baka1969
Chaser of Ghosts
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2008
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Hello Head-Fi'ers,
Right now, as I type, I'm listening to Tool's Third Eye. To me it's the best song off the AENIMA album. It sort of encapsulates Tool in that 13:47. It has nice dynamics. It changes tempo. It's well recorded. Production is excellent. It also is terrific for testing your headphones and equipment. If you're one of the unfortunate that hasn't heard this song I'd urge you to give it a listen with your favorite rig.
I've had a good deal of enjoyment listening to music since discovering Head-Fi and it's community. I've been lucky enough to listen to some great headphones. Even luckier to have three really nice cans in the Grado HF-2 (I use with jumbo pads), the Sennheiser HD650 and the AKG K-701. And three other good 'phones with the Denon AH-D1001S, HiFi Man RE0 and the Triple.Fi10. Each headphone has it's fanbase. Each one is even considered excellent or even the best to those fans. Yet each one sounds different. Six different headphones, six different interpretations of the music played through them.
It is the headphone amplifier's job to boost that music signal and make headphones sound their best. That's an over simplification to be sure. But in theory, it should only take the music and increase the level so your headphone can play your music more efficiently than straight from the source that has a weak signal. In a perfect world it shouldn't impart it's own character to the music it is increasing the level for. It's suppose to make your tunes louder with less noise and distortion than from, say, your iPod. That's it, nothing else.
We all know it's not quite that simple. Every amp has it's own sound signature just as headphones do. I won't even try to get into the many reasons why this is, so I won't. I also don't want to state things I don't fully understand and insult those who are far better versed than myself in these matters.
What I want to try and do is share my experience, thoughts and impressions of the HeadAmp Gilmore Lite (GLite) and the HeadRoom Micro Amp (Micro). Based on today's MSRP you might think there's a gap in price at $499 and $333 respectively. But a closer look will show that the Headroom was priced at $399 at one time and the priced reduced to it's current level. Conversely the HeadAmp was priced at $399 and raised. So both amps were at the same price point and a direct comparison is spot-on. It really is an apples-to-apples battle of the amps.
Not only are they priced similar, the sizes are similar. Other than the fact that the GLite is almost twice the width than the Micro, the other dimensions are almost the same. The GLite measures 6" x 4.5" x 1.6" and the Micro is 3.5" x 4.5" x 1.5". Both are considered desktop amps but they're, as Lil' Knight put it 'really nice and tiny'. That said, both units feel and look substantial.
Before I move further with the review I want to tell you how I did the testing and how I'm going to base my experience here. I wanted to try my best to have the variables as minimal as possible to try and be as fair as possible. Obviously this is a mixture of subjective and objective. It's my thoughts, ears, feelings and opinions. I always try to not have a bias the best I can.
My source for this comparison is my netbook. All the music is played in iTunes and played in .wav format. The dac is the DacMagic with the default filter and phase settings. The headphone used will be the AKG K-701 for the most part. I will add notations for the Grado and Senn to give everyone an Idea of how they pair with the amp but for the most part the AKG is getting the call of duty. So the. chain will look like this:
Netbook > iTunes > .wav > DacMagic > GLite/Micro > K-701
Although they're both substantial for it's size, the Gilmore Lite looks more expensive than the Micro amp. From the Glite's 1/2" aluminum face plate and volume knob to it's RCA input and 1/4" headphone jack. Compare that to the Micro's rubberized ring around the front and the plastic knob. The Micro also makes due with mini inputs and 1/8" headphone jack (necessitating the need for a 1/4 to 1/8 adapter for most cans). The GLite is certainly designed for full-sized sources and headphones despite its diminutive size. The Micro Amp seems to be designed for mp3 players despite the fact it runs on A/C power and is really too big to be truly portable (yes they have a battery powered version they call portable. It's far from convenient for carrying around). The Glite looks more crafted and the Micro looks more constructed to me. The nod goes to the HeadAmp because it looks nicer in my opinion.
I want to add that I've found, at least with the Headroom products I have experience with, the 1/8" headphone jacks are annoying. Either the headphone or adapter I have plugged in to it easily can become dislodged or entirely become removed accidentally. For whatever reason the fit isn't as snug as it should be. If you should move beyond the length of the cable it can come out of the jack. Even if the cable is gently tugged. It's very annoying. The 1/4" jack of the GLite doesn't have this problem and holds the plug tightly.
The Headroom Micro Amp has tons of features. It has two switchable inputs where the Headamp has one. The Headroom has three gain settings. This is nice when trying to best match them to your headphone's needs. It also has two volume controlled outputs. One in the front and one in the rear. The HeadAmp has only one of each. The Micro also has it's famous crossfeed that the Glite lacks (for this comparison the crossfeed is turned off). The feature-packed Headroom gets my nod here compared to the relatively simple HeadAmp. Although simple can also be more efficient and less complex.
