Gustard H16 Review (Headphone Amplifier)

[dmac6419]

Thanks! I'm considering it as a preamplifier / volume control.

Works great

 

[Silgalias]

Thanks All!
I will be going with the H16 when the sales start tomorrow.
Being able to use as a preamp for my system is excellent and the fact that it uses the same remote as the DAC is a bonus.
I don`t think I will have any difficulty driving anything I currently own and I always knew I would end up buying balanced cables eventually.

 

[Silgalias]

Speaking of balanced cables. Am I better off with 4.4mm or XLR? Does it matter output wise or is it just convenience?

 

[MrOtto]

This "middling performance" performance (SNR) at 50 millivolt, how will it affect usage with 150 Ohm headphones or as preamp for NC252MP? Is this a very low volume setting rarely in use?

 

[NexusOne]

Hello to the community and Merry Christmas!

I have a short question: Actually i use only unbalanced headphones and the Smsl Sh-9. I read the review and I know that the Sh-9 doesn't deliver 6 Watts with a normal DAC. I use the Cambridge Dacmagic 100 and the SH-9. Before I bought it, I thought "Wow, very powerfull" but this is only in combination with the SU-9. An Ifi ican SE alone does have more power. I only needed a remote. But now to my question:

The Gustard H16 is unbalanced not very powerful. So with unbalanced cables it is not an upgrade and the SH-9 offers more reserves or is the H16 is on the same loudness level? Did anyone compare that? I think it is not very senseful to change the SH-9 against the H16 in this case.

But was the H16 an upgrade if I would use in future a headphone with a balanced cable like the Focal Clear? Because of its power balanced? Maybe the power is no advantage because the Clear doesn't need much power but the H16 is "truly balanced" and the SH-9 isn't. And the sound signature seems to be a bit warmer. What would you do? I like clarity very much. Is the SH-9 clearer? The Clear is neutral with a bit of warmth so a stonecold Smsl is better than a H16 which is a bit warmer? A difficult decission: Upgrade because of tonality, truly balanced & power? Does this make a difference with a Clear? I don't know. A comparison between them would be fine. Greets

 

[Noodles]

There is a difference in loudness between balanced and unbalanced only because of the voltage that is delivered to the inputs.
Balanced does not give you anything extra, it is there to solve problems in the signal path... that's it.

Regarding "clarity" and "warmth" ... just check the frequency response graphs.... if there is any sort of distortion or dips/elevation, it will be shown there.

 

[SYJ]

Hello to the community and Merry Christmas!

I have a short question: Actually i use only unbalanced headphones and the Smsl Sh-9. I read the review and I know that the Sh-9 doesn't deliver 6 Watts with a normal DAC. I use the Cambridge Dacmagic 100 and the SH-9. Before I bought it, I thought "Wow, very powerfull" but this is only in combination with the SU-9. An Ifi ican SE alone does have more power. I only needed a remote. But now to my question:

The Gustard H16 is unbalanced not very powerful. So with unbalanced cables it is not an upgrade and the SH-9 offers more reserves or is the H16 is on the same loudness level? Did anyone compare that? I think it is not very senseful to change the SH-9 against the H16 in this case.

But was the H16 an upgrade if I would use in future a headphone with a balanced cable like the Focal Clear? Because of its power balanced? Maybe the power is no advantage because the Clear doesn't need much power but the H16 is "truly balanced" and the SH-9 isn't. And the sound signature seems to be a bit warmer. What would you do? I like clarity very much. Is the SH-9 clearer? The Clear is neutral with a bit of warmth so a stonecold Smsl is better than a H16 which is a bit warmer? A difficult decission: Upgrade because of tonality, truly balanced & power? Does this make a difference with a Clear? I don't know. A comparison between them would be fine. Greets

I have both SH-9 and H16. In fact, I have Topping L30, A30Pro, and A90 (the Great). With my 3 headphones, Senn HD650, AKG702, and Beyer DT770Pro, I think both SH9 and H16 are very good. It will depend upon your preference and your headphones. However, I suggest you try Topping NFCA headphone amps. They are all excellent but very revealing, no compromise. If your budget allows, I think A90 is the best. However, even L30 is petty close to A90 SE output.

 

[NexusOne]

Thx. So the SH-9 isn't louder unbalanced? Actually as a japanese headphone collector I have a Denon AH-D5000, Fostex TH-610 and Audio Technica ATH-R70x , the SH-9 and a Cambridge Dacmagic 100. For the amplifier I need a remote, so Topping is no option. I think about buying a Focal Clear / Hifiman HE-1000V2. I use my headphone for movies & rock / metal music. The Focal / Hifiman could be a step up and I could use them balanced so the H16 should make more sense. But the display is more "old school".

