I thought Gold Planar has been around for a while making drivers/tuning for other companies?
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I agree with DMSās opinion on the tuning and timbre, they sound like empty tin can.
I agree on the vocals too.
I disagree on the poor dynamics. I ran the Dr. Cheskyās Jazz And More Audiophile Tests and The Ultimate Headphone Demonstration Disc on them and they passed quite well, Cymbal Dynamic Range Uncompressed Test especially impressive. Voice Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed Test sounds like DMSās example with his microphone in his video.
Please note that I assume that when DMS speaks about GL2000 ācompressionā he actually means microdynamics, because compression is an audio signal processing operation that reduces the volume of loud sounds or amplifies quiet sounds, and itās beyond my understanding how it applies to pair of planar magnetic headphones.
Similarly Percussion Imaging Test, Depth Of Image Acoustic Clicker, and specially General Image and Resolution Test show that his opinion about imaging is not corresponding to the GL2000ās real life performance, which is very good.
I agree partially with poor slam/impact claim. In my view itās recording dependent.
I strongly disagree with his opinion on soundstage. If I have to state just one thing GL2000 do exceptionally well, this is soundstage. Itās not only wide, itās deep, multi-layered, and if somebody cares to run Dr Cheskyās Height Test, please come back and confirm what I hear, because you have to hear it to believe it. DMSās claim about the āthree bubblesā is far away from reality.
And last but not least, his claim that GL2000 are easy to power. To this I partially agree. I can power them with my FiiO Q5s with AM3D module. Yes, I canāt bear to listen to them on FiiO Q5s, but I can power them. Hell, even on my SMSL SP400 on high gain and on fully balanced setup I feel that Iād like to try something more powerful. I suppose this is more like personal preference.
Sadly I agree that GL2000 are not competitive. They just donāt sound that good for the money I paid for them. I was tempted by the notion that I can have something like Arya for $600. Alas, nope, not even close.
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maybe but their first headphone was not even a year ago.
He seems to actually refer to loud noises lowering and soft noises raising. He used an example in his video where he ran this kind of compression in editing, playing for us what it would sound like if his own audio would change that way. I donāt know either how this kind of compression is even possible on an analog system such a headphone driver. I assumed it was only something you can do using digital processes. So unless thereās a microchip of some kind on this headphone, I donāt really know how compression applies on the headphone.
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i think the best way to describe it is āfalse detailā due to hearing āmore thingsā but losing the depth information and dynamic information in the process that you might not even notice.
IMHO, my GL2000 beats my Phantom. My Phantom beats my LCD2.
Get a set of angled sheepskin ear pads for your Phantom. It is no slouch.
I feel like Z represents the average consumer more closely. What makes his approach unique is that he is an enthusiast, and I think he wants to like every product. A lot of other channels will cast their net of appeal by being more classically ācriticsā, or by being very shiny and polished.
The power that a lot of people just heave onto these reviewers (and forum members) and disassociate their own responsibility in the choices they make about fun non-essential consumer products - and the anger and myopia about how this free informational/entertainment creation should be done is so very strange to me.
I do think Z doesnāt try to āsellā his style, or conceal things ā this can be off-putting for some. Seeing how the sausage is made is not for all.
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I bought the ZMF angled sheep skins and did all the mods they sound amazing! Just curious how much better headphones could be.
i couldnt disagree more but i wont clog the thread.
Compare to my Phantom, it is like a clearer version with vocals push forward into the room, less in your head. Sounds a bit more natural, like listing to speakers or in a real environment. I guess this is where the hollow sound some reviewers complaint about, not the typical āheadphoneā in your head sound. Isnāt the ultimate goal of listening to music is to be there at the live venue when you physically canāt?
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The people who dislike the GL2000 are your amps just not correctly designed for this particular headphone. This headphone scales with power I can say that. Iāve never had any issues with my main portable amp. I use the bass boost feature as Iām a bass head. I donāt find anything wrong with the headphone. If your portable is not putting out 2 watts you bought the wrong headphone. Did you bother to read the stats? 2 watts at least at 60 ohms. I doubt a Fiio is capable of producing 2 watts into 60 ohms. Also they kinda sneak a trick by saying at least that really mean more. I was pushing close to 10 on my Wells Audio Reference Milo into the 2000. That amp adds warmth with a bloom to the bass so it made the difference. If I take my 1266 and use a low powered device it sound like poo.
By the number of hype zeo trains you fell for you could have purchased regular Milo or less powered gsx mini. This would have translated to better sound quality on your current headphones.
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For 600$, these arenāt the best of the best in this price range imo. But I sure do like them. I believe the reviewers are finding flaws in their use and so itās chipping away at the hype that was set at a very high level by the standards of a couple guys and I think thatās fine. Opinions and preferences and yada yada.
The question is, will your 600+ be well spent or not? Do you like what the gl2k can do? Is that tuning something you can enjoy? Do the flaws matter to your ears? Have you heard them yet? Are they what your looking for? Are these your first pair of headphones in this price range? Do they do what you want them to do at 600? Iām still wondering all this myself.
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What amp are you using?
Im really liking them on the ifi micro bl currently, the asgard 3, and bottlehead crack. They sound really good on all of them. The bass boost on the ifi is so nice that I donāt think Iāll need to eq.
The Asgard 2 was my first entry into headphone amps. Iām surprised the crack is working with planar. I wonder if it produces a good amount of current. The black label is my portable as well.
If the gold planar fixes the dip in mid-high freq, would it still retain its soundstage and imaging do you think? Or would it just become an average 400 dollar planar?
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would someone with a measurement rig just tear that crap out and remeasure? all this speculation is getting ridiculous when its 2 minutes away from seeing that the compression is entirely physical. @DMS @Resolve @ZeosPantera @hawaiibadboy
Yeah Iām really enjoying tube rolling with the gl2000. I think some tube combos have resolved the tinny nasal mids that some people donāt like. I didnāt have an issue with it though. Luckily the gl2k is one of the planars that can be run on tubes.
The micro bl is amazing. I feel like I can go portable without any compromises now.
i found that this shitty nobsound preamp with 6j2 tubes it came with was my favorite overall running through my a90. idk if it was a mix of having plenty of power to get the sound right plus the tubey goodness but i really liked it. iām thinking about buying someones regret pair to just leave alone because i really liked how they sounded for certain things before i comitted to the mod lol.
So to summarize the comments here, Zeos doesnāt care about the subtle nuances in vocals or instruments, and he also doesnāt care about the overall balance of presentation (compression) right? It seems to me Zeosā approach is to listen to a headphone, find something good about it and praise it whereas DMSā approach is to see if a headphone ticks his whole checklist, and if it does one thing bad then itās not a good headphone.
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