I just joined the club with the G109-A. It is great!
Build:
The amp is sharp looking with a nice black finish. The gold silk screening has a nice appearance, as well as the gold feet. The amp looks like a classic piece of hifi equipment and will fit on any desk. I believe anyone who sees it will notice that it is for serious sound quality.
The volume knob moves with a satisfying clunk. Channel balance as you move the volume dial is perfect. The ALPS potentiometer behind the dial is called "blue velvet" for a reason. The power LED is bright enough so that you can notice it, but dim enough as to not distract.
The supplied power cable fits loosely into the socket on the amp. This caused some confusion on my initial setup when the amp didn't turn on. After a quick finesse, it turned right on. I just wish it was a better fit.
I wish the RCA jacks stuck out further from the chassis. This hasn't been a problem in practice though.
During operation the amp never feels warm to the touch. Even under heavy loads, it feels like it is operating around room temperature. I hear this is a problem with other amps such as the Schiit Asgard. You don't have to worry about stacking equipment with this amp. It will be fine with a DAC on top or beneath.
Sound:
The appears to "let the headphones do the talking." It sounds totally neutral to my ears. The detail is much more impressive that what I was used to with my Nuforce uDAC-3.
I tried the amp with two pairs of headphones: Hifiman HE-560 and Beyerdynamic DT880 600 ohm
I can't believe that one amplifier can do a respectable job of powering these two headphones which are polar opposites as far as electrical requirements go. Yet the G109-A does this so well. Both headphones have enough power to sound great. The engineers at Lake People really know how to design an amp.
Bass:
The bass is powerful and punchy. It has the weight that is needed with none of the bloat that you don't. Most importantly the bass is accurate; it presents itself only when needed.
Mids:
The vocals are super realistic with a natural timbre. You can hear more detail in the vocals than you can with lower end amps. It's great to hear details in your favorite recordings that you didn't know existed.
Overall, the mids are fluid and natural. They seem balanced with the rest of the frequency spectrum.
Treble:
The treble sparkles with this amp. It may even be slightly bright or it could be the headphones I'm pairing it with (HE-560 and DT-880) both of which are know to be a tad bright. The amp is never bright to the point of sibilence with the HE-560s. The same can't be said for the DT-880s which can become sibilant at times. Either way, the treble detail is well resolved. Things such as a cymbal hit have decay that I've never heard before on other setups.
Soundstage:
I love this part. The G109-A allows the listener to exactly pinpoint where the instruments are in the recording. The soundstage is wide with plenty of airiness.
Summary:
The Lake People G109-A represents a great value at it's price point. It is a noticeable step up from beginner amps and worth the price difference. It is an intelligent design that is built like a tank with high quality components. The sound it produces is wonderful. It can drive any headphone; you don't need to worry that your next set of headphones will sound bad paired with it.
I'm very happy with my purchase.
