Perhaps it’s different for the GH50 but I still found it mattered, it’s not really about driving power, more about lower level control given it’s low power demand, and if the amp can’t really offer that it ends up coming off as somewhat dry and duller and not adding much. Somewhat helped determine texture, microdynmics, and resolving power. Stage had a slight benefit
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Unfortunately, I never got to hear the micro signature with the hp-2. But, that has historically been my favorite amp. I have owned it twice. And I wouldn’t be surprised if a third time happens. I did like it with the Zen and the various over ears I heard connected to it.
I completely agree with my experience with them so far. But, I didn’t have the hp-2 when I had most of those bigger stacks. I have mostly heard it off bf2/jot and various daps. The burson playmate 2 was probably the “best” pairing.
So does my nintendo switch. Metroid dread is terrifying with those headphones on. I had to stop playing. shudders.
Very appropriate typo. 
You just reminded me that I had tried it on the dx3 pro+. And, yeah, that was one where I felt a step down happened. It was similar to the lackluster way it drove all my IEMs. Like the hp-2 was sensitive enough to fall in IEM category for that amp. It was weird. But, I didn’t give it much headtime, because the dx3 pro+'s failure to drive IEMs better than the Qudelix just caused me to throw it out the door in a couple of hours.
Setting the hp-2 aside, singxer works for other stuff? Or should I just buy a micro signature for a third time?
Don’t die of horror, but I would probably pair the sa-1 with the topping d30 pro dac. Don’t want (and didn’t like) bifrost money, and I have liked the chips in the d30 pro when in other devices (dx300 is really high on my dac/amp list for sound quality)
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If it’s mainly for IEMs, I would stay away from ifi. Their products almost always have hiss on IEMs, unless you use their IEM match, which can mess with the bass. I would see if the Dethonray Honey HP-1 is still available over any ifi product. I have owned the ifi hip DAC and have a micro black label.
Zero issues on the micro signature without iematch engaged. One of the few that stayed quiet with the Dunu Zen. Though, it was a long time ago. I have definitely gotten more sensitive to some things the longer I have been listening. Of course, IEMatch is built in on it. So, it’s a non-issue.
It’s also not just for IEMs. I just don’t have other over ears I care about currently. Eventually I will add something there. It’s a bit of a chicken and the egg problem. I am staying away from a lot of over ears (stuff like ZMF) because I have no desktop stack at all. And, I like my Qudelix, but even I think it has limits. So I am looking for something that will let me drive my IEMs at the desk top and open the door somewhat generically to other over ears.
I have looked at it. Did you compare it directly to the micro signature? or your black label?
I have only owned the hip dac and black label. But lets put it this way; The Honey is so good that it almost sounds as good as the Bifrost 2 plus the Liquid Gold X. That’s about 1800 compared to the 600 of the Honey, or whatever the Honey is today. The Honey sounds about 90% as good as the above combo but not as powerful as the LGX. Just never use the Honey single ended, that kind of sucks.
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Do you think it is dead silent with sensitive IEMs?
No, but there is more to good audio than just a black background. You can just use a Btr3 or Brt5 if that’s all you need. It is quieter than the ifi products I have used. The Honey is one of the best audio products I have bought. This is getting too off topic, so I would just go look up reviews for the Honey. I have never seen a bad one for it.
Black background is essential for the Dunu Zen. Without it, you lose the magic. Any amp I buy currently must drive it. Qudelix 5k is better than the btr5 for it. I have both. That’s why. It’s not essential for any other headphone I have used.
You can try an impedance adapter. They sell a balanced on on Penon Audio for 15USD. It works for the Dunu Zen. It also works well with the O2.
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I am aware. I have some. It also changes the sound. While IEMatch doesn’t seem to. (and I don’t understand that and haven’t dug into it). And, yes I can use that. Simply having an amp that doesn’t have noise has been the most satisfying and easy solution. So that is what I look for. Again, Qudelix is one of the few that is completely black with the Zen in both wired and bluetooth modes. The original BTR5 was identical in wired but has noise in bluetooth. Most desktop amps I have tried don’t get to black without an adapter. And the ones that do are… boring (think topping). On the desktop, I am ok with an adapter, for a mobile amp, I don’t want adapters.
It does look like the honey h1 is dead silent for something like the Zen. So I will be looking at that one. It has a firmware challenge in that I don’t have windows available to update firmware. Given that the things you can try are all firmware changes, it may have eliminated itself.
I don’t know if newer units come with the updated firmware but it is important to update. I also like the optional firmware that disables the 3.5mm out and makes the balanced output more powerful call Ultraman. It only take about 5 minutes to do it and is very easy. Maybe you can borrow someone’s laptop for a few minutes? There is a little noise on the Zen but not a lot. I like the way the adapters make the Zen and O2 sound. You do get a bass boost so you need to take that into account if you EQ.
Yep. This is the one I want to try. It’s not clear if the noise floor will be different on that one.
Did you try with the standard firmware as well? I have to imagine ultraman does this by a combination of ramping up gain and power delivery, both which is likely to raise the noise floor.
Ifi also released a 4.4 IEMatch finally. That is, of course, another option as always.
I don’t EQ. But I think what bothered me was additional treble roll off. I love more bass for the zen. If the Zen had the Oxygen tonality, I doubt I would bother with anything else. The Zen really doesn’t EQ well, well, no, that’s not quite right, it just doesn’t respond well. When I was comparing the Zen to the Timeless, I accidentally left a mid-bass boost from an experiment on and it made the timeless sound like a muddy mess, while the Zen was basically unaffected. It was nuts.
