LSA Voyager GAN Amplifier

If your speakers hit 2 Ohms and they need power to shine (like my Thiel CS3.7) do not use the AHB2 in stereo or mono. I have tried both and while it sounded very good there something missing. Listening to something with some power, such as Led Zep, left me thinking that something was missing. With the CODA #8 (and likely Voyager) there is more grunt with music like Zep.

The AHB2 is still my fav sounding amp because of the best clarity, quietness, detail, and neutrality. I would not take a FREE mega bucks amp over this beauty. I am going to build a living room system around it (well already did, just need better speakers). CODA preamp + AHB2 = amazing.

I got my MacMini installed with ROON. Could not get the ROON Core to work on it so slumming with regular ROON. I really hate MAC’s. I do have better ROON sound now because I am directly on my network instead of the PowerLine (subnet?) network I was using before. That setup almost tricked me into thinking me speaker drivers were damaged on George Harrisons 50th anniversary ATMP.

One observation so far when no music is playing with regards to speaker hiss:

- Benchmark HPA4 + AHB2 = no hiss, nothing

- CODA 07x + AHB2 = a bit of hiss could not hear from my sitting position

- CODA 07x + CODA #8 = a bit of hiss that I can hear from sitting position if I focus on listening for it

- CODA 07x + Voyager 350 (not modded) = same as CODA 07x + CODA #8

I am in a small room about 8 feet from the tweeters. 

My previous post got me curious so I put in a stereo AHB2 with the Thiel CS3.7 and the CODA 07x preamp. As I said before the 07x has a bit of hiss (I am using the low gain setting on the AHB2). However, it is not noticeable from the seating position and even close up it is faint.

I tried the Voyager and then the AHB2 playing the BEE GEES - Main Course album. At low volume the Voyager kind of sucks. The hiss dominates the sound. With the AHB2 it is beautiful. However, no one really listens at this low volume. My son went to sleep so I turned everything down. 

Disappointed in the Voyager in this regard, but I have headphones for situations like this. The CODA #8 is also not that great at low volumes due to the hiss. Maybe a bit better than the Voyager (going off memory). 

The Voyager has 26db of gain and the Coda amp probably the same. The Benchmark amp has 9db of gain in the low setting.  The lower the gain of the amp the less it will amplify the noise before it.  With 9db of gain you could never use the Benchmark driven from a DAC (unless you had 100db speakers).  26 db is the industry standard.  The Benchmark has a high of 23db gain....still on the low side. 

Besides hiss levels.....how does the Voyager sound?.....compared with the Benchmark and Coda?  I know its only been a day......but curious.

I can’t find the website for LSA.  Please add the link...