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

[willowbrook]

The singes are no problem at whatever gain. The duals however are stable at +6 or +12.

 

[MachineGunz]

  @MachineGunz I think I understand what you are trying to say.
 
I owned (and used heavily) AD900 for a long time, and absolutely adored them (as I understand, AD900x are similar). You will NOT get 400i to sound like an improved version of AD900, they are very different phones.
AD900 had very wide soundstage, abnormally so. It was artificially wide. In some cases, it worked out (listening to symphonies), in some, not so much.
They also had some inherent strong grain, were light on bass (good quality, but light), and heavy on treble. I enjoyed them very much, but eventually moved on because grainy treble was giving me headache and achy ears after long sessions.
 
400i are known for their fairly 'closed' and 'narrow' soundstage - they are almost like closed headphones in that respect (hell, my closed T70 have better soundstage than 400i).
What you gain in exchange (with good amplification) is very smooth 'creamy' sound that is still fun and aggresive - there is not much grain to speak of. Also, bass is very nice, and treble is much better balanced.
Plus amount of details is higher. Also, bass and midrange have that characteristic 'planar' euphoric sound, most people like it. Ah, and they are amazing for long sessions - very low fatigue.
 
Again, 400i is not in same family of sound as AD900. If you are looking for improved version of AD900 (I was looking for that for a long time), DT880 or T70 are more like it.
 
Sorry if this is bad news for you, just want you to have realistic expectations. 400i are very good headphones, but they do not sound like AD900 at all.
 
P.S. I heard M50x briefly on friend's rig. Overpowering but flabby bass did not do it for me (but admittedly I am very sensitive to overdone bass, more than most). 400i are much more tasteful and detailed down there when amplified well - with H10, for example.
Ah, also, find out if Bursons lifetime warranty is transferable. If it is not, I would think twice given their failure rate in H10.

 
Thank you for your reply!
 
You HELPED me a lot! I now begin to understand how the 400i's sound.
 
I think your explanation on the AD900 is perfect!
 
From what I remember reading on the AD900 VS THE AD900X is that the treble on the 900X's is smoothed out, They never hurt my ears and the treble sounded incredibel
 
What I disliked about them was the lack of bass and impact. Also, just like you pointed out they had this grain that was really annoying and unbearable for me.
 
I wanted the upgrade to sound different from the 900X and I am happy that the 400i's are different, I can experience different sound signatures.
 
I just wanted to widen-up the soundstage a little bit, but if it can't really be done I am fine with it.
 
I can definitely see what you mean by artificial soundstage, Some songs really didn't soun aggressive or engaging as I would have liked them to be.
 
The 900X have something magical about them, They sound "magical ???? What is that supposed to mean pffffff".
I don't know how to describe it, They have airiness that is magical, Like a fairy.
 
Now about the 400i's, Your comment and explanations on their sound is amazing.
 
That EUPHORIC EUPHORIC HOLY MOLY SOUND is indeed so fun to listen to. I want to feel it in every song that I hear.
 
Hopefully that is the last question I will ask you:
 
What will be the sound difference with the H10?
 
 
 

  For me full burson H10 was all about making the amp more resolving and and most importantly that thick body sound. Without it, it just makes the headphones sound thin. Especially in the mid-bass, mids area gained body which depending on what headphones you have, makes it sound more balanced throughout. If you are looking for that warmth and body, it's a great choice.

Thanks for the answer.
 
I am not sure what I am looking for, Can you please describe the sound?

  Ask if the Bursons are the 17V version. Run the amp at +6 gain and you'll probably have no issues.
 
Grill mod on the HiFiMan cans definitely improves the soundstage.

Thank you for your reply!
 
They are the 17V version. I currently have an ELE DAC + AMP that cost like 15$-20$. It has more than enough power to drive the 400i's but they sound bad with it compared to the Odac.
 
Won't the +6 gain be too sensitive?

 

[auvgeek]

They are the 17V version. I currently have an ELE DAC + AMP that cost like 15$-20$. It has more than enough power to drive the 400i's but they sound bad with it compared to the Odac.  
Won't the +6 gain be too sensitive?

I don't know about the 400i, but on the 560 +6 gain still gives me plenty of volume control, and I listen at relatively low volumes. More importantly, Burson recommends +6 to keep the amp running cooler and protect their opamps.
 
