[MacedonianHero]

 
Could you give any further impressions you had on the HD800S paired with the GS-X Mk2? Curious how fresh ears are interpreting this combination; i.e. too bright, enough body, etc...  

Definitely not bright to my ears. The HD800S are not bright headphones and the GS-X Mk2 is dead flat, so it's a great combination. The HD800 is bright and on a flat amp, you will hear them for what they are...bright sounding headphones. In terms of "bloom", the GS-X Mk2 gives you what's on the recording; no more, no less. This makes for a very fast and transparent presentation. If you prefer a more coloured and warmer/methodical sound, then I'd suggest maybe a tube amplifier like the Woo Audio WA2. That said, I much prefer the GS-X Mk2 (owned the WA2, but still own the GS- MK2 

).

 

[joseph69]

  Could you give any further impressions you had on the HD800S paired with the GS-X Mk2? Curious how fresh ears are interpreting this combination; i.e. too bright, enough body, etc...  

 
Exactly what @MacedonianHero said about the 800S/GS-X Mk2.

 

[WNBC]

Even as a newbie to the GSX-2, I can say that the GSX-2 + HD800S is a magical combo.  Definitely not bright.  I tried tracks that on lesser amps would produce sibilance and the GSX-2 never approached being too bright. Really, the HD800S + GSX-2 has been my favorite combo for the past three days.  Plenty of body.  Engaging is a good way to describe the pairing.  As others have mentioned, you can't go wrong here.    
 
 
Quote:

Could you give any further impressions you had on the HD800S paired with the GS-X Mk2? Curious how fresh ears are interpreting this combination; i.e. too bright, enough body, etc...  

 

[David B]

Hi All,

I'm new to the site but a 35 year-long audiophile. I'd like to get feedback on my newly-acquired "personal listening" TOTL rig, which consists of :

PS Audio Directstream Jr (fed by Roon Via Ethernet / Bridge ii)
Moon-Audio Silver Dragon Balanced Interconnects
Headamp GS-X Mk II Amp
Kimber Axios Hybrid Balanced Headphone Cables (3 meter run)
Audeze LCD-4

So what do you think?

Cheers,
David

 

[nepherte]

Hi All,

I'm new to the site but a 35 year-long audiophile. I'd like to get feedback on my newly-acquired "personal listening" TOTL rig, which consists of :

PS Audio Directstream Jr (fed by Roon Via Ethernet / Bridge ii)
Moon-Audio Silver Dragon Balanced Interconnects
Headamp GS-X Mk II Amp
Kimber Axios Hybrid Balanced Headphone Cables (3 meter run)
Audeze LCD-4

So what do you think?

Cheers,
David

Congrats with ur system. But what's the point of asking advice/feedback on a newly acquired rig? If I were u, I'd throw it all out and get something else

All joking aside, big fan of the gs-x mk2. If it weren't for my electrostats, I'd never sold mine.

 

[David B]

Actually, I seek people's' reaction to the way I combined these products, i.e., their read on what synergies they think this system achieves and how/whether they might have done something different in light of their own preferences.

I will say this about the Headamp: Of all these new components it is the one I think of the least...and that's the highest compliment I think you can give to an amplifier. It seems to put no fingerprint on the music...none. Truly "wire with gain", as some have said.

 

[icebear]

...Truly "wire with gain", as some have said.

Might have been me

 

[HeadAmpTeam]

Actually, I seek people's' reaction to the way I combined these products, i.e., their read on what synergies they think this system achieves and how/whether they might have done something different in light of their own preferences.

I will say this about the Headamp: Of all these new components it is the one I think of the least...and that's the highest compliment I think you can give to an amplifier. It seems to put no fingerprint on the music...none. Truly "wire with gain", as some have said.

Hi David, welcome to Head-Fi! We're really glad that you are enjoying the GS-X for exactly what it is and does. Happy listening!

 

[biosailor]

I might be a bit off-topic, but nevertheless, the pre-amp of the GSX-Mk2 is GREAT!

For quite a while, I was looking for a good pair of speakers to broaden my listening experience. After testing a number of speakers, I settled on the ATC SCM11. Wonderfully, airy and pleasant speakers. They require a bit of power reserve, so I settled on a class D amp from Lab.Gruppen (IPD 1200). Today, I went to a local dealer to have my GSX-MK2 connected to the IPD 1200 amp and the ATC SCM11 speakers. We went balanced into the GSX-Mk2 and balanced to the amp, with GSX-Mk2 pre-amp set to 'High'.

The sound was just wonderful that was produced by the system. Lean, extremely clean, airy, fast, and transparent. It was a joy to listen to the system driven by the GSX-Mk2 pre-amp! I totally enjoyed so far the headphone section, and now I got a feel how good the pre-amp is. Absolutely marvellous. Well done, Headamp team!

 

[biosailor]

Here's a picture of yesterday's listening session at the dealer's place. The two loudspeakers are the ATC SCM11. You'll recognise the GSX-Mk2 stack at the left, and the Lab.Gruppen power amp is to the right (the one with the bright display). Again, the sound of the system was just fabulous! I'll give a more detailed report after the speakers arrived.

 

[cooperpwc]

@biosailor While I use high gain on the GS-X mk2 with my HD800, I am getting better results as a pre-amp through my KEF LS50 using medium. It mutes the dynamic range slightly and prevents bass bloat. This might not be desirable on the rig above but it is worth experimenting.

I agree that the GS-X mk2 is a great pre-amp.

 

[biosailor]

@biosailor While I use high gain on the GS-X mk2 with my HD800, I am getting better results as a pre-amp through my KEF LS50 using medium. It mutes the dynamic range slightly and prevents bass bloat. This might not be desirable on the rig above but it is worth experimenting.

I agree that the GS-X mk2 is a great pre-amp.

Thanks for the suggestion! The ATC SCM11 is a very neutral loudspeaker. It has no bass bloat whatsoever. I guess the reason for this is that they have a closed casing, therefore avoiding the often observed bass bloat. I was immediately drawn to these speakers as I like treble more than bass, with headphones and with speakers. When we switched the pre-amp into the power amp, we first set it to low, since the amp is so powerful (2x300 W), and we didn't want to run the risk of damaging the speakers. Then we switched the GSX-Mk2 to medium, and then to high. We didn't notice any change in the behaviour of the speakers other than having to turn the volume down.

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the speakers just to hook them up to this great pre-amp/amp combo.

 

[britneedadvice]

Anyone with a GS-X Mk2 in the UK willing to offer me an audition,please contact me.
Thanks
David

 

[HeadAmpTeam]

Anyone with a GS-X Mk2 in the UK willing to offer me an audition,please contact me.
Thanks
David

Hi David,

we'll be attending CanJam London July 15-16 and Audio&AV Birmingham Sept 16-17, if you'd like to come audition the GS-X at either of those fine events. Thank you.

 

[britneedadvice]

Hi David,

we'll be attending CanJam London July 15-16 and Audio&AV Birmingham Sept 16-17, if you'd like to come audition the GS-X at either of those fine events. Thank you.

I'm fed up with these events because of the noise !! I've mentioned it on the Canjam thread. The Organisers (including Jude ) would not even reply !!