LSA Voyager GAN Amplifier

I am back home after getting my butt kicked all over the squash court and with cleared up ears.

I just played the CODA 07x + Gustard + Voyager + RAAL again at a not so loud level and heard all 3 sniffs. The house is a lot quieter now.

I then played the  CODA 07x + Gustard + AHB2+ RAAL at the same volume but low gain on the AHB2. Could not hear a the sniff. I then played the same but at high gain on the AHB2 with the CODA 07x volume unchanged. This time I heard the sniffs as easily as on the Voyager. I think the high gain on the AHB2 also matches better the volume when played with the Voyager. It was also NOT nosier at the higher gain. At least I could not hear any noise.

For some giggles I tried the Topping D90Se that is now directly connected to the AHB2. I used the same speaker wire and connected the RAAL. There was a sight difference in the chain though. The 15 foot Benchmark XLR I used was my second pair that had not been used for a month or 2. My Sonore OpticalRendu on the Topping D90se did not have the Audiophile Linear Power supply as the Gustard setup. The Gustard also had the more expensive WyWire USB from the OpticalRednu to the DAC. Remember I have 2 OpticalRendus.

Now that I think about it I should have just moved the USB from the Gustard to the Topping DAC. Anyways, I did not and the results were interesting. I was NOT able to hear the sniffs as easily as in the previous tests. I had to also increase the volume on the Topping DAC to hear the sniffs. I tried to estimate the volume to a similar level as the other tests with the COA 07x preamp. Maybe I did not waste my money buying the  more expensive Audiophile LPS and the WyWire USB. WyWire are generally great wires.

I am listening to the Voyager on my RAAL with about 85 hours and while it is really good, better than my previous Class D RAAL amp. I am not feeling the same magic with the AHB2 and CODA #8. It sounds a little flat on the RAAL. 

So to try something a little different with the RAAL and Voyager. I removed the ROON Convolution filter that was previously used with the AHB2 and CODA. It was essential with the AHB2. Without the filter the RAAL sounds much much better.  I liked to try this again when I have 200 hours on the amp. A very promising result. 

I am going to post this result on the Head-fi.com RAAL thread. This is a revelation.

So, are you always listening to the LSA amp (speakers and headphones) using the Conductor cable.....and when always listening to the Benchmark and Coda amps you are always using the Front row Cable?!?  If so, all your tests are invalid.  You HAVE to do everything the same.  How can you tell if the amp is more detailed or if it's the cable? You can only change one thing at a time to actually know anything.

I have posted above that I am using the Conductor SE cable for the tests with the RAAL after you said the FrontRow was the differentiating factor. I am also using a single set of XLR's between the 07x and the amp being tested,  that would be the Voyager, AHB2, and Coda #8 The Optical streaming was the same when I tested using the CODA 07x preamp. I also now only have 1 amp connected to the 07x preamp at any given time.

************** APPLES-TO-APPLES COMPARISION **************

1) MY FRONT ROW CABLE IS DISCONNECTED
2) I AM ONLY CHANGING 1 COMPOINENT, THE AMP

**************************************************************************

I am not testing the Thiel because I do not want to move my amps around. The RAAL is more than enough to test for the sniff detail, likely the better option for this test.

In summary

The AHB2 at high gain and the Voyager were the same level of clarity on the SNIFF test. The high gain on the AHB2 sounded like the same volume level as the Voyager. I kept the CODA 07x preamp volume the same for both tests. The AHB2 has 3 gain settings, low, medium, high. I used the high setting after the low setting did not match the Voyager volume and also did not let me hear the sniff's.

The CODA #8 was not resolving the sniffs with the Conductor at a much higher CODA 07x volume level than the AHB2 and Voyager. The CODA comes in a distant 3rd.

So for the Voyager to be in the class of the AHB2 is pretty amazing. 

Do not get me wrong on the CODA. It is a magnificent sounding stack and likely the preferred for most A'gon posters. The AHB2 is still the king for me, but the Voyager is really sounding good now.

The former, KING OF THE RAAL, will make an appearance today if FedEx can deliver. It is the KRELL K-300i integrated amp. I won't be able to do an APPLES-TO-APPLES comparison and will use the built-tin DAC on the K-300i. I will also use the Gustard with 15 foot Benchmark XLR to the KRELL. In both cases, this will be a disadvantage to the KRELL.

Sorry, I did not see that you posted that you were using the Conductor for all tests with the RAAL......however, I just now looked quickly at your posts and did not see it mentioned. Glad you are just changing the amps and not the cable.

Sniff tests might be good for low level detail but we don’t listen to sniffs.....we listen to music. Sounds like the LSA is still a little bit "flat" on music? Will be interested in how much it improves with more burn in (probably not much) and of course, how much better it will be with mods.

Benchmark is a "testing for numbers" company. Their ranking of speaker connectors reflects their tests using resistance numbers....probably. I personally rank bananas as the worst sounding......the best is bare or tinned wire to wire (available only with my binding post bypass system).....then spade to bare wire.....then spade to super low mass binding posts (Furutech or WBT) and lastly bananas.....locking or not. I have never heard Speakons so cannot rank them......they are fairly low mass and simple....so they might be fine.

The Voyager sounded flat with my RAAL but I had a Convolution filter running then. This filter is great with the AHB2 (actually required) and also good with the CODA. The Voyager was sounding flat with the filter. I turned off the filter and the sound took on more life and seemed comparable with the AHB2 and CODA with filter.

The AHB2 without the filter is fatiguing. The CODA does not need the filter but improves slight with it. I spoke with RAAL-Requites Danny on this filter for their headphone and he was very impressed by it. 

I have the Voyager playing 24 hours a day and in 4 days I will be at 200 hours. I will do some listening with the Thiels then. Though I have always liked the Voyager with the Thiel, not so much with the RAAL, until now without the filter.