[Zoom25]

Quote:

 
I agree with Peter.  At this point in time and not yet hearing the LAu, I would say the GS-X mkII is one of the best all around SS amps out.  At the price of the LAu, the GS-X mkII is a no brainer - that's just IMO.  The Ragnarok looks really interesting and at that price point could be a steal of a deal.  
 
The GS-X mkII works very, very well with: HD800, LCD-3 and the HE-500.  Not so much with the HE-6 when compared to a quality speaker amp.
 
There should be a run on a new batch of GS-X mkIIs right now, so you might be right on time.  Contact Justin for info.. 
 
I'm comparing the GS-X mkII with the EF-6 right now. 

 
How would you rate your experience with GS-X and HD 800, LCD-3 and HE-500?
 
I won't be picking this amp up right now or anytime soon as I am saving up for a NAD M51 (top of the list ATM) and then will pick up an amp after. Also, I hope the NAD M51 and GS-X combination should sound good.

 

[Zoom25]

Also, in the future if I get a GS-X mkII, should I get dual 3 pin XLR or a 4 pin XLR. I read up on it a little bit but couldn't find a concrete answer. Thought of asking it here since there seem to be a few owners here.

 

[Solude]

If you get dual 3 I will personally hunt you down and slap you silly

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
How would you rate your experience with GS-X and HD 800, LCD-3 and HE-500?
 
I won't be picking this amp up right now or anytime soon as I am saving up for a NAD M51 (top of the list ATM) and then will pick up an amp after. Also, I hope the NAD M51 and GS-X combination should sound good.

 
Well if I were you - I'm not - but if I was

 
I would put the deposit down on the GS-X mk2 now while he's in the building process and put the M51 on hold.  That said the Schiit statement stack might be better than both.  

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Also, in the future if I get a GS-X mkII, should I get dual 3 pin XLR or a 4 pin XLR. I read up on it a little bit but couldn't find a concrete answer. Thought of asking it here since there seem to be a few owners here.

 
No need for 3 pin nothing.   Go 4-pin..

 

[Zoom25]

Yea all my cables are 4 pin, just wanted to be sure. The only reason I was asking is because I read somewhere about dual XLR utilizing the dual mono power. A couple people even recommended getting it made 3 pin XLR made and having an adapter made to convert the dual XLR into a 4 pin female XLR. I think it had something to do with more options and ease on the amp design, not quite sure myself. 
 
But if 4 pin works equally as fine, I'll go with that any day.

 

[jonstatt]

The trouble with the GS-X MK2 is that it has no proper international distribution, so if I were to order it I would get hammered with a 20% tax receipt on top of the price bringing it into the UK. And I have no way of hearing it before making that decision. So will have to give it a miss for now I think.

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

The trouble with the GS-X MK2 is that it has no proper international distribution, so if I were to order it I would get hammered with a 20% tax receipt on top of the price bringing it into the UK. And I have no way of hearing it before making that decision. So will have to give it a miss for now I think.

 
if there was UK distribution, the importer would still pay that tax plus the price would be at least 50% higher for their margins

 

[Solude]

Yep middle men don't bring prices down... ever.  How is the Grado distribution treating you over there?  Probably rather buy from the US I imagine

 

[jonstatt]

Quote:

 
if there was UK distribution, the importer would still pay that tax plus the price would be at least 50% higher for their margins

 
Well the distributor would get a discount for buying in quantity but I take your point. But at least the warranty would be straightforward and I could listen to it first. While the opinions of someone like Solude are of course credible, it is a bit of a leap of faith to spend that sort of money without evaluating it first.

 

[David1961]

The trouble with the GS-X MK2 is that it has no proper international distribution, so if I were to order it I would get hammered with a 20% tax receipt on top of the price bringing it into the UK. And I have no way of hearing it before making that decision. So will have to give it a miss for now I think.

I'm from the UK and have the GS-Xmk2 which I got directly from Justin without a problem, I also paid the 20% tax but I won't post how much that was.

I also didn't get to hear it before buying, however I've very happy with that amp in every way.

 

[Solude]

The beauty of HeadAmp wait times is the used price IS the new price. It's a free rental assuming you can afford the security deposit

 

[ericfarrell85]

The LCD-2 has likely been the one headphone that I didn't especially like when I first acquired them and, rather than selling them, I threw money at the problem. The Taboo was the first purely LCD-2 related purchase and then the CSP2+ to complete the so called Decware circuit. Naturally I liked them more, but not nearly as much as I did my other cans. I've spent the day listening to them through the Dynahi and Beta 22 and the sound is pleasant enough, but they pose little risk to the Stax, HD800, HE6 or even the T1. From an amplification vantage, the LCD's don't scale as well as the others. They're easy to amp, and while my various desktop amps are excellent, the ALO MKIII is fine enough too.
 
