LSA Voyager GAN Amplifier

Back to the story of the Voyager. I will cut to the chase and say this amp is sounding mighty fine now.

I think it is at the same level of sound quality as the AHB2 and CODA #8. However, they do not sound the same. They all do their thing at a very high level of quality.

On the Thiel:
The AHB2 sounds just right to me, I wish it had more power for my Thiels. The CODA #8 is very pleasing, powerful, and detailed. The Voyager is the most exciting sound to me. It is an exciting, powerful, and detailed sound. I do not know why but with the Voyager I am tapping my toes and bobbing my head to almost everything (even the BEE GEES again this morning). I now love the sound from this amp.

The CODA #8 is closer to the Luxman m900u amp sound to me. The Voyager is a bit more AHB2-ish. These 3 are staying long term.

On the RAAL:
The AHB2 is super clean and an incredible window to the music. I need to use the Accurate Sound filter to make the AHB2 work with the RAAL. The CODA #8 is an all round great performer with the RAAL. I do not need the Accurate Sound filter for this but use it anyway because the filter improves the sound.

Last night I was listening to some Judas Priest with the CODA #8 and I had 0 fatigue and a great listen. Just love the CODA #8 with the RAAL. The Voyager was not at the level of the other 2 but I have not tried it with the Gustard X26 Pro DAC. I am not going to do that in the short term because I like what is going on now with the setup I have. I was apprehensive about using the CODA #8 with the RAAL due to cost, but what the heck, the sound is great. I will sell some gear to make me feel better about the costs.

@viber6 I will give the SNIFF test later today when I get a babysitter. My son is going crazy in the next room watching some fire engine videos.

@mapman the hiss is now no longer audible from my listening position, I need to get close to the speaker to hear it. With the Topping pre90 or Benchmark HPA4 connected to the AHB2 there is only silence, even with your ear right against the tweeter.

I should add that for anyone considering getting the Voyager. My CODA 07x preamp does a great job of taming harshness. Not that the Voyager has any because when I added the Topping pre90 it did not seem to be harsh. Though the volume was messed up with that setup (too much gain).

In my setup, with the CODA 07x, I have no fatigue or harshness. I am easily susceptible to listener fatigue if the gear is harsh.

If I had the Benchmark HPA4 still in the house I could evaluate the Voyager in a more pure manner.

Sounds like Voyager has made the grade and competes very well with other high quality amps that I have interest in. So it’s made my would strongly consider to buy list already at this point. Thanks for sharing the findings!

Next I would like to hear a comparison with the $800 mini GaN amp just to get a handle on how those two at significant different price points compare.

@viber I have a lot on my plate now with work. However, I have the house to myself and tested out the SNIFF test at 0:08 of the first track. With the Gustard X26 Pro + Voyager + CODA 07x I could hear it. Now this is not my most revealing gear so if this combo can reproduce it all my other gear can too. The DAC3B and Topping D90se would easily let you hear it.

I will add the AHB2 replacing the Voyager to the mix later today or on the weekend because I am now curious how much more detail I can hear on this SNIFF test.

Good.  Try the other sniffs at 1:12 and 4:35, see how slightly different they are, and with various amps.  It is good that you tried the less revealing components first.  If you try the most revealing first, then you know what to look for so the less revealing components can be imagined to reveal the detail which would have been hidden if you tried them first.

Were these tests on the Thiel speakers or RAAL headphones?  I still am not certain whether these soft sounds are sniffs through the nose or inhaled from the mouth.  Probably the nose, because musicians like to use the HF sniff to draw attention.  Instruments with more HF content cut through the mass of sound and stand out better with greater clarity.  The nose is smaller diameter than the mouth, so the nose creates more HF than the mouth.  My guess is that the AHB2 sounds more like the nose because of its brighter tonal balance toward HF, and the other extreme of the Coda is more like the mouth.