GPH

If the Habs play the next two games like they played tonight, the conference finals are not too far off! I'm slowly starting to believe in this team, a bunch of small guys, but they work hard and are backed up by a spectacular goalie.

It was a good game, but the Pens deserved to win. I hope the Habs will be able to even out the series in two days, otherwise we're in big trouble, coming back a second time from 1-3 is not a desirable situation.

I don't have anything decent except for the JH13 right now and I have no plans to buy full-size cans in the near future. From what I understand, the HA-006++ big feature is upgraded caps, you have to ask yourself if it's worth the price for you.

This morning, I received the GS-1 that I bought from veloaudio and since it's a rainy/cloudy day and I had nothing very important to do this afternoon, I decided to do something that I rarely do (because frankly it's a pain in the ass), an amp comparison. I thought it was an interesting comparison to make because the two amps are different implementations of the classic Dynalo design by Kevin Gilmore, but at very different price points. On one side, HeadAmp 899$ GS-1 that's been a respected amp for a few years and on the other side, the Chinese-made HA-006+ that's a newcomer to the market at a very attractive price of 280$. Features The HA-006+ has an headphone out, one set of inputs and one set of preamp outs, the GS-1 has the same and adds an extra set of inputs, an extra headphone out, a loop out and a a gain switch. The HA-006+ has a gain of 11 and on the GS-1 you have the choice between 3 and 9. Technically, I'm not sure what are the differences between the two amps, someone more knowledgeable in electronics would have to answer this. Aesthetically, the GS-1 smokes the HA-006+. The Sheer Audio amp looks like a DIY build while the GS-1 looks professional. Surprisingly, the HA-006+ weights quite a bit more than the GS-1. Sound I used my Adcom GDA-600 source to make the comparison. The volume levels were matched with a 0.3mV difference according to my multimeter. I had to swap the RCA cables when I switched amps, which is a less than ideal method, but I didn't have another pair of interconnects unfortunately. I used the JH13 for the test with a few tracks that I know very well, mostly progressive rock and classical. First thing, the GS-1 is quite a bit more silent than the HA-006+. With the JH13, the background is almost pitch black, while the HA-006 has some low-level noise when there's no music playing. I plugged my KSC-35 for fun and you can't hear noise on any of these amps, but the JH13 are quite sensitive. With that said, it doesn't matter at all when there's music playing, but I like my amps quiet. Also, I thought earlier that the HA-006+ produced some kind of very low hum, but finally it had nothing to do with the amp, it was a ground loop due to who-knows-what in the way my setup was arranged. I did a lot of back and forth listening of short sequences between the two amps and I have to say they are pretty close. I've never been very good at describing sound, but I'd say the GS-1 has a sound that's just a little more focused than the HA-006+. Same basic sound signature, but it does everything with a bit more confidence and precision. On the other hand, the GS-1 strikes me as a little more polite than the HA-006+, which sounded a tad more open and fun, sacrificing some smoothness at the same time. The two amps are very fine performers with the JH13 and it's nowhere near a black and white comparison, they are small variations on an excellent theme. In conclusion, I think you can't go wrong with any of these amps. There's an important price difference between the two, but you have to consider the extra features in the GS-1 and the fact that it's built in the USA. The higher noise floor of the HA-006+ probably doesn't matter with regular full-size cans, but for sensitive IEMs, it can be a small annoyance. Hope this comparison will be able to help future buyers because it was damn long to write! [ATTACH=CONFIG]3078[/ATTACH]

Good stuff Deepak. I'm not familiar with the recent Corollas, but the Civic LX is a very nice car.

Genesis - Nursery Cryme

Perfect match for the Optimus Maximus LCD keyboard!

Bunch of people on HC that are supposedly brash, outgoing, and very uncomfortable with criticism. Surprising?

I'm watching the 3rd right now, exciting game! The Wings were very unlucky on that 4th goal by the Sharks.

31 shots in the last two periods for Pittsburgh, 9 for Montreal. I hope Markov's injury is not too serious, but I fear the worst.

Another game, another steal. Go Habs go!

+1

Yes, mine is 11x too and there's no hiss present except at very high volume levels.

I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with your unit Lars, I'd get it checked. I just measured DC offset on mine and I get 2mV if you want to use that as a reference. Also, I only hear hiss at very high volumes, far outside my comfortable listening range and the only time I can hear a small hum is with the JH13, otherwise it's completely silent.

Damn, it was an interesting concept from MS for once.

Sharks ftw! I have a feeling it'll be a good year for them, they're playing some solid hockey right now. Deepak, are you going to edit my thread title again? It brought luck the first time around.

No hiss at listening volumes for me, but I pick a very small hum with the JH13. EDIT: I have to add that I'm not sure if the hum is due to the HA-006+ or something else in the chain.

My first round predictions were a bit off as always, but few could have predicted the actual scenario in the East. Anyway, for Round 2: Pittsburgh vs Montreal: Pittsburgh in 6 Boston vs Philadelphia: Boston in 7 San Jose vs Detroit: San Jose in 6 Vancouver vs Chicago: Vancouver in 7

Duly noted.

Hell yeah, who would have believed it! Monday's game was 100% Halak, but tonight it was a combination of solid defense, great goaltending, and a bit of luck I'll admit it. That will certainly make Ovechkin shut up for a little while, as much as I like him as a player, his smartass comments between games were getting annoying. And sorry Dan.

Thanks for reminding me about MSDNAA, I think I have a friend who's got access to that.

Any of you guys still have 'deals' on Windows 7? It appears I need to use a post-XP Windows version for a class and I'd like to go legit if possible, but no way I'm spending 150$ for a secondary OS that will only steal precious space from my OS X partition.

You might want to read a bit, you'll be amazed by all the stuff you can find if you put a little effort into it.

Cool! How was the setlist?

Marillion - Fugazi