Not during covid. Technically, if I had licensed windows I could use boot camp or virtual box. It’s just so annoying and I have stopped doing that stuff years and years ago.
Ok, so here are my thoughts comparing the LSA HP-2 to the Kennerton GH50.
BUILD
They share the same pads, headband and cable. The only difference i can tell is the logo on the headband and the cups.
COMFORT
Exactly the same
Now the sound is where they really differ, they are so different i wish i could keep them both! The main difference is the bass and i don’t think it is only the quantity but the entire bass presentation. The GH50 has about 6dB of extra bass quantity compared to the HP-2, i say 6dB because that is how much more bass i was adding to my HP-2 in my EQ and for the GH50 i add ZERO, and even with no bass boost the bass hits MUCH harder than in the HP-2.
I have a Fostex Ebony which i got specifically because of its awesome bass, and the GH50 makes the Fostex Ebony’s bass sound like a joke, i can say without a doubt the GH50 has THE BEST bass presentation i have ever heard in a dynamic set. It does not have the same sub-bass quality as a LCD-X or a HE6se v2 in my opinion, but the bass slam, texture and control are just unbelievable! The HP-2 has all those same qualities to its bass but all of them are a bit less refined. If i EQ them both so they have the same bass quantity i still like the GH50’s bass better than the HP-2.
The rest of the sound presentation is where things get super confusing to me, i started thinking that the extra bass quantity was affecting the soundstage, detail retrieval and the overall sound but i was wrong. After using EQ to match the bass quantity the sound is still completely different between the two, the HP-2 has what i can only describe as a more “airy” presentation while the GH50 is more engaging and has more “meat” to the entire thing, this can be true because i could not get a perfect EQ adjustment to match their frequency responses but i believe that is not the cause, i think that there is something different in the cups that causes not only the bass quantity to be a LOT different but also affects everything else.
My best guess is that the type of wood used between the two is different and that affects the sound, or maybe there is a 1mm or 2mm difference in the horns size/depth which would also explain why the GH50 is much louder than the HP-2 even though they share the same exact drivers. The horns are supposed to serve as a passive amplification system from what i read, maybe it is implemented slightly different between these and that would explain all the differences, not sure…
Back to what i said about wanting to keep both of them, the thing is that the GH50 is not a better set in my opinion, it is a different set. The GH50 has the best dynamic bass i have ever heard, it also has a full bodied sound even if you EQ down the bass and it is super engaging while having a deep and wide soundstage (deeper than wider), but the HP-2 takes things to the next level in terms of being unique. The HP-2’s soundstage is even deeper i think, at first i thought it was the bass quantity difference that was causing that impression but my conclusion is that it is not, with the HP-2 i apply a bass boost to get the bass to where i like it and it still retains that unique quality that causes everybody to feel like something is wrong with the sound in the first couple of minutes after you switch from a traditional set to the HP-2, and then after that period the sound is spectacular. The GH50 has that uniqueness to its sound presentation as well but much less than the HP-2, so depending on your mood or the type of music you are listening to you may prefer one over the other.
In terms of detail retrieval, mids, highs and clarity at first i thought the HP-2 was a bit better but after some more time and some careful A/B examining the same track with the two i think they are mostly the same, it is very difficult to compare them because of all that extra bass the GH50 has, it really is a LOT more and if i EQ down the bass then i can see that the details and clarity sound about the same. It is not as if the GH50’s bass bleeds into the mids or anything like that, as i said before the bass is incredibly controlled and i freaking love it, but its quantity sure affects everything else.
CONCLUSION
They are both amazing, i don’t consider the GH50 an upgrade from the HP-2 in terms of technical performance, the upgrade for me comes from its looks and the extra bass since i am a basshead. I wished the GH50 maintained a little more of that “uniqueness” the HP-2 has though, the HP-2 is the only set i have heard to date which manages to have an extremely large soundstage while still being engaging, it is a trade-off i am comfortable with so i can get the best bass i have ever heard in a set which manages to maintain all the other technical qualities the HP-2 is know for.
Sorry about the long post but i wanted to be as clear as i could about their differences and that is not easy when you are writing in a language which is not your native language 
TL;DR
If you love bass above everything else get the GH50, it is worth the extra money just for its bass
If you are not a basshead and you want the deepest and widest soundstage a closed back can deliver get the HP-2
Both of them share incredible technical performance while still sounding alive and engaging.
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Wow. That is an awesome description of the two, thank you.
Best to you!
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LOL this is so cool! Kennerton’s CEO shared my comparison on Facebook!
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Lucky you! The big man sharing your write-up is quite a compliment. 
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Fun thing I did. And something you would never do. I EQed down the bass on the hp-2 and it took on this crystaline clean quality that was a bit surprising. The reason I am mentioning it is I am curious if the gh50 has the same sort of effect.
A lot of the stuff that “crossed the line” bass wise became just about the most stunning I have heard. I don’t keep EQ in place, so I don’t do it regularly.
Also, have you tried any pad swapping? The hp-2 look silly with ZMF or Dekoni XL pads. But they sound good.
I did try to lower the GH50’s bass using EQ to see if it sounded like the HP-2 and it did not, i also did not hear any improvement in sound cleanness when i did that.
I still have not tried any pad rolling with the GH50, the only reason i would is if improves comfort without tempering with the sound, but i find the latter highly unlikely…
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Nice, we need more comparisons like these.
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Do you still have both? Will you keep both?
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