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

[jaywillin]

  plenty of power, i had the dt880 600ohm, i have my h10 right in the middle, whatever that is, lol

 
 

 
I plugged it in just for you. Gain setting is at +6 and it's louder then my HE 560 so it has more then enogh power to drive it. I also own MK IV SE but would need to do some A/B to really tell u which sounds better to me but i think Little Dot would win.

+6 is where i had my gain set

 

[normanl]

  plenty of power, i had the dt880 600ohm, i have my h10 right in the middle, whatever that is, lol

What is your gain setting in H10? It appears that I don't need to purchase tube amp.

 

[jaywillin]

  What is your gain setting in H10? It appears that I don't need to purchase tube amp.

+6
no, you wouldn't NEED a tube amp, but tubes are nice

 

[normanl]

   
 
+6 is where i had my gain set

Sorry that I somehow did not see your answer on the gain setting. Thank you. I'd appreciate much if you AB H10 and LD MK IV SE with DT880-600 and let me know the result, for the current sale of LD MK IV SE on Massdrop will end tomorrow. If it match better than H10, I'll buy it.

 

[jaywillin]

  Sorry that I somehow did not see your answer on the gain setting. Thank you. I'd appreciate much if you AB H10 and LD MK IV SE with DT880-600 and let me know the result, for the current sale of LD MK IV SE on Massdrop will end tomorrow. If it match better than H10, I'll buy it.

sorry, i've never heard the  ld mk iv se

 

[tommo21]

+6 in Gain is actually +14db,as standard gain is 8db with no switches engaged. Max gain is 20db if +12 is toggled.

 

[wwmhf]

  Does H10 supply enough power to drive DT880-600 ohm, and what is the optimum gain setting ? Or does DT880-600 match better with tube amps, such as Little Dot MK IV SE? Thanks for any input.

 
H10 does bring some life into my DT880 compared with some of my other amps. However,  DT880-600 is picky and I think it sounds better on amps such as Valhalla 2. 

 

[tvnosaint]

I'd add that if you want tubes in your chain, do it in the amp. Tube dacs run pretty expensive. At least the ones I know about .tube buffer is an add on possibility .

 

[Koolpep]

Happy to report that my old and trusted H10 will re re-acquired from its current owner (I agreed on first dips) - so yeah, I will be swabbing on the MS Gustard again soon.

Now since I owned it the whole opamp rolling craze started so, man, do I have to catch up with things now.

Cheers,
K

 

[olek]

Hello @Koolpep - welcome back!
 
Yes, there is quite some info here about opamp swabbing, that is right!

 

[wwmhf]

  Sorry that I somehow did not see your answer on the gain setting. Thank you. I'd appreciate much if you AB H10 and LD MK IV SE with DT880-600 and let me know the result, for the current sale of LD MK IV SE on Massdrop will end tomorrow. If it match better than H10, I'll buy it.

 
LD MK IV SE might have a better probability to sound better through DT880-600 and LD MK IV SE does have a good reputation. In addition, the price on Massdrop is amazing. My only concern is the availability of the tube (correct me if I am wrong about this, please)

 

[olek]

  Does H10 supply enough power to drive DT880-600 ohm, and what is the optimum gain setting ? Or does DT880-600 match better with tube amps, such as Little Dot MK IV SE? Thanks for any input.

 
Listening to DT880-600 right now on my newly re-cabled/re-sourced system, and they sound slightly better to me out of BH Crack/Speedball than H10, but difference is so small I can not even put it together well... a bit more musical? a tiny bit better defined bass slam? tiny bit shinier highs? Of course, it is all subject to tubes/opamps used, and again - difference is miniscule. Interconnects used to feed an amp will make much bigger difference than that. Seriously. And as for volume, H10 can drive DT880 loud enough to damage your eardrums.
 
Surprisingly, I find now that I prefer T70 out of Crack compared to H10, and difference is a bit larger than that with DT880. Highs have noticeably more sparkle and lows are ... more 'taut', overall music has better definition on good recordings. Most likely those sparkly highs will become a curse on bad recordings, and for marathon listening, H10 probably is still a better/safer choice. Still, for good recording and shorter sessions... Crack + T70 is seriously good sound.
 
On the other hand, Crack + 400i is really bad, and H10 + 400i is sublime.
 
Synergy be damned.

 

[Koolpep]

   
Listening to DT880-600 right now on my newly re-cabled/re-sourced system, and they sound slightly better to me out of BH Crack/Speedball than H10, but difference is so small I can not even put it together well... a bit more musical? a tiny bit better defined bass slam? tiny bit shinier highs? Of course, it is all subject to tubes/opamps used, and again - difference is miniscule. Interconnects used to feed an amp will make much bigger difference than that. Seriously. And as for volume, H10 can drive DT880 loud enough to damage your eardrums.
 