Again, removing the grills on the 400i will definitely improve the soundstage. Plenty of tutorials on here.

 

[snellemin]

I demo'ed the 400I with the Gustard and Burson's. Good stuff for sure.  
 

 

[FaezFarhan]

Guys, for single-ended use with the AKG K7XX, and maybe the Fostex TH-X00 in 4 months time, is this better than the Matrix M-Stage HPA-3?

 

[l1ghtm4st3r]

Anybody gone and ordered the newer V5i's?
Was just recommended them by Dennis from Burson as I was looking for an opamp upgrade on a budget (these seem to be quite a bit cheaper).
Looks like the whole package has been shrunk down in size and now the surround of the opamps are metal to allow passive heat dissipation.
According to Burson they're rated for +-16V so should be good to go with the H10.
Not to mention their max operating ambient temperature is up 10 degrees C from the V5's.
 
Lazy link here: http://www.bursonaudio.com/products/supreme-sound-opamp-v5i/

 

[MrChowder]

  Anybody gone and ordered the newer V5i's?
Was just recommended them by Dennis from Burson as I was looking for an opamp upgrade on a budget (these seem to be quite a bit cheaper).
Looks like the whole package has been shrunk down in size and now the surround of the opamps are metal to allow passive heat dissipation.
According to Burson they're rated for +-16V so should be good to go with the H10.
Not to mention their max operating ambient temperature is up 10 degrees C from the V5's.
 
Lazy link here: http://www.bursonaudio.com/products/supreme-sound-opamp-v5i/

Wow! These look great. Good for Burson.

 

[tommo21]

  Anybody gone and ordered the newer V5i's?
Was just recommended them by Dennis from Burson as I was looking for an opamp upgrade on a budget (these seem to be quite a bit cheaper).
Looks like the whole package has been shrunk down in size and now the surround of the opamps are metal to allow passive heat dissipation.
According to Burson they're rated for +-16V so should be good to go with the H10.
Not to mention their max operating ambient temperature is up 10 degrees C from the V5's.
 
Lazy link here: http://www.bursonaudio.com/products/supreme-sound-opamp-v5i/

Didn't Burson mention that they measured up to +-17V on the H10? Then these are no good as well.
 
I returned my duals over a month ago now, and still haven't gotten them back....might be they've been working on these instead. I don't think I dare to put the duals back into the H10 anyway. The 49720ha works brilliantly.

 

[l1ghtm4st3r]

[deleted]
 
Sorry, misread the post above.

 

[l1ghtm4st3r]

 
Didn't Burson mention that they measured up to +-17V on the H10? Then these are no good as well.
 
I returned my duals over a month ago now, and still haven't gotten them back....might be they've been working on these instead. I don't think I dare to put the duals back into the H10 anyway. The 49720ha works brilliantly.

 
I thought they measured up to 15V with the H10's. But they did then later say we should run with only +6 or +12 gain only to ensure no problems with the duals.

 

[tvnosaint]

I read the same. 17v .

 

[l1ghtm4st3r]

I read the same. 17v .

 
Hmmm.
Strange that they'd recommend 16V ones then if that's what they'd measured.
Will enquire further regarding this and see what they have to say.

 

[mourip]

   
Hmmm.
Strange that they'd recommend 16V ones then if that's what they'd measured.
Will enquire further regarding this and see what they have to say.

I got this back from Burson...
 
"Yes, the V5i is 100% compatible with the H10.  Our fully discrete V5 sometimes has problems with the heat level inside the H10, depending on the user habits.  The V5i has no problems with heat at all. : ) 
Best regards,
Alex"

 

[tommo21]

  I got this back from Burson...
 
"Yes, the V5i is 100% compatible with the H10.  Our fully discrete V5 sometimes has problems with the heat level inside the H10, depending on the user habits.  The V5i has no problems with heat at all. : ) 
Best regards,
Alex"

I've also been in contact with them regarding my missing V5 duals. They're shipping me these V5i's instead. It's important to notice that these are hybrid opamps and not fully discrete as the original V5's. But they will have the same sound dna as they write on their page. I'm actually getting 4 dual V5i's as they are cheaper than the V5's, and I also want to try them out in my dac.

 

[willowbrook]

Curious to see how the sound compares with the original v5