[Roasty]

Am looking to spend some money..

Current gear:
HD650 + norne audio Solv / moon audio silver dragon cable
HD660S + moon audio black dragon cable
Audeze LCD2 fazor + moon audio silver dragon cable

Schiit Mjolnir
Oppo 105d

Am torn between a Headamp GSX mk2 and a Woo Audio 22. Will probably add a Benchmark Dac3 B somewhere down the road (but I've also been pointed towards a Matrix Audio Sabre Pro dac as well..).

But amp first.. Any suggestions/comments about my two choices?

 

[Monsterzero]

Glenn OTL

 

[boozcool]

I've heard both and would say go with the Headamp GSX mk2
IMO, Woo Audio is pretty to look at but doesn't match the SQ of Headamp amps

 

[Roasty]

I've heard both and would say go with the Headamp GSX mk2
IMO, Woo Audio is pretty to look at but doesn't match the SQ of Headamp amps

Thanks for chiming in.
I read on some threads that people found the Headamp was a bit bright and cold sounding. Did u have that opinion of the amp?

 

[boozcool]

I would describe the Headamp as fast more than bright or cold
More laid back or bass-heavy headphones would do well with the GS-X

 

[Law87]

absolutely no reason to buy those powerful amp for the gears you got....

but between those two it seems like the woo audio fit you better, its a tube amp which can be laid back and easy going, solid state are good but you get exactly what your source is going to give you. If you have something that is bad quality, its gonna make your listening a whole lot worst.

 

[Roasty]

absolutely no reason to buy those powerful amp for the gears you got....

That's understandable. However, it doesn't mean I won't be getting some nicer better gear in the future

Thanks for chiming in though. I did manage to audition the woo audio 22 the other day, paired with an LCD4, and it was quite a nice experience.

Just hopeful I would have an opportunity to demo the gsx mk2 as well.

 

[HBen]

If I were you I would invest the money in better headphones first since they have a much bigger impact on the sound than the amp or the dac.
Also there is really not much point spending 2.5k$+ on a headphone amp without TOTL-headphones.

If it is really just about those two choices and you want to pair it with better headphones later (as you mentioned), I would say it depends a lot on the future headphone pairings.
If you want to pair it with an Audeze LCD or Hifiman headphone for example, the GS-X MK2 is the better pairing.
If you want to pair it with an Abyss headphone or something like the Focal Utopia, I would definitely go for the Woo, but also consider the Moon 430HA which is a very solid performer for "on the brighter side of neutral" headphones as well.

Cheers and good luck on your headphone journey

 

[Roasty]

Cheers and good luck on your headphone journey

Thanks for the advice!

I really like my hd650 and lcd2. Will definitely be looking at a new set of headphones eventually. Just that at this point in time, I've managed to narrow down two amps which I think i would like, whereas there are just so many headphones out there which I'm sure would take a much longer time to research and narrow down choices.

I see that u have the mjolnir 2. Did u ever get a chance to compare it to the mjolnir 1?

 

[whirlwind]

The GS-X mk2 is pretty damn neutral and very transparent....it is going to sound like your dac

If you dac is bright...then you will hear that....if your dac is warm, the you will hear that.

 

[buke9]

If I were you I would invest the money in better headphones first since they have a much bigger impact on the sound than the amp or the dac.
Also there is really not much point spending 2.5k$+ on a headphone amp without TOTL-headphones.

If it is really just about those two choices and you want to pair it with better headphones later (as you mentioned), I would say it depends a lot on the future headphone pairings.
If you want to pair it with an Audeze LCD or Hifiman headphone for example, the GS-X MK2 is the better pairing.
If you want to pair it with an Abyss headphone or something like the Focal Utopia, I would definitely go for the Woo, but also consider the Moon 430HA which is a very solid performer for "on the brighter side of neutral" headphones as well.

Cheers and good luck on your headphone journey

While I have not heard my Abyss on the WA22 am still liking them from a solid state amp myself. The DNA Stratus I found just a bit overbearing with bass and just didn’t like it myself and my Amps and Sounds Kenzie was nice but not enough power. The Audio GD Master 9 is where I settled and just rocks the HD-800’s.

 

[Law87]

Thanks for the advice!

I really like my hd650 and lcd2. Will definitely be looking at a new set of headphones eventually. Just that at this point in time, I've managed to narrow down two amps which I think i would like, whereas there are just so many headphones out there which I'm sure would take a much longer time to research and narrow down choices.

I see that u have the mjolnir 2. Did u ever get a chance to compare it to the mjolnir 1?

Check out Josh Velour review on Mjonir, I think he said it has a lot of "microphonic" issues

 

[Whazzzup]

Get a better hp

 

[Law87]

The GS-X mk2 is pretty damn neutral and very transparent....it is going to sound like your dac

If you dac is bright...then you will hear that....if your dac is warm, the you will hear that.

GS-1 is the same, I think it does add and tighten the bass up a bit but from my Hugo 2 to it, pretty damn near identical sounding.

 

[llamaluv]

Yes, getting more expensive headphones first is a legitimate next move, but there's also something to be said for the way a superior amp and/or DAC can elevate almost any headphones at the end of the signal chain. So I'd say go for the amp upgrade now if that's what you want to do.