Did you take off the Gemini cover? I have not tried pot replacement -- but cover removal will be my first step to see what the 'potscape' looks like. Having two set screws for a shallow pot seems unusual ....
I have been researching an amp to pair with my upcoming ZMF Bokeh and for now have my sights on a Gemini. Anyone here have some comparisons to it in the 1k range for ZMF Headphones and how it might stack up to others in the price bracket such as the ZMF Homage or the Feliks Echo mkii? I know this is the Gemini thread so there may be some bias, but that's ok as it would make my decision all the easier lol. Just curious on anyone else's impressions / thoughts that may have heard these devices before I pull the trigger in the next year or so.
Use of vintage tubes that I had left over from my prior Cary, PrimaLuna and Woo amp ownership brought much better performance from this amp than the new production 6922 stock tube that came with the amp.
He estado investigando un amplificador para emparejar con mi próximo ZMF Bokeh y por ahora tengo la vista en un Géminis. ¿Alguien aquí tiene algunas comparaciones en el rango de 1k para los auriculares ZMF y cómo podría compararse con otros en el rango de precios, como el ZMF Homage o el Feliks Echo mkii? Sé que este es el hilo de Géminis, así que puede haber algún sesgo, pero está bien, ya que haría que mi decisión fuera an más fácil, jaja. Solo tengo curiosidad por las impresiones / pensamientos de cualquier otra persona que pueda haber escuchado estos dispositivos antes de apretar el gatillo en el próximo año más o menos.
In my opinion it is a perfect match. I also own a FELIKS EUFORIA with which the BOKEH also matches very well. So I understand that there will be no problem with the ECHO. With the GEMINI, however, the BOKEH sounds more “resolved”, so to speak.
I already have an Aries and am very happy with it. Does anyone have experience in using a Gemini as a preamp to drive the Aries, to give the Aries some of the better aspects of tube sound in addition to the Aries' great virtues of incredible clarity and transparency? From a strictly theoretical standpoint, this would seem to be a technical degrade, since additional active devices (Gemini's vacuum tube + op-amps + I think the potentiometer) are added into the total signal path, which, again theoretically, should degrade the music signal due to additional noise and distortion. If this is so, then any subjectively experienced improvement would have to be due to the pleasureable tube euphonic colorations overcoming the deteriorations in distortion and noise. For instance, there undoubtedly is at least some grit and hardness and overbrightness in my system (though it seems to be quite small nowadays) due to digital processing and noise, and the euphonic tube colorations could smooth over some of that, so overall the change would be a complicated matter of balancing pros and cons and tradeoffs.
What I really want to know is how the Gemini compares to the Garage1217 Project Sunrise with a decent linear power supply. The Sunrise has a fully Class A output stage, while the Gemini's SS2590 op-amps, according to the datasheet, are Class A at lower power and then Class AB.
My main rig has a Sunrise with LPS, and honestly... it's pretty great. I'm happy with it. (It does need an LPS though, the stock switch-mode power supply seriously holds it back.)
However, I have heard the SS2590s in a Geshelli DAC before, and they were extremely impressive, so I'm sure the Gemini is also excellent. The Sunrise is famously vocal-centric, so... just guessing ... I'd imagine the Gemini would have a bit flatter tonal response than the Sunrise.
I believe both amps can take 12AU7s so would be interesting to do two comparisons: one comparison with the stock tubes, and one comparison with the SAME tubes.
What I really want to know is how the Gemini compares to the Garage1217 Project Sunrise with a decent linear power supply. The Sunrise has a fully Class A output stage, while the Gemini's SS2590 op-amps, according to the datasheet, are Class A at lower power and then Class AB.
My main rig has a Sunrise with LPS, and honestly... it's pretty great. I'm happy with it. (It does need an LPS though, the stock switch-mode power supply seriously holds it back.)
However, I have heard the SS2590s in a Geshelli DAC before, and they were extremely impressive, so I'm sure the Gemini is also excellent. The Sunrise is famously vocal-centric, so... just guessing ... I'd imagine the Gemini would have a bit flatter tonal response than the Sunrise.
I believe both amps can take 12AU7s so would be interesting to do two comparisons: one comparison with the stock tubes, and one comparison with the SAME tubes.
All I can say is running HifiMan Susvaras on the Gemini powered by a Topping Centaurus DAC leaves me not missing anything from a Bakoon Amp-13R (retail $6K US but no longer in production).
It drives them with authority and nuance - really great listen.
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[Tube: same as earlier; front gain button: out]