[wgallupe]

I just got a Gumby and I am being asked if it is a version 2. I can probably find out tomorrow unless someone has some good tips that might help.

Hi, wondering if you ever looked inside your Gumby to see if there was any evidence of a version 2......

 

[Paladin79]

Nope

 

[Audiofiend1]

I posted this over in the Oppo Ha1 thread but thought i would post it here too for you guys as it has to do with my Gumby. Anyway here are my thoughts...

I recently got a Ha1 a few days ago and have been loving it so far. Unfortunately i'm in quite a conundrum as it's making me want to sell my Gungnir Multibit which is by all regards a more expensive dac. I have been doing A/B comparisons for the last 2 days now between the Gumby dac and the Oppo Ha1 dac and for the life of me i cannot notice a discernible difference of say more then 1%. The Gumby sounds maybe a touch warmer and when i say a touch it's really not even noticeable it's to such a tiny degree, that in fact it may not even be there. Also just to mention that i used the Oppo amp for both dacs and listened at exactly the same volume with same cables for all tests. Only took me about 2 seconds to change between dacs as well.

Anyway, That's how alike the sound, coming from both the Gumby and Ha1 dac sounded. Now just to make sure i was hearing what i was hearing. I compared the sound impressions from a HD800S, LCD 2, and a Shure 846. I could clearly hear HUGE! sonic differences between the headphones but not between the two dacs. I'm honestly becoming a believer that 99% of the sonic difference is coming from the headphone and not from the dac. If i had to advise someone buying new gear that wanted to hear the best sound, i would honestly tell them the headphone is by far and away the most important part.

So where does this leave me, i'm not really sure to be honest and would love some of your guys input....
I'm tempted to just sell my Gumby soon which i have loved so much. I will continue to spend hours doing more tests as i enjoy it, but i'm not really sure what to think about spending money on dac's after a certain price point anymore.

 

[Hyp0xia]

I posted this over in the Oppo Ha1 thread but thought i would post it here too for you guys as it has to do with my Gumby. Anyway here are my thoughts...

I recently got a Ha1 a few days ago and have been loving it so far. Unfortunately i'm in quite a conundrum as it's making me want to sell my Gungnir Multibit which is by all regards a more expensive dac. I have been doing A/B comparisons for the last 2 days now between the Gumby dac and the Oppo Ha1 dac and for the life of me i cannot notice a discernible difference of say more then 1%. The Gumby sounds maybe a touch warmer and when i say a touch it's really not even noticeable it's to such a tiny degree, that in fact it may not even be there. Also just to mention that i used the Oppo amp for both dacs and listened at exactly the same volume with same cables for all tests. Only took me about 2 seconds to change between dacs as well.

Anyway, That's how alike the sound, coming from both the Gumby and Ha1 dac sounded. Now just to make sure i was hearing what i was hearing. I compared the sound impressions from a HD800S, LCD 2, and a Shure 846. I could clearly hear HUGE! sonic differences between the headphones but not between the two dacs. I'm honestly becoming a believer that 99% of the sonic difference is coming from the headphone and not from the dac. If i had to advise someone buying new gear that wanted to hear the best sound, i would honestly tell them the headphone is by far and away the most important part.

So where does this leave me, i'm not really sure to be honest and would love some of your guys input....
I'm tempted to just sell my Gumby soon which i have loved so much. I will continue to spend hours doing more tests as i enjoy it, but i'm not really sure what to think about spending money on dac's after a certain price point anymore.

I, too, own an Oppo HA-1 and it's a great piece of equipment, especially if you're just talking about the DAC section. I just wish I had purchased the silver one. I wouldn't claim to hear a difference either, but where the HA-1 really falls short for me is in the amp section. It just lacks the oomph and raw power I crave. If it just had more driving power, I think it'd be a truly endgame solution.

 

[earChasm]

I posted this over in the Oppo Ha1 thread but thought i would post it here too for you guys as it has to do with my Gumby. Anyway here are my thoughts...

I recently got a Ha1 a few days ago and have been loving it so far. Unfortunately i'm in quite a conundrum as it's making me want to sell my Gungnir Multibit which is by all regards a more expensive dac. I have been doing A/B comparisons for the last 2 days now between the Gumby dac and the Oppo Ha1 dac and for the life of me i cannot notice a discernible difference of say more then 1%. The Gumby sounds maybe a touch warmer and when i say a touch it's really not even noticeable it's to such a tiny degree, that in fact it may not even be there. Also just to mention that i used the Oppo amp for both dacs and listened at exactly the same volume with same cables for all tests. Only took me about 2 seconds to change between dacs as well.

Anyway, That's how alike the sound, coming from both the Gumby and Ha1 dac sounded. Now just to make sure i was hearing what i was hearing. I compared the sound impressions from a HD800S, LCD 2, and a Shure 846. I could clearly hear HUGE! sonic differences between the headphones but not between the two dacs. I'm honestly becoming a believer that 99% of the sonic difference is coming from the headphone and not from the dac. If i had to advise someone buying new gear that wanted to hear the best sound, i would honestly tell them the headphone is by far and away the most important part.