There are a few things I want to mention that are important that don't directly effect how they both play music but I felt were worthy of mention. Despite the fact that the Headroom Micro has three gain setting to the GLite's single setting, the volume control is more precise on the Gilmore than the Micro. Think of it as the Headroom has three speed transmission with relatively short gear ratios where the HeadAmp has a one speed with a really tall gear set. It's much easier to micro adjust on the HeadAmp than on the Headroom. Sometimes I just want a little more volume not a lot of it. It also makes it difficult to volume match the Micro to the Gilmore. So I had to match the Gilmore to the Micro. That's not always the convenient way.
Another point about changing volume. When turning the volume up or down on the Headroom Micro Amp there is very slight static. The HeadAmp Gilmore Lite does this with silence. I appreciate that kind of attention to detail.
When critically listening to music for analyzing the two amps I almost always implored the same routine. I try to listen to between 1:30 to 2:00 segments of music at a time. The Headroom was always first and I A/Bed the segments back and forth three times each. When I wanted to take a more organic approach I would listen to entire songs or albums and A/B that way. Still listening to the Micro followed by the Gilmore. And then I would just listen to whatever and switch back and forth when I felt like it. So I used a few different methods.
I have to say that both amps are impressive. Each can drive all of my headphones to more than ear splitting volumes well beyond what is safe for listening. I've listened at low, moderate, and loud, but not insane levels. Both amps appear to have enough go-juice that they can drive all of my headphones properly. My AKG and Senn have no problems with either. The Gilmore Lite, however, really does the Senn 650 justice. Not that it does any lesser job with the Grado or AKG, it's that the Senn seems to be at it's full potential for the first time to me with the GLite. Where the Micro Amp did both the Grado and AKG it's due.
This is where the two amps start separating themselves from each other though. The Micro Amp does a few things at higher volume levels. I seem to detect small amounts of distortion the higher I go. There isn't any clipping I can detect just noise levels increase and the music becomes slightly more jagged. The Micro's sound signature also changes appears to change with SPLs. Accentuating different frequencies depending on the volume. Most notably the midbass seems to get bumped. The Gilmore Lite does this to a much lesser degree. As the volume increases the volume increases and that's mostly it. Also, distortion levels, to me, appear to be less than on the Micro.
While discussing distortion, I should also talk about the noise floor. The Headroom seems to be a very quiet amp. That is, until it's compared to the HeadAmp. The Glite is black, stone quiet. It makes other amps I've listened to down right noisy next to it. This quiet backdrop adds to the overall clarity of the GLite amp.
Clarity and effortlessness are the best words I can use to convey how the Gilmore Lite sounds. The clarity in which the Lite plays music is stunning. To me, the AKG and the HeadAmp are a match made in heaven. Every song I play, the music just seems to float around you with such ease you almost forget you're wearing headphones. Even with the veiled sound of the Senn you can hear another level of clarity. The Grado, overall, seemed to sound the most similar between the two amps. And did throughout the test. Maybe it's because of it's forward presentation I don't know? But the Grado changed the least when played through both amps. And that's not that bad a thing. They're more forgiving than both the AKG and Senn apparently.
With the added clarity of the Gilmore Lite brings added detail retrieval. The GLite is significantly more detailed than the Micro Amp. This isn't just upper mid detail, it picks up more micro detail throughout the spectrum. When I played the first minute of Pink Floyd's song "WISH YOU WERE HERE" there's a lot of details that lesser equpiment will lose or not pick up well. At the :06 mark the man through the radio says "...discipline remains mercifully". With less detailed equpiment the "L" on the "ly" of "mercifully" is obscured somewhat and tends to sound more like "mercify". Although with the Headroom you can sort of make the distinction, with the HeadAmp it comes through much more clearly. The same can't be said for the swallows right before and after David Gilmour's cough at the :42 and :45 mark. I can't hear them with the Headroom but come through with the HeadAmp.
I don't know if detail, attack and speed are related but I'll do a little bit of combining them. I think the clarity of the HeadAmp Gilmore Lite makes the leading edge of the attack come through. The transitions are well defined. The notes have a beginning middle and follow through. They expand and compress in a natural way. With the Headroom Micro Amp the attack and rest of the note have slightly more smear in them leaving it just slightly less defined. Alone you would hardly notice, but next to the transparent GLite it becomes more obvious. Some might think that, especially with the AGK, that the GLite is too crisp. I disagree. When one just lays back and enjoys the music, it songs great. All this leads to a very fast amp that keeps pace with the music. Not that the Headroom is slow, it's just that the HeadAmp is very fast. It's lightning with the AKG and even speeds up the laidback Senn to a degree.
Before I go back to the comparison I want to talk about Headroom's crossfeed. It's supposed to add additional depth to the soundstage by giving it a more 360 degree sound. It does this by bleeding some of the right and left channels together with a slight delay. It works as advertised. Unfortunately, there is no free lunch. On the plus side for bassheads the effect adds some bass impact. On the negative side it tends to homogenize the music a little bit. It also has a tendency to congest the mids during complicated or very fast paced passages. Again, it's not something you notice too much until you compare it with and without the crossfeed turned on. I initially liked the effect but eventually turned it off permanently.
