Geshelli Archel2 Headphone AMP Review: another champ?

[turbomustang84]

Ah, unlike many audio forums, our audience comprises of a lot of younger people. So tastes vary for sure.

I'm old as dirt and I like the DIY vibe of their products lol

 

[restorer-john]

I'm old as dirt and I like the DIY vibe of their products lol

I get that, but DIY doesn't have to look like an 8 year old's science project does it?

Consider in the 1980s, this 25W/ch amplifier was sold in kit form in Australia for AU$105. Complete down to the last screw, zip tie and solder. Notice how there is a semblance of lines. Controls line up and care has been taken to make it look good. This was a project in Electronics Australia one month for hobbyists to build.

Solid aluminium knobs, extruded silk-screened front panel (silver or gold if you wanted it), full inputs/tape loop, phono stage etc.

 

[amirm]

The absolute nastiest, cheapest, and most short-lived switches money can buy.

They don't feel bad. And they are not controlling anything directly. A microprocessor (or hardwired logic) takes their input and activates relays inside the unit.

 

[bequietjk]

As for the looks, obviously Geshelli is more focused on what matters most, or at least most important to them.

 

[amirm]

Consider in the 1980s, this 25W/ch amplifier was sold in kit form in Australia for AU$105. Complete down to the last screw, zip tie and solder.

1980s? I bought a new Honda Accord then for $7,500. Gas was just 60 cents a gallon. In today's dollars, that unit would cost $339. And it is a kit versus finished product we are discussing here.

 

[GrimSurfer]

With its measured performance, an infusion of cash for technical gain is meaningless. Were I to add value, it would be in longer life components (including switch gear, connectors, etc) and a durable case to protect them/shield them. Note that I'm not talking bling here...

One could easily do this at a much higher MSRP without sacrificing value one iota.

 

[restorer-john]

Were I to add value, it would be in longer life components (including switch gear, connectors, etc) and a durable case to protect them/shield them.

Exactly.

I see HiFi equipment from the other end and have done so for many decades.

The end where people have thrown out a much loved piece of gear, only to be massively disappointed with it's short-lived modern replacement and subsequently yearn for the quality gear they once had. Or being told their gear is too old to fix, which ironically is so not true as to be farcical- it's the modern gear that can't be fixed in many instances.

Taking a performance snapshot on the bench without a thorough investigation of the likely longevity, construction and durability of the product is hardly the way to determine real value is it?

 

[gikigill]

I get that, but DIY doesn't have to look like an 8 year old's science project does it?

Consider in the 1980s, this 25W/ch amplifier was sold in kit form in Australia for AU$105. Complete down to the last screw, zip tie and solder. Notice how there is a semblance of lines. Controls line up and care has been taken to make it look good. This was a project in Electronics Australia one month for hobbyists to build.
Solid aluminium knobs, extruded silk-screened front panel (silver or gold if you wanted it), full inputs/tape loop, phono stage etc.

A $14000 house in Melbourne in the 1980s costs $600k today. This amp would be worth $2000 today.

 

[restorer-john]

A $14000 house in Melbourne in the 1980s costs $600k today. This amp would be worth $2000 today.

That's utter rubbish. Australian real estate and consumer electronics have followed completely opposite trajectories in affordability.

And from the ABS:
The average weekly male income in late 1980 was AU$268.60pw and that amplifier represented 40% of an average week's pay.
The average weekly male income in 2019 is $1475.60pw and your $2000 number represents 135% of an average week's pay.

A more accurate figure comparative figure would be AU$600 for the Playmaster in 2019. This "headphone amplifier" will cost nearly half that in Australian dollars when landed here allowing for exchange and freight. Hardly a bargain for what you get...

 

[gikigill]

I am talking inflation and dollar value. Following your logic, a set of B&W Nautilus would be $5000.00 today.

 

[GrimSurfer]

I am talking inflation and dollar value. Following your logic, a set of B&W Nautilus would be $5000.00 today.

There are inflation calculators for this kind of thing. Perhaps the RBA has one?

In the meantime @restorer-john makes a good point for not using house prices as a metre of consumer goods. The curves are totally different.

 

[gikigill]

I,ll repeat again, Does inflation apply to Electronics or not?

If No, then why isn't a set of Nautilus worth $5k today?

He,s arguing that Electronics has gotten cheaper today in relation to 30 years ago with no evidence of any nature.

 

[headwhacker]

Just can't help but notice, the the archel 2 PRO seems like an O2 on Steroids

 

[gikigill]

Just can't help but notice, the the archel 2 PRO seems like an O2 on Steroids

I was curious about that too. Just sent an email to JDS Labs so I can get an original NwAvguy spec O2 and compare both.

Gave my O2 to my Dad and he promptly lost it so time to get another again. BTW has Amir tested the O2?

 

[GrimSurfer]

Taking a performance snapshot on the bench without a thorough investigation of the likely longevity, construction and durability of the product is hardly the way to determine real value is it?

