GS-X Mk2 Amp

Can anybody comment on how the sound signature of the GS-X mk2 compares to the Jotunheim? I've heard both amps but several years apart. From what I remember, they share some similar characteristics, especially in terms of resolution, speed, and forwardness, but how does the tonality compare? And does the GS-X sound lean in comparison to the Jotunheim? I'm having a hard time remembering. I would love to be able to test them side-by-side with the HD 650.

 

I had the exact same experience with the gain switch. I thought that I was crazy at the time.

The gain settings on the Jot are 2x and 8x, and the gain settings on the GS-X mk2 are 1x, 5x, and 15x. The high gain on the GS-X mk2 is really high. If the GS-X mk2 has to be used on high gain to sound best (at least with a headphone like the HD 650 that needs to be livened up), is there such a thing as too much gain? I mean, besides reducing the amount of usable range on the volume pot and increasing THD, would using so much gain introduce any other deleterious effects into the signal chain? Could it cause the headphones to distort in any way?

 

I heard a GSX-Mk2 and a Jotunheim back to back with my modded HD650, but at a (reasonably quiet) show where they were being fed by different DACs (same tracks from my laptop). My absolute first impression of the Jot was to note how much smoother the treble was than the GSX that I had just listened to. Both definitely don't hide / soften / roll the treble. And while the Jot left me with the impression that with headphones brighter than HD650s, the treble might qualify as fatiguing for some, the GSX struck me as fatiguing right away. For context, at the time, I was listening to HD650 from a Mjolnir 1 for ~12 hours per day, and the Jot seemed less fatiguing while more resolving, and I was happy I had not dropped the money on a GSX as I had considered when initially buying the Mjolnir.

 

Do you remember what DACs were being used?

 

Were you listening carefully for ~12 hours per day?

I'm not trolling or trying to start shit here, but the question needs to be asked. I often work 12 hour days, but I unfortunately can't listen for music while I work; however, I understand that others can. But when I am "working" (by whatever definition one cares to apply to the term) while listening to the music, I'm not listening carefully - I'm working carefully, and the music is simply background noise. I cannot do both simultaneously with the same level of attention, but I will accept that others may be able to.

To clarify, I don't have a dog in the fight. (Actually I do, but it's the same dog that you had if that matters.) I'm just trying to figure all of this out.

 

The Jot was connected to a Bifrost SD, IIRC. I honestly don't recall what DAC the GSX was using, sorry.

This is a good point, thanks. No, I can't critically listen for 12 hours, and usually there is a mix of an hour or so of careful listening, and for the rest I am working. With headphones I hesitate to categorize it as "background" in the same way that it can be with speakers, but it is very different. It took a while for me to settle on a some systems that don't fatigue me even in this background mode though. Most closed cans, the Beyers, AKGs and Grados I've borrowed, Benchmark's DAC 1, 320kbps, all result in significant fatigue pretty quickly. I also have the volume lower over long working stretches than I generally have it when just listening.

Re listening while working, for me it depends on what I'm working on. "Strategic" thinking needs quiet, but "tactical" stuff is better with music. I also work in an open plan office that's pretty noisy, so the alternative to music is often not quieter, just more distracting. And I started down this road many years ago in high school...