Surprisingly, I find now that I prefer T70 out of Crack compared to H10, and difference is a bit larger than that with DT880. Highs have noticeably more sparkle and lows are ... more 'taut', overall music has better definition on good recordings. Most likely those sparkly highs will become a curse on bad recordings, and for marathon listening, H10 probably is still a better/safer choice. Still, for good recording and shorter sessions... Crack + T70 is seriously good sound.
 
On the other hand, Crack + 400i is really bad, and H10 + 400i is sublime.
 
Synergy be damned.

My experience too with the HD650 and T90. +1
 
But for the Crack with 400i - the crack has an output impedance of 150 Ohm - driving headphones with 50 Ohms or less most likely ends with them sounding like poop.
 
The Crack is made for high impedance cans; 250 Ohms and up. It also has not much power in the lower Ohm range....
 
However, depending on your headphones, some do work ok without the rule of thumb of 1:8 damping factor. (meaning the output impedance of the amp should be 1/8th of the headphones impedance).
 
cheers,
K

 

[jaywillin]

   
LD MK IV SE might have a better probability to sound better through DT880-600 and LD MK IV SE does have a good reputation. In addition, the price on Massdrop is amazing. My only concern is the availability of the tube (correct me if I am wrong about this, please)

 
there are various ways to get tubes, new, and NOS

 

[BassDigger]

  Does H10 supply enough power to drive DT880-600 ohm, and what is the optimum gain setting ? Or does DT880-600 match better with tube amps, such as Little Dot MK IV SE? Thanks for any input.

 
This is the H10's key strength. No, not excellent synergy with the DT880, but it's ability to drive virtually any headphone; whether the headphone needs current (low impedance <100ohm) or voltage (high impedance >150ohm), the H10 can pump out the required electricity, volts and/or current. It's only with the most demanding 'phones (HE6), that need speaker amp levels of power, that you'd be better off with another amp, for electrical power/drive reasons.
 
Does the H10 have good synergy, as in match well sonically, with ?????? headphones? That's another conversation.
 
Gain setting (DIP switches), on the H10, has nothing to with changing the actual electrical driving abilities (and should not be confused with the adjustable output impedance, that some amps have), as I understand it. It just changes the pre amplification, inside the amp.
The purpose is to give you adjustment in the usable volume range, for different sensitivity 'phones (or IEMs). E.g. with some uber sensitive 'phones, you could have a usable volume range of just up to around the 8 O'clock position (9 O'clock would be too loud). This would only allow you about 30 degrees of turn in your volume knob. This would severely limit your fine tuning of the volume level. The DIP switches (gain setting) allows you to find a setting so you can maitain a 'normal' range (e.g. 8 to 1 O'clock) of volume control, with the different types of 'phones, that this amp can drive.
On top of this, some people have found a difference in sound signature, between the different settings.
 

I'd add that if you want tubes in your chain, do it in the amp. Tube dacs run pretty expensive. At least the ones I know about .tube buffer is an add on possibility .

 
The problem is that tube output stages, in dacs, are rare and therefore, expensive. There are many more tube amps available. But, to get a good tube amp also isn't cheap. 
 
A tube buffer is another idea. It's a bit like a tubed amp or dac output. Read again: 'tubed'. It depends what the tubes are doing. A tube amp (or a tube output stage) means that the tubes are a working part of the signal path; generally replacing what a transistor/solid state component would be doing. A tubed component is more like something added (such as a tube buffer). Perhaps to 'add some tube magic to the sound'. It's not the same thing, and is generally there to make up for some underlying weakness/problem/unpleasantness in the signal path.
 
But saying that, perhaps a tube buffer (an additional component between source and H10 amp) would be a good idea, for some. The reason is the issues that some have with getting the best out of the H10's input; some people have found that double amping helps, where actually, the second amp is acting as the buffer amp, helping the input into the H10. This is a tube buffer's design purpose. But, as I said; this is to overcome an existing problem. A proper solution is to have a better output stage (in the dac) and/or a better input stage, in the amp. Not extra components (buffers).
 
Generally though, proper tube components are a good idea; tubes have a lot of advantages over solid state (transistors) which, when properly implemented, should give better sq (more natural and realistic, not a 'tube' sound!).
 

My experience too with the HD650 and T90. +1
 
But for the Crack with 400i - the crack has an output impedance of 150 Ohm - driving headphones with 50 Ohms or less most likely ends with them sounding like poop.
 
The Crack is made for high impedance cans; 250 Ohms and up. It also has not much power in the lower Ohm range....
 
However, depending on your headphones, some do work ok without the rule of thumb of 1:8 damping factor. (meaning the output impedance of the amp should be 1/8th of the headphones impedance).
 
cheers,
K

 
Welcome back.
 
I can't remember; do we know the output impedance of the H10? (Annoyingly, amp manufacturers ALWAYS quote the advised transducer input impedance, where it says "output impedance"!!!).
Well whatever. It's sure to be quite low, hence it's generally good synergy with planars, and well beyond any 1:8 rule of thumb, for higher impedance Senns and Beyers etc.