More your area of expertise than mine, John. On one hand, through board devices do offer ease of repair. On the other, I've read that MTBF of SMDs is impressive.

Today's components appear to be designed less durably than I would like. There is some marketplace conditioning being exploited... if younger folks are comfortable life cycling $1000 phones and $2500 laptops every three years maybe audio manufacturers don't perceive a need to manufacture durable goods at entry level prices (where young ppl likely start their audio journeys).

In light of the environmental cost of e-waste alone, I'd be very much in favor of obligatory take-back and domestic recycling for consumer electronics. The inherent costs of such a programme would force many manufacturers to up their game wrt durability as a means of minimizing lifecycle costs.

Other things, like in service support with upgradable boards, sound nice. The reality is that the upgrade is nothing more than a future promise that might only be offered at insane cost to the consumer. CH comes to mind with some of its gear but the msrp of this stuff is bloody insane (even more so on a cost/performance basis).

 

[amirm]

BTW has Amir tested the O2?

A long time ago with my old analyzer I think.

 

[headwhacker]

I was curious about that too. Just sent an email to JDS Labs so I can get an original NwAvguy spec O2 and compare both.

Gave my O2 to my Dad and he promptly lost it so time to get another again. BTW has Amir tested the O2?

You don't need JDS Labs for that. NwAvguy's blog is still up. I usually tell people to read his blog first before exploring the audiophile world.

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/

 

[turbomustang84]

I get that, but DIY doesn't have to look like an 8 year old's science project does it?

Consider in the 1980s, this 25W/ch amplifier was sold in kit form in Australia for AU$105. Complete down to the last screw, zip tie and solder. Notice how there is a semblance of lines. Controls line up and care has been taken to make it look good. This was a project in Electronics Australia one month for hobbyists to build.


View attachment 36488

View attachment 36489

Solid aluminium knobs, extruded silk-screened front panel (silver or gold if you wanted it), full inputs/tape loop, phono stage etc.

The Geshelli Dac and Amps are expertly painted and offered in the color of your choice as well as clear or smoked front and rear panels and they are built better than you might think.

I built a Heathkit amp and tuner when I was in High School and it was ok but dead by the 80s.lol

Some prefer black or silver boxes and I get that but I can spot a Geshelli product from across the room they are unique and I appreciate that .

 

[GrimSurfer]

I,ll repeat again, Does inflation apply to Electronics or not?

If No, then why isn't a set of Nautilus worth $5k today?

He,s arguing that Electronics has gotten cheaper today in relation to 30 years ago with no evidence of any nature.

Because while consumer audio prices have stayed consistent with inflation, boutique audio has gone through the roof to exploit a significant number of 1-3%ers whose pay packets are completely out of step with reality.

I wrote an email to Bryston about this two years ago when one of their amps I had just about saved up for had a price jump of 17% in one year. The exact same amp. Not a upgrade but the exact same amp! The bloody things are made in Peterborough, a dinky little town across the lake from Syracuse.

The annual change in the Canadian consumer price index that year was 3% and the town is 100 miles from any metro property market to speak of. The biggest employer in that city is a public hospital... and let's not forget that Canadian healthcare is publicly funded and not the money machines that exist stateside. There are a few tech employers in the town but they flocked there for the cheap labor and low taxes. We're not talking Melbourne CBD here... closer inscale to Warnambool but without the weather, beach, scenic drive or holiday draw.

Quality and higher end audio is pricing itself for the 1-3% and offshore crooks and oligarchs. Which seems to explain why a pair of Nautilus speakers runs what? $50k or so?

Consumer audio hasn't rising much more then inflation. They're making their margins, and then some, through $hitty construction shortcuts.

This pretty much leaves the consumer with a two speed industry: dogshit and eye gouging. Exceptions do exist, like Benchmark at one end and Geshelli at the other end of what I would call a sane price point. But these are outliers.

<<midnight rant ends>>

 

[gikigill]

That's utter rubbish. Australian real estate and consumer electronics have followed completely opposite trajectories in affordability.

And from the ABS:
The average weekly male income in late 1980 was AU$268.60pw and that amplifier represented 40% of an average week's pay.
The average weekly male income in 2019 is $1475.60pw and your $2000 number represents 135% of an average week's pay.

A more accurate figure comparative figure would be AU$600 for the Playmaster in 2019. This "headphone amplifier" will cost nearly half that in Australian dollars when landed here allowing for exchange and freight. Hardly a bargain for what you get...

Thank you for proving inflation hits Electronics too as you get less for your money. Besides Playmaster was a hobby horse run by a magazine company that could afford to sell at cost as a marketing exercise, not a business with margins to maintain.

Ask Bottlehead what their prices would be if margins were removed as I have built a S.E.X 2.1 and an AMB Beta 22 and M3. Parts for AMB amps are cheap but assembly is not as most builders usually set a price that's as much as the parts.