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

[johangrb]

   
Ugggh!  
 
Every indication, however, is that they will take good care of us, after the fact.  

+1 -Burson support is responsive and effective. They're paying for my return shipping of 2 V5 Singles and shipping replacements asap. Excellent service!!

 

[zilch0md]

  +1 -Burson support is responsive and effective. They're paying for my return shipping of 2 V5 Singles and shipping replacements asap. Excellent service!!

 
Hey, that's good news. Maybe they've actually tested the replacements they're sending you - to protect themselves from having to do this again, with you, at least. 
 
Update: I apologize for being so cynical.  I'm actually very pleased that they eventually take good care of their customers, but I have been working for many years as a senior QA engineer for a Japanese electronics manufacturer that everyone here would recognize.  I have very little patience for companies that ship product without testing it first.  
 
Sony, a competitor for whom I do not work, continues to set the bar. HiFiMan is at rock bottom, in my opinion.  Burson is somewhere in between.

 

[canthearyou]

Hey, that's good news. Maybe they've actually tested the replacements they're sending you - to protect themselves from having to do this again, with you, at least. 

Update: I apologize for being so cynical.  I'm actually very pleased that they eventually take good care of their customers, but I have been working for many years as a senior QA engineer for a Japanese electronics manufacturer that everyone here would recognize.  I have very little patience for companies that ship product without testing it first.  

Sony, a competitor for whom I do not work, continues to set the bar. HiFiMan is at rock bottom, in my opinion.  Burson is somewhere in between.

It appears that the op-amps are failing after a fair amount of use. Something that could fail at X amount of hours may be tough to test.

 

[zilch0md]

It appears that the op-amps are failing after a fair amount of use. Something that could fail at X amount of hours may be tough to test.

 
I hear you. Perhaps they are doing at least a quick test of each and every V5, but if failure rates are high enough that you have multiple customers posting their disappointment in a thread like this, the testing is inadequate - it's time to improve the QA process.
 
I'm also open to the possibility that the V5 simply isn't as compatible with any and all devices where the op-amps they say it can substitute manage to operate without difficulty.  
 
But dripping glue?
 

 
Cropped from a photo posted by genclaymore
 
Still waiting for mine to arrive, I ask myself, "Why does buying something have to be such an adventure?"

 

[genclaymore]

yea i had one with dripping epoxy, I hoping that doesn't happened again. maybe in the future they improve it so it work longer or much better without failing or another kind of epoxy. Hopefully it doesn't cause my gustard H10 to explode in my face later on.

 

[MLegend]

It appears that the op-amps are failing after a fair amount of use. Something that could fail at X amount of hours may be tough to test.

Especially when they recommend 100 hours of burn in. I would be pretty displeased if my bursons started to fail right as they were about to hit the 100 hour mark. This failure rate is ridiculous.

 

[wwmhf]

Why Bursons opamps fail is an interesting question because solid state parts are generally well known these days for their reliability.

 

[canthearyou]

I've been getting ready to move the past few weeks and haven't had much time to sit and listen to music. During this evenings listening session I noticed a scratching sound in the background of songs. I started to panic thinking the Bursons are failing. I sat and thought about what did I change or what else could it be. I remembered I switched the output in Foobar to Wasapi. I decided to switch it back to the current ASIO driver and bam, that fixed it.

FYI: I'm using the X12 as DAC.

 

[moriez]

Was about to say that it's a good time for Burson to come in here with some soothing words. Going back in the thread they already did that some weeks ago. I quote their response as a reminder.
 
Luckily I haven't had an issue with any of their op-amps well passed 100 hours now.
 

  Hi guys,
 
Please allow us to clarify 2 aspects relating to recent discussions. 
 
The red enclosure of the V5 audio op-amp, the components, the PCB, the epoxy resins i.e. the entire V5 audio op-amp is designed to withstand up to 250 degrees celsius.  Well above what the human skin can handle.  Therefore, while it does generate more heat compared to IC based opamps, it is designed to do so.
 
In regard to the few opamps which stopped working or those with its casing loosen.  Those are definitely warranty issues and we'll certainly honour their life-time of warranty and replace them with brand new units.   Therefore, please contact us asap if you have encountered any such issues.  Apologise for any inconvenience caused.
 
Thanks for all your ongoing support
 

 

[willowbrook]

Been lurking this thread for a while and decided to get the H10 for my HE-560, but I have no DAC right now. I am on a budget of $200~300, can anyone recommend a DAC that matches well with the H10? I've seen people who said they couldn't hear the difference between sub $200 DAC and over $500 DAC, I've also seen people who said there is a huge difference between them, I don't know what to trust at this point 

. A lot of things tend to be exaggerated on here, so if anyone who has actual experience in comparing some DAC I would appreciate any recommendation. I was thinking about modi 2U if anyone has experience, thanks.