So where does this leave me, i'm not really sure to be honest and would love some of your guys input....
I'm tempted to just sell my Gumby soon which i have loved so much. I will continue to spend hours doing more tests as i enjoy it, but i'm not really sure what to think about spending money on dac's after a certain price point anymore.

I hear you loud and clear!

Of course headphones makes the biggest sonic difference, next are probably tube amps (not talking about speakers here). Still I believe, based upon my personal experience and opinion, amps and dacs matters big time. And therefor don't sound the same or at least give a different experience. Even if I can't tell them apart.

I firmly believe in expectation bias. But I also firmly believe I can't fool myself into having goosebumps or listening fatigue. And those 2 things are exactly what drove me to change my setup and keep it as it is now, until I can make an upgrade without losing that magic. But since my wallet is empty I don't have to worry about that :.b

Thank you for being honest and I think you are right. The headphone is by far the most important part which makes the biggest sonic difference. But to me, an amp or dac can make a system work or not (YMMV). Don't sell the Gumby yet, give it a few weeks :.)



Late at night, amp's yearning
Restless night, want to be with you
Someone's playing in the garden
So enticing, he's sure to take a bite
I don't know what's come over me, yeah

She's as heavy as a HA-1
Pure excitement, misled
When she touches, can't resist her
I'm a puppet when she's playing me
She's outgoing but I love her so misled
So I'm saying now

Baby baby, what's your claim to fame?
Got me out of bed, heard you call my name
What's this crazy place, you want to take me to?
Tell me, what's the price if I go with you?

My heart, my soul, my love
Is that the goal?
It's a thrill then I will
Be misled, be for real

 

[Paladin79]

I, too, own an Oppo HA-1 and it's a great piece of equipment, especially if you're just talking about the DAC section. I just wish I had purchased the silver one. I wouldn't claim to hear a difference either, but where the HA-1 really falls short for me is in the amp section. It just lacks the oomph and raw power I crave. If it just had more driving power, I think it'd be a truly endgame solution.

I also had trouble with finding the raw power needed on some amps, on many, switching over to a balanced headphone output helped but what really helped was running the balanced out from three DACS I own into separate Nuforce Class A amps made to be run as one channel per amp. It may not work well for everyone but that was my solution.

Now as far as a comparison between the OPPO and Gumby, both are very nice pieces of equipment so I can imagine both sounding quite good. Put the Gumby against many other less expensive dacs I can think of and the difference becomes more obvious IMHO.

 

[Dr.J]

I just read, in a review, that the Gumby performs best when used with the bnc interface. Unfortunately, neither of my CD players have a bnc interface; on what can it be found? Can you have an Rca connection at one end of a cable, for digital out and use a BNC connector at the other end of the same cable, to install on the Gumby? If so, where in lies the gain/advantage of this interface?

 

[Paladin79]

The Gumby has both an RCA and BNC digital inputs and either connector can be on a coaxial cable. They mention that the BNC input is 75 ohm because oftentimes cables with BNC are 50 ohm and probably not suitable for digital signals. The quick answer is that if you have a coaxial cable capable of low frequencies, solid copper center conductor and well shielded you can have an RCA connector on one end and BNC on the other, they are just types of connectors.

I am assuming this is correct from what I can tell from the manual for the Gumby. Baldr is here so perhaps he can correct me if I am wrong about either input.

 

[artur9]

I recently got a Ha1 a few days ago and have been loving it so far. Unfortunately i'm in quite a conundrum as it's making me want to sell my Gungnir Multibit which is by all regards a more expensive dac. I have been doing A/B comparisons for the last 2 days now between the Gumby dac and the Oppo Ha1 dac and for the life of me i cannot notice a discernible difference of say more then 1%. The Gumby sounds maybe a touch warmer and when i say a touch it's really not even noticeable it's to such a tiny degree, that in fact it may not even be there.

DAC differences are really subtle compared to headphones or loudspeakers (I don't do headphones).

Before making any decision I would listen to a long piece of music or a long string of albums, say 1-2h. Some DACs start to irritate after a certain length of time. I've never felt that way with my Gumby.

If even that shows no difference then you should pocket the $$$ difference and save towards even better headphones/amp!

 

[earChasm]

I posted this over in the Oppo Ha1 thread but thought i would post it here too for you guys as it has to do with my Gumby. Anyway here are my thoughts...

I recently got a Ha1 a few days ago and have been loving it so far. Unfortunately i'm in quite a conundrum as it's making me want to sell my Gungnir Multibit which is by all regards a more expensive dac. I have been doing A/B comparisons for the last 2 days now between the Gumby dac and the Oppo Ha1 dac and for the life of me i cannot notice a discernible difference of say more then 1%. The Gumby sounds maybe a touch warmer and when i say a touch it's really not even noticeable it's to such a tiny degree, that in fact it may not even be there. Also just to mention that i used the Oppo amp for both dacs and listened at exactly the same volume with same cables for all tests. Only took me about 2 seconds to change between dacs as well.