It would be nice if  they had a defining attribute (the bass is not enough for me). The expansiveness of the HD800, the clarity of a Stax, the shredding detail and pinpoint imagery of a T1 or the excitement and bombast of an HE6 out of a speaker amp make each of these headphones worth keeping and wonderful for a given mood or genre. The LCD's do everything well, but in a forgettable way. I find there is something sterile about them; something too smooth, safe and antiseptic. If I thought the LCD-3's provided something different, something particularly unique, I'd jump on them and end my bitter-sweet relationship with its predecessor. Can anyone relate to this and have their issues been solved by the LCD-3's? 

 

[preproman]

Quote:

The LCD-2 has likely been the one headphone that I didn't especially like when I first acquired them and, rather than selling them, I threw money at the problem. The Taboo was the first purely LCD-2 related purchase and then the CSP2+ to complete the so called Decware circuit. Naturally I liked them more, but not nearly as much as I did my other cans. I've spent the day listening to them through the Dynahi and Beta 22 and the sound is pleasant enough, but they pose little risk to the Stax, HD800, HE6 or even the T1. From an amplification vantage, the LCD's don't scale as well as the others. They're easy to amp, and while my various desktop amps are excellent, the ALO MKIII is fine enough too.
 
It would be nice if  they had a defining attribute (the bass is not enough for me). The expansiveness of the HD800, the clarity of a Stax, the shredding detail and pinpoint imagery of a T1 or the excitement and bombast of an HE6 out of a speaker amp make each of these headphones worth keeping and wonderful for a given mood or genre. The LCD's do everything well, but in a forgettable way. I find there is something sterile about them; something too smooth, safe and antiseptic. If I thought the LCD-3's provided something different, something particularly unique, I'd jump on them and end my bitter-sweet relationship with its predecessor. Can anyone relate to this and have their issues been solved by the LCD-3's? 

 
 
I can say the LCD-3s fixed everything I didn't like about the LCD-2.2.  However, IMO they're still not overtaking the HE-6, HD800.  For me is a constant battle between the LCD-3 and the T1s.  Right now the LCD-3s are leading... I'm just not a fan of heavy bass or bass heavy headphones.  

 

[Zoom25]

Quote:

The LCD-2 has likely been the one headphone that I didn't especially like when I first acquired them and, rather than selling them, I threw money at the problem. The Taboo was the first purely LCD-2 related purchase and then the CSP2+ to complete the so called Decware circuit. Naturally I liked them more, but not nearly as much as I did my other cans. I've spent the day listening to them through the Dynahi and Beta 22 and the sound is pleasant enough, but they pose little risk to the Stax, HD800, HE6 or even the T1. From an amplification vantage, the LCD's don't scale as well as the others. They're easy to amp, and while my various desktop amps are excellent, the ALO MKIII is fine enough too.
 
It would be nice if  they had a defining attribute (the bass is not enough for me). The expansiveness of the HD800, the clarity of a Stax, the shredding detail and pinpoint imagery of a T1 or the excitement and bombast of an HE6 out of a speaker amp make each of these headphones worth keeping and wonderful for a given mood or genre. The LCD's do everything well, but in a forgettable way. I find there is something sterile about them; something too smooth, safe and antiseptic. If I thought the LCD-3's provided something different, something particularly unique, I'd jump on them and end my bitter-sweet relationship with its predecessor. Can anyone relate to this and have their issues been solved by the LCD-3's? 

 
Hmm with LCD-2 I owned them for 5 months. I didn't like them much and as you stated, felt it was playing it safe. Only in the 5th month did I really start liking them. I was using the Emotiva speaker amp for majority of the time. Maybe that will happen to you as well down the road. I also agree with the HE-6 excitement. Well I don't own a HE-6, but had a HE-500 for a year and it was really exciting. The LCD-3 retain the smoothness but at the same time bring up the treble noticeably. Also mids are more engaging, more so than LCD-2 and HE-500. Better quality and more elevated in presentation. More sub bass and less mid bass than LCD-2. LCD-3 are more engaging so far with majority of the genres. I do miss the LCD-2's slam but the mids and treble of LCD-3 makes it work for more genres.
 
Hopefully someone else can answer this better with better setups than me (I'm looking at you GS-X owners)