[stuartmc]

   
 But this combo sounds fantastic to my ears now, where before it sounded a little lean.
 
 

Yup. During the break-in, warm up, process mine went from a little lean in the low bass and lower midrange, a little edge to the treble and somewhat flattened depth of field, to plenty of bass and midrange bloom, creamy smooth, yet detailed treble and a very deep soundstage.  Many of us have commented on the H10 in particular having an extraordinary break in transformation.  I experienced the same thing, albeit to a lesser extent, with the X12 and U12.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

   
Thanks - H10 showed up today along with a Niles AXP1, and a IP-managed AC power switch/pdu, which I am using to manage inputs and power of my stack since the power switches are a pain to get to when shelved.
I really only use my PC, so it makes it really easy to manage.
 

 
 
 
 
So far the amp has exceeded my expectations for the massdrop price tag when used with my HD 650s, if it gets better with age - I'm probably done upgrading for a while.
Anything more than 0 gain was too much for what I currently own.
I will probably knock the gain down on my M-Stage and commit it to IEM duty.
 
Hope the X12 shows up soon, will keep using my D100 til it does.
 
Update:  I think i just fell in love my with HD 650s all over again.  This amp is something else.
 
 
 
I will definitely be trying the grill mod out, I gotta do my reading on these, but thanks for the heads up on how much it improved the sounds for you guys.
I have been looking for planars for a while, but the price has always put me off.  I felt the weight of the HE-500s would be too much considering how much time i spend in front of a computer at home/work with music on.
It's been a while since i've upgraded anything so this should be fun.

What gain setting are you using with HD 650, and what is your volume knob at? Thank you!
 
fNevermind. I figured out my problem. I just received the H10 and was thinking something was wrong with it when I had to turn the volume pot to max to listen to my HD 650s. On the back, it was set to balanced input, the cables for which I do not own yet. Be sure to check the back switches when you get yours. I recall this coming up earlier in the thread. Now the volume is back to normal. 
 
I will refrain from extensive impressions until this has some time to warm up. 

 

[olek]

Got my Gustard H10 yesterday, and also was confused with that dip switch 1 - it comes from factory in 'balanced' mode (up) and that messes up sound from unbalanced inputs.
 
Impressions of unpacking - wow. Solid, heavy, big, looks like business. Nice.
 
First impressions with hd650? It is good that I am out of quality interconnects, because it would be too low class to hang myself on Best Buy special.
 
Here are details.
 
Highs are pretty good, restrained and without any hint of glare, easy on ears - and I like that!
Lows are extending deep (good), but are very grainy and 'loose'.
Mids are OK tonality-wise, but are as muddy as lows.
 
All in all, it does sound better than Audioengine D1 (that one got no extension in bass whatsoever and overall sound is scratchy and 'dry-muddled'), but it is not an achievement to be proud of, and it is a far cry from headphone out jack from Audio-Gd Precision 1 speaker amp. Precision 1 has less bass (just right in my opinion for hd650), but what bass it has is silky, silvery smooth, with no grain at all (both speakers and headphones). Precision 1 also got a bit more prominent highs - they remove hd650's veil a bit, although it can sound not as relaxed as H10 at times.
 
Contrary to many people here, I feel that (initially) H10 is pretty bassy and warm. If it gets more bass as it burns in, that will be bad news for me. HD650 sound too low with it already.
 
Now, on the other hand, my old well-worn AD900 are loving tonality of H10. All that extra bass and low mids make them come to life (they are thin and analytical headphone). Also, they have aggressive sound with very quick attack (similar to planars in this respect a bit), and H10 is able to supply current for attack in spades. Sounds good. Paired with Precision 1, they tend to be a bit lean, and that takes away emotional involvement from vocals. Still, even AD900 sound smoother on Precision 1. That smoothness in intoxicating. I want it from H10 too!!!
 
I can see how this extra bass of H10 can work well with other analytical headphones, like hd800, or k702, or even hd600, but it seems to be too much for hd650. Well, I am NOT a basshead at all, probably it would be right for many others, but I feel that it pushes sound too far from neutral.
 
This morning, after 18 hours burn in, H10 seems to be a little bit more musical  and less muddy. I do hope it will keep improving since it is not cutting it yet.
 
And what's up with that super-stiff volume knob? Combined with a smooth (and slippery)  finish, it is not pinnacle of user-friendly design. At least it is big, that is nice, and if it loosens up over time, it should be good.
 
Stay tuned.

 

[Utopia]

I've had mine for maybe ten days now, and I think I know what you mean. To me the H10 sounds warmer/darker than my Bottlehead Crack and the Audio GD SA-31 I had before (an amp intentionally tuned for a warmish, musical sound signature). I think the sound has gotten a lot more "solid" over the last few days - still pretty warm and dark, but without fuzziness or lost detail, and I'm actually starting to appreciate it a whole lot. Perhaps it's a sound signature that takes a little getting used to (plus some actual burn-in).

 

[conquerator2]

  I've had mine for maybe ten days now, and I think I know what you mean. To me the H10 sounds warmer/darker than my Bottlehead Crack and the Audio GD SA-31 I had before (an amp intentionally tuned for a warmish, musical sound signature). I think the sound has gotten a lot more "solid" over the last few days - still pretty warm and dark, but without fuzziness or lost detail, and I'm actually starting to appreciate it a whole lot. Perhaps it's a sound signature that takes a little getting used to (plus some actual burn-in).