 

[carlcamper]

Been using mine with the Topping D10 Balanced DAC. Sounds great!

 

[odyo]

The review is confusing. What is the actual power output in SE and BAL ? How is it behaving at 16 ohm ?

How is the user experience compared to SH9 ? Screen and volume knob ? SH9 seems cleaner but not sure which one is more powerful especially at low impedance loads. At high impedance Gustard seems better.

 

[odyo]

Why there is a difference like this ?

 

[RHO]

Why there is a difference like this ?

Different measurement protocol? One is wrong and the other is not?
Different scales (very clear in this case) make the measurement result look very different.

 

[odyo]

Different measurement protocol? One is wrong and the other is not?
Different scales (very clear in this case) make the measurement result look very different.

Which one is correct though. Difference is huge. This is the test result of manufacturer. They seem transparent. You can see the test conditions.

 

[RHO]

Which one is correct though. Difference is huge. This is the test result of manufacturer. They seem transparent. You can see the test conditions.

If you look at the 1mW mark the difference isn't that big. It's -94dB on the Gustard graph and about -93dB on the graph from Amir. That's almost a perfect match I would say. (high gain 300 Ohm)

 

[odyo]

If you look at the 1mW mark the difference isn't that big. It's -94dB on the Gustard graph and about -93dB on the graph from Amir. That's almost a perfect match I would say. (high gain 300 Ohm)

I mean the power 414mw vs 1140mw.

 

[RHO]

I mean the power 414mw vs 1140mw.

Amir stopped at 4V. Gustard stopped at 7V.
If you look at the curve from Gustard it looks like it tracks with the one from Amir. Amir stoppen at what looks at the first signs of clipping. But looking at the curve from Gustard it seems to be a sudden small rise in distortion well before real clipping.

 

[odyo]

Amir stopped at 4V. Gustard stopped at 7V.
If you look at the curve from Gustard it looks like it tracks with the one from Amir. Amir stoppen at what looks at the first signs of clipping. But looking at the curve from Gustard it seems to be a sudden small rise in distortion well before real clipping.

You mean the input voltage from the dac ?

 

[solderdude]

I mean the power 414mw vs 1140mw.

1.1W (18V) is correct as maximum in 300 ohm but it requires 7V input voltage.
With 4V you get 0.4W (11V out).
High gain thus is 2.57x (+8dB)

Strangely enough the X16 DAC can only provide max 4.15V so when using the X16 with the H16 you will never reach full power.
Very similar to the E30/L30 story.

Most 300 ohm headphones are rated between 0.1W and 0.2W so 0.4W will already shake Amir's lobes.

 

[odyo]

1.1W (18V) is correct as maximum in 300 ohm but it requires 7V input voltage.
With 4V you get 0.4W (11V out).
High gain thus is 2.57x (+8dB)

Strangely enough the X16 DAC can only provide max 4.15V so when using the X16 with the H16 you will never reach full power.
Very similar to the E30/L30 story.

Most 300 ohm headphones are rated between 0.1W and 0.2W so 0.4W will already shake Amir's lobes.

Thanks for clarifying that. Looks like there isn't much difference between this and the SH9 then, except SH9 better with low impedance loads. What is your take on HE6se v2 in terms of power? People seem extremely convinced that HE6 and Susvara need a lot of power.

 

[solderdude]

HE6SE is 64 ohm which is an easy load for amps.
The sensitivity (dB/V) is very low and is 91dB/V at 400Hz.
This means in order to drive it to normal listening levels (for all night music enjoyment) you will need (90dB) 1V with Harman EQ (95dB) 1.4V = 30mW.

For more active listening moderately loud you need (105dB) 5V = 0.4W in 64ohm with HarmanEQ (110dB) 9V = 1.3W in 64ohm

To reach very loud peak levels (120dB) is needed 30V =12W in 64ohm

The story that you need a LOT of power comes from people connecting it to power amps directly.
To reach 9V you need a 20W/4ohm or 10W/8ohm amp.
To reach 30V you need a 200W/4ohm or 100W/8ohm amp.

So you are probably good with something that can provide 2W in 64ohm.

This amp (driven from 4V source can provide around 10V in 64 ohm (all maxed out) so about 112dB peak levels = pretty loud with Harman correction enabled. (EQ pre-amp -5dB and low bass lift +5dB.