System upgrade complete

reg

Wammer
Wammer
Mar 27, 2006
1,499
41
78
, ,
Took delivery of a HeadAmp GS-X mini yesterday.

All i can say is Wow. Very good match for the phones. Deep, oragnic sound with tons of detail and sounstage

In fact the soundstage was pretty disconcerting at first it's so big. The Graham Slee was definitely holding the Meze back.

Only thing is that it runs a bit warm and i am cramped for space so the Meridian streamer is on it's side. I'm sure it doesn't impact sound quality but not ideal.

It's been an expensive lock down but a good one. Have been told by my company that i am WFH until September at least so lots of listening time.

IMG_20200521_114942.jpg

 

DomT

Food and coffee and rock n roll
Wammer Plus
Jul 23, 2019
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Dom
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Took delivery of a HeadAmp GS-X mini yesterday.

All i can say is Wow. Very good match for the phones. Deep, oragnic sound with tons of detail and sounstage

In fact the soundstage was pretty disconcerting at first it's so big. The Graham Slee was definitely holding the Meze back.

Only thing is that it runs a bit warm and i am cramped for space so the Meridian streamer is on it's side. I'm sure it doesn't impact sound quality but not ideal.

It's been an expensive lock down but a good one. Have been told by my company that i am WFH until September at least so lots of listening time.

51P3ki7FWVL._AC_.jpg
I have the same phones. Did you compare the amp against any others? What was it about this one that was the deciding factor for you? Do you have the standard or upgrade Meze cable? Thanks 

 

reg

Wammer
Wammer
Mar 27, 2006
1,499
41
78
, ,
I have the same phones. Did you compare the amp against any others? What was it about this one that was the deciding factor for you? Do you have the standard or upgrade Meze cable? Thanks 
This sounds crazy but no, not really. It was during lockdown and getting out to test and compare amps was a bit tricky.

I have had the Graham Slee for a while and also recently tried an SMSL SP200 THX amp but haven't heard anything of comparable price

So spent around 2-3 months comparing amps via online reviews and you tube videos to try to work out a consensus as to what sounded good and would be a good pairing for the Meze.

I listen to a lot of guitar based music mainly rock/indie/pop but some blues/folk as well so was attracted to the reviews that suggested the HeadAmp had good bass control and could deal with a good mix of music that wasn't necessarily mastered to the highest levels. There are probably amps out there that are more laser focussed in terms off ultimate resolution. Benchmark HP4 was suggested to me in this regard.

Also the SMSL amp mentioned above was good on the "grunt" of driving the headphones but the HeadAmp can do that but can also do the quiet/delicate side as well. In comparison the SMSL comes across as a bit relentless.

Not sure if this is of any help to you. I would say that the Meze are very forgiving phones. They sound pretty good straight out of my phone via a Syrus SoundKey so i think it's hard to go wrong with any amp in a similar price range to the HeadAmp.

I haven't upgraded the headphone cables. I am a slight cable skeptic so didn't feel the need. If i was going to replace the cables i would probably try balanced.

 
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DomT

Food and coffee and rock n roll
Wammer Plus
Jul 23, 2019
10,327
9,595
198
Village near Nottingham.
AKA
Dom
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
This sounds crazy but no, not really. It was during lockdown and getting out to test and compare amps was a bit tricky.

I have had the Graham Slee for a while and also recently tried an SMSL SP200 THX amp but haven't heard anything of comparable price

So spent around 2-3 months comparing amps via online reviews and you tube videos to try to work out a consensus as to what sounded good and would be a good pairing for the Meze.

I listen to a lot of guitar based music mainly rock/indie/pop but some blues/folk as well so was attracted to the reviews that suggested the HeadAmp had good bass control and could deal with a good mix of music that wasn't necessarily mastered to the highest levels. There are probably amps out there that are more laser focussed in terms off ultimate resolution. Benchmark HP4 was suggested to me in this regard.

Also the SMSL amp mentioned above was good on the "grunt" of driving the headphones but the HeadAmp can do that but can also do the quiet/delicate side as well. In comparison the SMSL comes across as a bit relentless.

Not sure if this is of any help to you. I would say that the Meze are very forgiving phones. They sound pretty good straight out of my phone via a Syrus SoundKey so i think it's hard to go wrong with any amp in a similar price range to the HeadAmp.

I haven't upgraded the headphone cables. I am a slight cable skeptic so didn't feel the need. If i was going to replace the cables i would probably try balanced.
Thanks for the detailed response I really appreciate it.

The only reason why I changed the stock cable was because in my Auralic Altair I had a ground issue that never occurred in Benchmark or Marantz.  The upgraded cable has a more mid-forward character and more detail that I really didn't want as it doesn't work so well with the very clean and neutral Altair now!     

 

reg

Wammer
Wammer
Mar 27, 2006
1,499
41
78
, ,
Thanks for the detailed response I really appreciate it.

The only reason why I changed the stock cable was because in my Auralic Altair I had a ground issue that never occurred in Benchmark or Marantz.  The upgraded cable has a more mid-forward character and more detail that I really didn't want as it doesn't work so well with the very clean and neutral Altair now!     
Oh i see. Had no problem with the HeadAmp. In fact the noisefloor on the amp is very low

 

Audinista

Wammer
Wammer
Jan 18, 2009
187
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58
United Kingdom
AKA
Alexander
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I had a Graham Slee amp some years ago and to be honest never got to like it. It sounded sterile and uninvolving.  It was supposed replace my old Class A Audio Alchemy headphone amp, but couldn't hold a candle to it. 

 

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