I have that one. Please report back on how you think how they compare 

 

[swannie007]

Olek, I also disliked the volume knob as it was too smooth and narrow for my taste so I replaced it with a large silver one that has a knurled circumference and a nice flange on the back and is somewhat wider than the original knob and a pleasure to use.
Check out the volume knobs available on flea bay and I'm sure you will find one you like. Cheers from Oz.

 

[Kyno]

Interesting, of all my amps, this one definitely had the knob I liked the most. Smooth, and very adjustable sound, wasn't getting better than that for me.

 

[elwappo99]

  While waiting for the U12, I received my X12 today.
So far, impressions are very positive. Great sound, very smooth, especially for a Sabre. Definitely smoother than my previous Sabre DACs. Great details.
So far so good. Very impressed in the first hour. Will continue to listen 

 
Thought you already had the U12 in house?

 

[sahmen]

What's with the pin configuration on the H10 power cord?  It does not seem to be tailored for standard American wall receptors.  I hope I can replace it with one of the standard power cords I have lying around without any harm...  Can I?

 

[olek]

Swannie, thank you for idea, will contemplate it later, although I have to admit that I like the look of original knob, if only it had lighter feel to it.
 
Kyno, I agree that knob is smooth, but it has... high initial resistance to movement. Once it goes, it goes smoothly, but it takes quite some effort to get it moving

 
Anyway, after 30 hours of burn in, sound cleaned up quite nicely and switching between Precision 1 and H10 does not depress me any longer. Precision 1 still wins on wet-like smoothness big time, but now H10 has semi-decent sound. Even its warmth is not getting on my nerves anymore - while it is still warmer than Precision 1, and has nice deep extension, bass is now not as bloated, and actually is beneficial on some songs (like Pink Floyd's 'Sheep' from Animals that I am listening to right now).
 
And to think only that some people do not believe in burn in, and are very confident that it is our 'ear' that is adjusting to equipment.

 

[pippen99]

  What's with the pin configuration on the H10 power cord?  It does not seem to be tailored for standard American wall receptors.  I hope I can replace it with one of the standard power cords I have lying around without any harm...  Can I?

Mine was good out of the box.  Not quite sure what your problem is.
 
I have had my combo(X12 + H10 + LCD-2f) for about three weeks now.  It took about 10 days for a change to show up.  I hope I haven't plateaued because I still find this combo to be bass lite.  With really good recordings I hear what I was expecting, great sound.  I listen mostly to Classic Rock and this combo has revealed some of my favorite songs to be really crappy recordings.  I find this combo to be very good with acoustic instruments and spare arrangements and solo vocals.  The more complex the instrumentation and arrangement leads to confusion and muddiness.
 
I originally was shipped by the seller an X12 and a U12 instead of the H10.  He offered to let me keep the U12 at a discount but as I was going to use an Idock as source I didn't see a need or reason to keep it.  I go back and forth between my HP laptop and the Idock now. Since the X12 and U12 have the same XMOS digital processing unit I still am not clear on the purpose of the U12.  Furthermore the articles and posts I have read only left me more confused.  Should I have kept the U12 and can someone explain to a rookie what  the purpose of a USB interface is.

 

[sahmen]

 
Mine was good out of the box.  Not quite sure what your problem is.
 
I have had my combo(X12 + H10 + LCD-2f) for about three weeks now.  It took about 10 days for a change to show up.  I hope I haven't plateaued because I still find this combo to be bass lite.  With really good recordings I hear what I was expecting, great sound.  I listen mostly to Classic Rock and this combo has revealed some of my favorite songs to be really crappy recordings.  I find this combo to be very good with acoustic instruments and spare arrangements and solo vocals.  The more complex the instrumentation and arrangement leads to confusion and muddiness.
 
I originally was shipped by the seller an X12 and a U12 instead of the H10.  He offered to let me keep the U12 at a discount but as I was going to use an Idock as source I didn't see a need or reason to keep it.  I go back and forth between my HP laptop and the Idock now. Since the X12 and U12 have the same XMOS digital processing unit I still am not clear on the purpose of the U12.  Furthermore the articles and posts I have read only left me more confused.  Should I have kept the U12 and can someone explain to a rookie what  the purpose of a USB interface is.

 
Well, the power cord that arrived with my drop has a power plug which looks like this, and I believe this type is common in Australia:
 
 My plug is shaped exactly like the one in the image, although it is black

 

[Liu Junyuan]

Well, the power cord that arrived with my drop has a power plug which looks like this, and I believe this type is common in Australia:


 My plug is shaped exactly like the one in the image, although it is black

That is a mistake on their part. Those are also used in China. Sorry to hear...

 

[conquerator2]

That is a mistake on their part. Those are also used in China. Sorry to hear...

Yup, received those with both my X12 and U12. I also received an adapter that does have the correct socket configuration but cannot be used with the sockets because it has a weird shape... LOL.
Anyway, I just sourced a cheap power cable myself, no biggie 

 

[Liu Junyuan]

Yup, received those with both my X12 and U12. I also received an adapter that does have the correct socket configuration but cannot be used with the sockets because it has a weird shape... LOL.
Anyway, I just sourced a cheap power cable myself, no biggie 

Interesting. How are you still liking the X12? I am refusing to allow myself to post on impressions of the amp until I use it more, though I have opinions already. I am comparing it with my rather modest collection of amps and trying to decide which headphones it excels better with.