[jimmyjames8]

OK. I've read all there is to read in the archives. Is there someone else who has gotten one and compared it to another headphone amp in the GCHA's price range? Supposedly they have sold out of the first production run. Dying to know how it compares. $1000 is a lot of money.

 

[bifcake]

There is very stiff competition in that price range, so I hope it not just holds its own, but sets a new standard.

 

[HiWire]

Doesn't Jude have one? You can send him a PM.

 

[Solude]

Jude tends to answer PMs in good time, just not short time

Been waiting on a response to a PM for weeks now. Hasn't read it yet

 

[magnum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiWire Doesn't Jude have one? You can send him a PM.

Jude is sending his pre-production unit back to be brought up to production specs, could be a few changes since then that could make good improvements.

 

[trbl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by magnum Jude is sending his pre-production unit back to be brought up to production specs, could be a few changes since then that could make good improvements.

The design may still be evolving a bit even after the start of official production.

As there were no specs on their web site, Iemailed and asked about the GCHA's maximum gain from analog input to headphone output and maximum output voltage into 60 and 300 ohms. I never got an answer to the first question, but was quoted 1 Vrms for 16 ohms and about 3 Vrms for 300 ohms (4 Vrms maximum with no load). This didn't match the description on the web site, where it says in the Overview section "From the Gain Cell, the signal is fed into a discrete Class A power amplifier that puts out a couple of watts." So I wrote back, and got a reply saying the engineers were working on finding a way to have newer productions units actually match this specification. Today I was told that the engineers are now trying to determine how to actually implement the necessary changes.

 

[bifcake]

That's too funny!!!

 

[magnum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trbl The design may still be evolving a bit even after the start of official production. As there were no specs on their web site, Iemailed and asked about the GCHA's maximum gain from analog input to headphone output and maximum output voltage into 60 and 300 ohms. I never got an answer to the first question, but was quoted 1 Vrms for 16 ohms and about 3 Vrms for 300 ohms (4 Vrms maximum with no load). This didn't match the description on the web site, where it says in the Overview section "From the Gain Cell, the signal is fed into a discrete Class A power amplifier that puts out a couple of watts." So I wrote back, and got a reply saying the engineers were working on finding a way to have newer productions units actually match this specification. Today I was told that the engineers are now trying to determine how to actually implement the necessary changes.

Thanks! Good to know, I'll wait and see what difference it makes, probley send mine back say in about six months.

 

[trbl]

I also finally got an answer to the gain (from analog inputs) question:

about 17 dB (unloaded)
about 12 dB into 60 Ohms
about 16 dB into 300 Ohms

Together with the maximum output voltage specifications, it sounds like the output impedance is not too low, on the order of 47 Ohms, for those interested in matters like damping factor and the effects on frequency response.

 

[magnum]

Well nether I nor Jude heard anything wrong with it's sound performance, I'll wait and see the advertise specs and what others have to say about the sound.

 

[bifcake]

How does it compare with other $1,000 offerings on the market?