Anyway, That's how alike the sound, coming from both the Gumby and Ha1 dac sounded. Now just to make sure i was hearing what i was hearing. I compared the sound impressions from a HD800S, LCD 2, and a Shure 846. I could clearly hear HUGE! sonic differences between the headphones but not between the two dacs. I'm honestly becoming a believer that 99% of the sonic difference is coming from the headphone and not from the dac. If i had to advise someone buying new gear that wanted to hear the best sound, i would honestly tell them the headphone is by far and away the most important part.

So where does this leave me, i'm not really sure to be honest and would love some of your guys input....
I'm tempted to just sell my Gumby soon which i have loved so much. I will continue to spend hours doing more tests as i enjoy it, but i'm not really sure what to think about spending money on dac's after a certain price point anymore.

Hi,

I'm curious where you stand now. Still feeling the same?

 

[Audiofiend1]

Hi,

I'm curious where you stand now. Still feeling the same?

Hey earChasm

Well it is about time i did another report back. I did further A/B tests throughout the week with the Gumby and the Ha-1. I recently got a LCD-3 so i Incorporated that as yet another headphone into the mix to make sure my ears has even more to wok with. Unfortunately, i still come to largely the same conclusions. The Gumby sounds about 1% better then the Ha-1 sabre 9018 dac. Even that 1% is very hard for me to justify as i might just be fooling myself with perception bias.

Now where i DO find a big difference is between the HA-1 amp and my MJ2 amp which is a tube amp. I find the MJ2 offers a warmer sound which i do prefer to the Ha-1. So if i have to rank the order of importance for head-fi gear and for spending money it would be. Headphones > Amp > Dac > cables and other accessories.

If we look at the price point of both the Ha-1 and gumby dacs, even though the gumby is more expensive they are still very close in price. I am very curious to hear if there is a difference in dacs over 5k even over 10k and more. Maybe you just have to go up many many more levels to find a discernible difference. Not that i plan on spending that kind of money anytime soon at all.

 

[earChasm]

Hey earChasm

Well it is about time i did another report back. I did further A/B tests throughout the week with the Gumby and the Ha-1. I recently got a LCD-3 so i Incorporated that as yet another headphone into the mix to make sure my ears has even more to wok with. Unfortunately, i still come to largely the same conclusions. The Gumby sounds about 1% better then the Ha-1 sabre 9018 dac. Even that 1% is very hard for me to justify as i might just be fooling myself with perception bias.

Now where i DO find a big difference is between the HA-1 amp and my MJ2 amp which is a tube amp. I find the MJ2 offers a warmer sound which i do prefer to the Ha-1. So if i have to rank the order of importance for head-fi gear and for spending money it would be. Headphones > Amp > Dac > cables and other accessories.

If we look at the price point of both the Ha-1 and gumby dacs, even though the gumby is more expensive they are still very close in price. I am very curious to hear if there is a difference in dacs over 5k even over 10k and more. Maybe you just have to go up many many more levels to find a discernible difference. Not that i plan on spending that kind of money anytime soon at all.

That's tough.
So you can keep the Oppo, sell the Schiit stack but loose some pleasure.
Or, keep the Oppo DAC with the MJ2 and sell the Gumby.
Or, sell the Oppo and keep the Schiit stack. If I understood you correctly it is the better setup to your ears.
Or, go wild and sell them all and buy something totaly different.

What's your next move :.) ?

 

[Audiofiend1]

That's tough.
So you can keep the Oppo, sell the Schiit stack but loose some pleasure.
Or, keep the Oppo DAC with the MJ2 and sell the Gumby.
Or, sell the Oppo and keep the Schiit stack. If I understood you correctly it is the better setup to your ears.
Or, go wild and sell them all and buy something totaly different.

What's your next move :.) ?

I think that the audible pleasure i'm sacrificing with the gumby is too small (at least for me) to notice. I've been listening for a few weeks now with the Ha-1 and my ears are very happy to say the least. I'm definitely planning on keeping the OPPO. I think i'm going to sell the gumby and keep the MJ2. I don't think it's worth me parting with the MJ2 it sounds too good with the right tubes and makes my HD800S shine.

 

[rutter]

I'm wondering a little bit whether I should consider selling the Gumby, especially given I could use money right now. What are some cheaper balanced alternatives and how do they compare? I've also been rather unimpressed, and I come from a Mimby, a full $1000 down.

 

[earChasm]

I'm wondering a little bit whether I should consider selling the Gumby, especially given I could use money right now. What are some cheaper balanced alternatives and how do they compare? I've also been rather unimpressed, and I come from a Mimby, a full $1000 down.

Cambridge DacMagic Plus?
If I can score one 2nd hand I will buy it to A/B with the Gumby, just for the fun of it.