Posted as a comment under the review, but figured I would place my initial impressions here where folks are more likely to see it. forgive me for the doublepost, though I did make a couple of changes here.
Hi,
Thought I would give some initial impressions of the GL1200. I ordered mine from Linsoul and it was shipped from China and took a couple of weeks to receive. I paid retail, and requested a price match but they would not. Unfortunate, given they are cheaper on Drop but sometimes you win and sometime you lose. This will not color my impression of the headphone. The headphone came with 2 sets of pads and did not include the gold ribbons. As for the pads, I quickly switched to the velour pads before doing serious listening or comparisons so all comments will be based upon use of the velour pads. Switching the pads was easy as they are attached with velcro. Not sure I like that method for long-term durability but I had no problems changing the pads.
I have many amplifiers but wanted something small and light. I purchased a 100 watt BA20 Fosi Amp with tone controls. It sounded quite good but I had the treble control and the bass control up. The treble control was boosted significantly more than the bass control to get what I felt was neutral sound. The GL1200 sounded promising. I knew, however, that the little amplifier was completely inadequate. It simply lacked sufficient current and seemed to clip a little, even at lower volumes - especially when midbass was required. I was interested to see whether I would like the GL1200 without tone controls when properly amped. My Pass X150 was missing the fuse cap and fuse so shout out to PASS Labs, a wonderful company with wonderful support - they willingly sent me what I needed without any trouble,
Equipment
So here is the equipment I am using. Pass Labs X150 amplifier, Adcom GFP-750 preamplifier, and of course the speaker adapter box that comes with the GL1200 headphones. I use the iFi Bluetooth DAC to receive music from Youtube, Tidal, etc.
Music preferences
I listen to a variety - pop, classic rock, symphonic metal, orchestrial, dance music, and easy-listenng. I use Youtube and Tidal, primarily,
So how does the GL1200 sound?
I had seen the Zeos review and also the review from
@Resolve so I didn't know what to expect.
@Resolve pretty much said the sound was warm, muffled, in need of EQ and not that impressive. Zeos said they were amazing and rivaled the newer Orpheus. So which would be the case? I don't have an Orpheus so I cannot say but here is what I did hear.
These headphones sound great. Comparible to my Final Audio D8000/Pro, the Susvara, and the Abyss. They reveal things in music that did not catch my attention with other headphones. They seem to have a wide soundstage. They are well balanced tonally (and in terms of left-right channel balance too for that matter). I must admit to not looking to see how low in bass they go. If anything, I might say they have
slightly elevated upper midbass, but if so, only mildly. I felt the headphone had an appropriate amount of punch and did so in a natural way. I do not feel like the midbass creeps into the midrange at all. I also like that the lower midrange doesn't seem boosted in any way. Lower midrange is not lacking, but I notice many 'audiophile' headphones artifically boost lower midrange. These do not. Upper midrange may sound
slightly relaxed on some music, but that could be a function of the Pass X150 or the songs I have heard thus far. I like neutral to bright sound and I do not feel the upper mids to be lacking or warm. I think the upper mids are fairly neutral, just not exagerated like some other headphones. The overall sound is natural and coherent and very pleasing to me. Clarity is also very good, and while I do sometimes here things hidden from other headphones, I would say clarity and detail may not be quite as good as some other flagships such as Susvara, Final Audio, or Abyss, but extremely close to them. The GL1200 may also fall
slightly behind a little in terms of dynamics, but they do have really good dynamics and I don't feel any significant sense of compression on well recorded music. Vocals are neither forward or recessed, just present. They don't strike me as a stand-out attribute of the headphone, but again, they are natural and match many other flagships. In other words, I don't find them lacking in any way, but I would probably like just a
slight bit more upfront or open vocal to cater to my preference of having a slightly forward vocal. Also, I would note that I do not have that many hours on these headphones, so they might change or ...well you know about brain burn-in too.
Ergonomics and some other thoughts
The headphones are big, but comfortable and feel relatively light. Clamping force is fine - not overy loose but not overly tight. They generally do not creek or squeak, but I wouldn't put build quality with the very best. And if I do move my head suddenly I can on occassion here a creek, but not bothersome in the least. I do really like the cable provided as it is light and flexible. I hear no microphonics andit appears to be a cable I could use with other headphones too. I also very much appreciate the nice case that comes with the headphones.
Conclusion
These headphones are holding up to the very best and I am impressed with their performance, regardless of, but especially in light of their price - although it is less of a bargain if you have to go out and buy equipment to properly amp the headphones. Also, I am using the setup as I type these impressions to run my Susvara. The interface box provided with the GL1200 works nicely to allow me to use the X150 to power the Susvara and that's a feature I appreciate. Keep in mind the speaker box only allows for a balanced headphone connection.
So my impressions of the GL1200 are very positive. I didn't form a solid impression on timbre or imaging yet, but I would say these headphones sound natural and relatively transparent. The fact that these, on first blush, compete against the best is surprising to me. After more listening (and keep in mind I have not done direct comparisons to the other flagships), will I hold the opinion that they are competitive? I shall see. Again, keep in mind these are only initial impressions and this is not a formal review. But there is a down side worth mentioning that will not change. While I like the GL1200 as much and maybe even slighty more in some respects than some of the aforementioned flagships, the GL1200 requires a massive system and those flagships provide equal or slightly better sound quality from conventional headphone amplifiers. Even the Susvara, for example, can run with my GS-X Mk2 or Woo WA5LE, or my THX AAA789 amplifier. I could pretty much transport any of these headphones to a friend's house for their listening pleasure. This is not really possible with the GL1200.