Some more thoughts about the GS-X mini vs. GS-X mk2.
I listened with the mini in the system for about 8 hours, mostly with speakers, but with the last hour through headphones (LCD-3). Then I switched back to the mk2. Headphone and speaker impressions were similar. DAC was the Ayre QB-9 Twenty - the Twenty version a recently offered upgrade by Ayre. Source was a DC modified Mac mini with tricked out USB chain. Amps were Classe CT-M600s, speakers were the KEF Reference 201/2.
My first thoughts after putting the mini into my system was “Wow, this sounds really good! Is the mini really better than the mk2?” The first music I listened to sounded glorious through the mini.
It took some time listening with a variety of music before I could start to note differences. On one song (Sierra Hull - The In-Between) I thought: “Where did the bass go?” With Sierra Hull’s - I’ll Be Fine, the mandolin strings didn’t seem as sharply plucked. Sometime later, I started to notice that voices didn’t seem to quite have the clarity with the mini as with the mk2. As I listened more, I noticed that voices didn’t seem to have the emotional attachment they usually gave. There was another song where the finger “squeaks” on strings (guitar and mandolin) grated on me more than I remembered with the mk2.
I had hoped the mini would match the mk2 performance, but it didn’t quite achieve that in my system. The differences were subtle, but there was a clarity with voices with the mk2 that the mini couldn’t match. Bass was also more prominent with the mk2 - I don’t think there actually was more bass, but the bass with the mk2 just had more jump / impact to it. A lot of what I played through the mini sounded glorious. Alternatively, the mk2 consistently gave more details and dynamics, and seemed more natural. With the mk2 back in, these differences were relatively easy to confirm.
The GS-X mk2 has always had the reputation of being a very transparent amp (wire with gain), and in the years I’ve owned it, it has never seemed to be the weak link in my system. IMO, the GS-X mini comes close, but doesn’t quite achieve that same level of transparency. I also doubt the differences would have been as apparent if I had been using the older DSD version of my QB-9 - source matters. I’m guessing, but on a lot of systems, these differences could be pretty challenging to discern.
IMO both are great amps. Hard to go wrong with either one.
The GS-X mini is going back into my second system (Chord Qutest), and I expect to be happily listening to it there for years to come. Especially with Vérité C’s incoming within the next few weeks….