it.  Back oh, about 18 years ago, my editor in chief at Positive Feedback magazine told me that I wrote some of the best "audio pornography" he had ever read....ha ha, that stuck with me, so whenever someone writes in a way that makes me take notice and get an audio chubby, I refer to it as audio porn that feeds the 'ole audiophilia nervosa.
 
I have been on a mission the past few days and I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on the H10.  The stuff I've found has been quite interesting and what I haven 't found has been equally intriguing. First, what I haven't found - there seems to be no company listing or home page for Gustard whatsoever. All the sellers use the same canned pictures, so I presume they came from somewhere, but where?!...for crying out loud.  Try searching the Chinese sites and blogs and you won't find any real reviews or extensive commentary on this product, nope, just the same group of five or six canned photos and the same specifications listing.
 
Ah, but the specifications listing and the picture of the guts inside does tell us something interesting.  It has already been mentioned that the H10 is a Violectric HPA-V200 clone, but just how much, I asked myself.  Well, there really is a chinese clone in every way and that would be the Accurate Audio HPA-A200 http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=19491833305&clk1=6a8dc56428b8a163a677f466eb440ce1&upsid=6a8dc56428b8a163a677f466eb440ce1.  Now that's what I call a clone! Ha ha.  The Gustard H10 pays homage to the V200 but isn't a complete knockoff.  In fact, they may have slightly improved on the design.  The specifications listing for the H10 is virtually identical to the listing of the V200-- so much so, that it's spooky. A careful look at the pics and basic parts shows many similarites, like the caps used, the gain switches, the phono jack, the Alps pot,etc., but the larger cabinet size has allowed them to use a more simplified and I think, elegant layout.  It has allowed them to double down on the transformers, with one for each channel, provided a straight row of caps, and placed the alps pot on the back of the board for a shorter signal path.  Now, whether these modificatons actually yield better sound is debatable and until someone can do a direct, level matched A/B, we may never know, but at least theoretically (and only on the surface), I believe the H10 to be the better design. I also like the understated faceplate design and the fashionista in me likes the way the black with white letters match my new Aune S16 balanced DAC. When you take into consideration that the same ebay seller that sold to FlySweep is now offering the H10 delivered for $352, this gets beyond interesting/intriguing and ventures into the realm of  the "stupid good."  
 
Geesh, I think I just gave myself an audio chubby. Better just buy it now.

 

[stuartmc]

....and I did! The PollyChen fellow from eBay seems to be responsive and wants to make a good name for his store, so we'll see how it goes. I'll report back when the H10 arrives.