 

[l1ghtm4st3r]

  Been lurking this thread for a while and decided to get the H10 for my HE-560, but I have no DAC right now. I am on a budget of $200~300, can anyone recommend a DAC that matches well with the H10? I've seen people who said they couldn't hear the difference between sub $200 DAC and over $500 DAC, I've also seen people who said there is a huge difference between them, I don't know what to trust at this point 

. A lot of things tend to be exaggerated on here, so if anyone who has actual experience in comparing some DAC I would appreciate any recommendation. Thanks.

 
I use mine with an Epiphany Acoustics' E-DAC (may be better known as Objective 2 ODAC revB in the US). A lot of the reviews for it seem to point to what you're saying that there is very little difference between much more expensive DACs and the ones which can be had for around $200.
I haven't had the pleasure of doing any comparisons, besides from with an older Fiio E07K which I can't remember how it compared, but as I kept the EDAC I must have preferred it.
I don't think a more expensive DAC could offer much more to what I already hear to be honest. It could also be argued the more congenial partner for the H10 would be the X12, so a few reasonably priced options there.

 

[genclaymore]

The gustard X12 pairs very nicely with the gustard H10 with my HE-500, But i used to own the bifrost uber(not the brand new one) with the H10, I didn't like the combo as much til I swapped out the op-amps with different ones which made my results with the uber enjoyable, not the one's that are in my sig but different pairs of op-amps, these came later with the X12 in the mix. I lost the stock op-amp's so i don't remember what I didn't like about them with the uber, I also didn't try the stock op-amps with the X12 because of that. There is a brand new bifrost which replaces the uber but I don't know how it would sound paired with the H10. 

 

[zilch0md]

  Been lurking this thread for a while and decided to get the H10 for my HE-560, but I have no DAC right now. I am on a budget of $200~300, can anyone recommend a DAC that matches well with the H10? I've seen people who said they couldn't hear the difference between sub $200 DAC and over $500 DAC, I've also seen people who said there is a huge difference between them, I don't know what to trust at this point 

. A lot of things tend to be exaggerated on here, so if anyone who has actual experience in comparing some DAC I would appreciate any recommendation. I was thinking about modi 2U if anyone has experience, thanks.

 
For $299, you can get the versatile Oppo HA-2, to serve double-duty as a desktop DAC and as a portable DAC/amp - a lot of bang for your buck. It has an awesome ESS9018K2M DAC, that I've come to greatly admire, even for use with the HD800 - with the right amp.  The Oppo HA-2 will accept USB input as well as supporting iOS, Android, and Sony Walkman sources. It lacks Coaxial and Toslink inputs, but I'm done with those, ever since getting my hands on an Uptone Audio USB Regen.
 
I'm not reluctant to consider a "portable" DAC/ampsfor use as a desktop DAC. There are people out there using the $699 Hugo Mojo portable DAC wth their HiFi systems (for its warmth and smooth treble). 
 
Mike

 

[tvnosaint]

People seem to be enjoying the jds element. I'd keep my eye out for a used Constantine from mhdt. You'd get a taste of multibit tech there . Usually around $200. I don't like a cold sounding dac with the h10. To me it benefits from a more musical dac.

 

[MGbert]

  Been lurking this thread for a while and decided to get the H10 for my HE-560, but I have no DAC right now. I am on a budget of $200~300, can anyone recommend a DAC that matches well with the H10? I've seen people who said they couldn't hear the difference between sub $200 DAC and over $500 DAC, I've also seen people who said there is a huge difference between them, I don't know what to trust at this point 

. A lot of things tend to be exaggerated on here, so if anyone who has actual experience in comparing some DAC I would appreciate any recommendation. I was thinking about modi 2U if anyone has experience, thanks.

For Christmas, I bought my girlfriend a pair of V-Moda Crossfade M100s and a FiiO E10K USB DAC/Amp dongle to use with it.  I just auditioned the Fiio with the HiFiMan HE-400i's and it does a VERY respectable job as DAC feeding my stock Gustard H10 compared to my Parasound zDAC - as in 95-98% detail retrieval compared to the Parasound.  It also is a better headphone amp than the one built in to the Parasound, and drives the HE-400i's very well.  Color me impressed!  I'd actually recommend getting a Fiio as a combination portable solution and desktop DAC while researching other options - then saving up for them.    Sorry about your wallet - but this would give it a temporary reprieve at least, not to mention a portable solution for the future.