It's going to sound like a broken record, but the clarity is the focal point of the entire Gilmore Lite. Just as important as the detail and speed are, the soundstage and imaging are just as valuable to me. The clarity of the GLite doesn't so much expands the soundstage that much beyond the what the Micro Amp does as it better defines it. The imaging and placement of the music and instruments is far better improved with the GLite. The instrumental separation is insane with the Glite and the AKG. What that does to the soundstage is make everything sound more like it's supposed to than anything else I've listened to. If you enjoy the soundstage of the Senn, this GLite is wonderful with it. It really turns music into a hall experience. You can really hear a three dimensional experience with the Senn. Again, the Grado sounds like it should. I'm not trying to dismiss the Grado, I just feel that there is less difference between the amps with it than the other two.
When I first listened to certain recordings with the GLite, I thought some of the music sounded too separate. To the point that some songs sounded disconnected. I just wasn't used to how much definition there was and have not only gotten used to it but appreciate it. Particularly on well recorded music. What I've also figured out is headphones and amps that are ultra-revealing can work for you and against you.
Up and down the frequency range I feel the Gilmore Lite is more balanced overall than the Micro amp. This is where more personal choice comes in than anything else. The Headroom leans a little more on the warm side and the HeadAmp is certainly footed in the Analytic side. I don't know why and amp that is said to be analytic can't be enjoyable or even fun? Are we to say that only warm amps can be enjoyed? I don't believe that at all.
There are a few differences in the frequency range between the two amps. The Headroom being a warmer amp, the mids tend to be slightly more featured than with the GLite. Even though the vocals sound a little bit more natural on the Gilmore than on the Micro, I think p prefer the more intimate nature of the singing on the Micro.
I may like the mids better on the Headroom than the HeadAmp, the bass and especially the highs belong to the Gilmore Lite. The treble seems to have an unlimited ceiling to it. When listening to "SO WHAT" off of Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue the trumpet kicks in at the 1:33 mark and is nice and very clean. With the Micro Amp I can detect a slight grain to it. Cymbals sound more like cymbals without artificial sizzle to them. The GLite is more refined here than anywhere else in the spectrum. Even the Grado HF-2 benefits a little. It's fairly universal that the HF-2 has the most refined Grado treble. At least up to the RS-1. The GLite smooths it out a bit more. With the Senn, the highs still roll of early, but, the extra clarity from the Gilmore Lite lightens up the sound where the headphone isn't quite as dark.
The bass, oh the bass. This is the toughest part for me to judge. This is also the part that may sway some away or towards one amp over the other. I am not a basshead. Not by any means. I like bass that's so taut that if it were any tighter it would rip in half. The bass on both amps seem to extend down about the same level. Of course the headphone you're wearing will more dictate it's extension. The good news is, neither amp will bottle neck the bass. The bass impact though is slightly different between the Gilmore Lite and the Micro Amp. At least the perceived impact. The clarity (yes that word again) of the GLite effects the way the bass tells the story. Because the bass is so articulate and well defined, because it's so clear, the bass could appear to be less. It could seem a bit leaner. However, upon careful listening, I found the bass to be better with the Gilmore over the Micro. I wouldn't fault anyone who preferred the Headroom's bass, especially with the crossfeed turned on. But when I listen to Pink Floyd's "ONE OF THESE DAYS" and hear how well defined the dueling bass line is, the bass of the HeadAmp wins me over. The bass of the Grado with jumbos is my favorite of the three headphones because it balances the impact with definition better than the other two. Although the bass tightens up a bit through the Senn 650, the Senn's bass is still a bit looser than I'd like to see.
Okay, so how does all this work together to play music? That's ultimately what it's all about. Right? Both amps play music and make you enjoy it. There are no glaring defects from either one. Which is the way it's supposed to be. Overall the Gilmore Lite is the most neutral and invisible. All the music just seems to flow with such effortless ease that it seems to float around you. I've read about the debates of musical vs analytical. It's like it has to be one or the other. I believe they can be. Although the Headroom is a bit on the warmer side I think the more neutral nature of the HeadAmp is more pleasing to me. During the test I found myself getting more into the songs when I was using the Gilmore Lite than I would with the Micro Amp. When I want to enjoy my music the GLite is getting the use. The Micro is getting more lonely. The Gilmore puts it all together better.
It might seem as if I was beating up on the Headroom Micro Amp. And that would be unfair. The Micro is a sweet little amp and sounds damn good. It's feature-rich. It has strong and powerful bass when the crossfeed is on. It has crossfeed. It has two outputs. Plus it's powerful and can drive most cans. Even tough ones. It sounds great and warm. I enjoyed the Headroom for over six months as my reference and it did it's job well.
Move over Headroom and make room for the HeadAmp Gilmore Lite. Clarity and ease won this competition. With everything that it does well, it's how clearly and with how little effort it does everything that makes this such an excellent amp. The Gilmore Lite is like the popular smart kid that doesn't study and still gets 'A's and gets the pretty girl. It never breaks a sweat. The detail is crystal clear. I'm sure that there are superior amps available. HeadAmp's GS1 should be even better I would think. Spending more will get you more. At the retail price of $499 and much less than that on the street and pre-owned, I think it sounds pretty damn stellar.
Thanks everyone for reading this far and I hope you've enjoyed.
Peace,
Ross
