[shafat777]

This is great to hear. I have the both the Mini and Ares II coming today.
I also see the BF2 in your sig. Which one do you prefer with the Mini? I have the BF2 and bought the Ares II to compare.

The Ares 2, imo, sounds tubey. It has airy treble, 3d sounstage. It sounds more natural to me than the BF2. Thats why I have it hooked up to my Elise. The Bf2, on the other hand sounds cleaner with warmth and mid focused sound signature. I prefer the BF2 with my mini since the mini is more transparent and tonaly accurate than the Elise. However, before i had the Bf2, i used my Ares 2 to run the mini and they also sounded excellent. I think with these two dacs, its a matter of preference. I have mine setup thsi way because it gives me two different sound signature and tonality with my hardware and headphones.

Congrats on your purchase bud. You re in for some good times. Enjoy

 

[pgkrish]

The Ares 2, imo, sounds tubey. It has airy treble, 3d sounstage. It sounds more natural to me than the BF2. Thats why I have it hooked up to my Elise. The Bf2, on the other hand sounds cleaner with warmth and mid focused sound signature. I prefer the BF2 with my mini since the mini is more transparent and tonaly accurate than the Elise. However, before i had the Bf2, i used my Ares 2 to run the mini and they also sounded excellent. I think with these two dacs, its a matter of preference. I have mine setup thsi way because it gives me two different sound signature and tonality with my hardware and headphones.

Congrats on your purchase bud. You re in for some good times. Enjoy

I don't want to shift the focus from mini here, but since you mentioned that you used the ares with the elise, did you feel like it's tubey-ness combined with the warmth of the tube amp made it a bit too warm and perhaps less detailed and bloomy?

 

[shafat777]

I don't want to shift the focus from mini here, but since you mentioned that you used the ares with the elise, did you feel like it's tubey-ness combined with the warmth of the tube amp made it a bit too warm and perhaps less detailed and bloomy?

Not really, although i know exactly what you mean. The elise is a warm tube amp to begin with. The Ares 2 isnt technically warm or bright. Its natural sounding with crisp highs and tight, controlled and not boomy low end. You can roll some bright tubes to compensate for any boomy-ness that you might encounter. Also, when i used the Ares 2 with the mini, i used the OS mode which is super clean and extremely detailed compared to the NOS mode and it sounded really good with the mini. I tired the OS mode with the elise and it make the sound really lifeless and kind weird, being mixed with the tubey sound of the elise.

 

[pgkrish]

Not really, although i know exactly what you mean. The elise is a warm tube amp to begin with. The Ares 2 isnt technically warm or bright. Its natural sounding with crisp highs and tight, controlled and not boomy low end. You can roll some bright tubes to compensate for any boomy-ness that you might encounter. Also, when i used the Ares 2 with the mini, i used the OS mode which is super clean and extremely detailed compared to the NOS mode and it sounded really good with the mini. I tired the OS mode with the elise and it make the sound really lifeless and kind weird, being mixed with the tubey sound of the elise.

Thank you for your impressions. I have been dismissive of pairing the ares with my tube amp. I should probably audition it.

 

[tkam]

The Ares II should be a nice pick, The GS-X Mini pairs great with the Venus II I have. I greatly prefer R2R dacs at this point, they just sound more natural to me.

 

[joshUKUSA]

I see you've pretty much got the entire setup that I've been looking at as my endgame haha. can I ask which of your headphones you prefer out of the abyss, the meze and the zmf?

 

[tkam]

The Abyss get top billing for me, followed in order by the ZMF VC then the Empyrean & ZMF Aeolus.

 

[jonathan c]

The Ares II should be a nice pick, The GS-X Mini pairs great with the Venus II I have. I greatly prefer R2R dacs at this point, they just sound more natural to me.

The GS-X mini also goes very well indeed with Mojo Audio EVO Mystique dac (n/o/s R2R).

 

[SaddleSC]

My new GS-X Mini arrived about 30 mins ago and it smokes my Violectric V281. The sound is so rich and smooth, but still detailed. I am seriously impressed with the power of the GS-X...driving my HD800S in Low Gain via XLR and I am listening at about 9:00. I currently have it paired with my Gungnir Multibit and will be testing it with my Chord Qutest and a new Denafrips over the weekend. So far...color me impressed!

 

[tkam]

Just in time for the weekend! Enjoy the amp, it's a killer value and really can power any headphone extremely well. Which Denafrips did you get?

 

[LeMoviedave]

I got to compare it to the V280, and I agree, the Mini smokes it!

 

[SaddleSC]

Just in time for the weekend! Enjoy the amp, it's a killer value and really can power any headphone extremely well. Which Denafrips did you get?

I actually have both an Ares II and a Pontus II incoming next week. Ares arrives on Monday. I bought the Ares first and then a buddy of mine was selling his Pontus so I figured "what the heck?" The GS-X Mini is an amp I have had my eye on for quite a while and I am seriously impressed so far. It will definitely allow me to consolidate a bunch of my gear. My primary listening area is my TT2 + M Scaler setup. The GS-X Mini + R2R is for my office. I will report back with impressions!

 

[SaddleSC]

I got to compare it to the V280, and I agree, the Mini smokes it!

The V281 has always been the amp I never really connected with. I am not sure why. People describe it as having a warm tonality, but the GS-X is the exact sound signature that I was looking for. After a week or so of testing the GS-X, the V281 will be going up for sale

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

Bit disappointed. Had to cancel my order two weeks ago, no refund, no email contact.

 

[Yassa]

Bit disappointed. Had to cancel my order two weeks ago, no refund, no email contact.

No refund? , how come?