[Anda]

A local head-fier uses the Musical Fidelity M3i for his HE-6. He borrowed my G100 and a Violectric V181. This is his impressions:
 
 

My first impression is that Anda's Lake People G100 is actually good for HD 650, is pleasantly surprised by it, I could live with it. It seems a little brighter than the V181, as you may well hear is better, but it also costs twice as much. Compared to my Harmony Design Ear 90 the two amps from Lake people have slightly smaller soundstage and sound is a little closer, but I have also read that they are good for monitoring.
Also tried my HE-6 balanced on the Violetric V181 and it sounds fine, but just not as good as Calyx DAC RCA (unbalanced) -> Musical Fidelity M3i -> HE adapter -> HE-6. HE-6 is a beast who must have lots of power and everything in the sound becomes "less" on the "small" amplifiers. However, it will be interesting to try to put the balanced cable HE-300 and He-500 and then put them on the V181. It will probably sound good.

 

[devhen]

Quote:

A local head-fier uses the Musical Fidelity M3i for his HE-6. He borrowed my G100 and a Violectric V181. This is his impressions:

 
Do you know how similar the G100 is to the G109? From the specs they look fairly similar with the G109 having a slight edge in power.

 

[Anda]

Quote:

 
Do you know how similar the G100 is to the G109? From the specs they look fairly similar with the G109 having a slight edge in power.

 
I think the G109-P is a facelift of the G100. Don't think the layout has changed much, but as you said it has a bit more power and 3 steps pre-gain switch instead of 5 steps. Works well with my HE-300, my Jaycars and a HE-400 I had on loan.
 
Also heard HE-500, Denon D7000 and Beyer DT880/600 on a meet last week and in my ears the G100 makes a great match with all of them. I am pretty certain that HE-500 is going to be my next headphone and I think the HE-500/G100 is a great combo!

 

[Loevhagen]

If I should split between V200 / G100 and HE-500 / LCD-2 - this would be the result:
 
- V200 + LCD-2
- G100 + HE-500
 
No doubt after several months of listening to all 4.
 
Having seen inside photos of the G100 and G109; I'm not sure we're facing a facelift here.. It could be an upgrade - or cost consciousness - or something else.

 

[Anda]

Quote:

Having seen inside photos of the G100 and G109; I'm not sure we're facing a facelift here.. It could be an upgrade - or cost consciousness - or something else.

 
Seems like you're right. Just found this german site with a few pics of G103 and G109:
 
http://www.open-end-music.de/vb3/showthread.php?t=4442
 
Here's a pic of my G100:
 

 

[devhen]

For comparison here's the G109-P insides:
 
 

 

[devhen]

Bump-- Added unboxing photos to the OP. I was very impressed with how fast the amp arrived from Germany (just 2 days). Customer service from Lake People has been superb. I'm very happy with the G109-S so far. More thoughts to come.

 

[The Fed]

@ Devhen.... Awesome acquisition bud! I am waiting on a refund of a portable amp before I can pull the trigger on this but am getting the G109 same as you as soon as the refund money clears.
 
The guys over at Lake People are awesome with customer service.
I'd love to get your impressions of it after you've had some time with it.

 

[The Fed]

@ Loevhagen & Anda
 
Thanks for the clarification.... I've got HE300 and HE400 and wasn't sure if I should go entry level Violectric V90 or Lake People G109s
If you guys are saying the LP G100 has a good synergy with the Hifiman cans.... I'll trust that and stop wringing my hands about it.

 

[devhen]

@The Fed:
 
Fried (Lake People CEO) told me the G109 is very similar to the Violectric V100. Its probably fairly similar to the V90 as well but I think its more on par with the more expensive V100, albeit with a couple minor differences to bring the cost down.
 
Here's what he told me:
 

…. and, yes, the amps inside G109 are very close to the circuitry of Violectric V100.
Beneath the fact that G109 is made with SMD components while V100 offers standard components of coarse there are some other minor differences. But as a result they are quite close together. 

 

[The Fed]

Thank you Devhen this saves me from needless wheel spinning and wasted time.... I spent hours upon hours doing "this vs. that" searches looking for a portable amp... I'd rather just trust the reputation of Freid and company rather than spend another week agonizing over it.
 
Elke over at Lake People just got me a quote on the G109S. Hopefully I can pull the trigger today.

 

[fdg]

@ Aravind
 
It seems that G100 / V100 look very different compared to G109.
This is because of the SMD components used for G109.
The amp circuitry is quite similar.
To save costs during production we are using SMD components for G105 / 107 / 109..
Also, unlike to G100 / V100 / G109-P inside G109-S the balanced input circuitry and the delayed power-on relais is missing to save some costs and lower the price.
 
A balanced input is often not neccessary for home use.
 
The power-on relais is a nice feature and will protect the connected headphone from clicks, pops and unlinearities from the amp during power-on and power-off.
But our amps are quite friendly during power-on/off and no headphone damages are reported from our more "budgetary" models.
 
Greetz
 
Fried

 

[devhen]

Thanks Fried!
 
Can you explain what you mean by "SMD components" and how they differ from the components used in the G100/V100? (Sorry, total noobie question)

 

[R Giskard]

SMD or SMT means sufrace mount technology. It has to do with manufacturing process where all the components are soldered by machines on automated assembly lines. Components are smaller, cheaper and everything is done by machines so the final cost is lower as well. On the other hand, SMD components such as cpacitors and resistors are typically of lower quality due to size and manufacturing processes. Though you can achieve reasonable level of quality, through-hole or axial capacitors are available with an ever higher level of quality if you're prepared to pay for it. SMD is used everywhere nowadays, in cellphones, television sets, home electronics, computers and every imaginable application. SMD was available as early as 1980s. I'd say that G100 has an edge over the G109 due to the sheer fact of serviceability. The electronics design is also plain to understand so it makes the G100 a better hoice for future upgrades/modification.
 
Cheers!
Antun 

 

[R Giskard]

Still, to make an additional comment to my previous one, I think serviceability won't be a problem wince Lake People makes excellent quality electronics renown for reliability and perfect operational record due to rigorous quality control.