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scottiebabie

Presenting The "Gmod"!

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Any updates? ;)

 

pardon my delayed updates but unless u want my admittedly biased raves, i gotta for wait others to write their reviews :yes: . i wish it could be faster but...sigh...plus the time it takes Blackgate HX HiQs to burn-in doesnt help with speediness :bash: .

 

based on what i've been told so far, our Gmod unit sounds very much like the 4g imod in the bass and soundstage with the highs not as smooth but im blamimg the not-quite-optimumally-burnt-in BGs for that. im sure it'll smoothen out in due time.

 

this is as much info as i've heard as im also waiting impatiently for an impartial 3rd party opinion. if i havent heard incorrectly, i believe a fellow by the callsign of RYNER is doing the review. the fact that he also owns a 4g imod should give some credibility to his impressions.

 

stay tuned..... :party:

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It's very commendable that you guys put so much serious work into it. I can't wait to try this mod :)

IPB Image

 

 

woah.. is that a real tattoo u did on your back?

 

 

Edited by PPkiller

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finally below are some impressions by your local headfiers who had a listen to our Gmod unit. be aware that the Gmod they listened to isnt optimally burnt-in as the Blackgate HX NiQ are notorious for needing many many many hours before sounding their best.

 

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HeadphoneHaven - Where Music Enthusiasts Gather. > Sources > [impressions] Gmod

 

 

Posted by: Ryner Jul 14 2007, 04:34 AM

Hello ladies and gentlemen, Ahdui and I are finally back from a short holiday. So it's time for some new goody goodies.

 

First and foremost, I would like to thank the good people who form Team Gmod (Scottiebabe and Gary) and Analog Reference for letting me do the first impressions of the Gmod.

 

I have been playing with the unit for a few hours already and here are my impressions, I will update you guys about the changes in sound as I continue to cook it thoroughly (run in). The Gmod consists of 2 parts; 1 G-modded Ipod and an external dock cable housing the caps.

 

For now here are my findings using the Gmod -> SR-71 -> UE10pro and Sensaphonics 2X-S. I'm also using a stock 5.5 gen 30gig ipod as a comparison.

 

The first thing that striked me when I first listened to it was the superbly natural bass, the bass is well controlled, hits hard and deep and bass notes comes and go with great agility. Vocals are pretty well presented with emotions, the lead singer sounds like he/she is singing and not just reciting off a script. The treble is well controlled and smooth, the stock ipod in comparison had a lot of digital glare, and feels hard and bright.

 

The Gmod has a pretty wide soundstage and has a good depth of sound. The stock ipod feels very 2D or should I say flat and in your face kinda feeling. Instrument seperation on the Gmod is pretty distinct and the instruments are projected pretty accurately within the soundstage. Overall, I am both pleased and encouraged with the Gmod's ability in audio reproduction.

 

Thats all for my first impressions and since I will be holding on to the review set for awhile, I will update with more findings as the set continues to burn in so stay tune folks. biggrin.gif

 

Posted by: theory_87 Jul 14 2007, 01:24 PM

My short impression with a un burn in Gmod is quite pleasant. The sound signature is warm but fun. For those people who like bass, gmod is quite good. The bass is heavy but not over powering the entire sound spectrum. Mid is quite smooth especially with the vocals. Like what Ryner had said, there is emotion in the singer voice. Treble sound natural to me unlike the default 5th gen ipod which produce digital sound. Sound staging wise is pretty good. It airy wide and reasonable deep. I can figure out where each instrument is place. Overall, I'll give Gmod a thumb up.

 

The equipment I use in the hearing session is Gmod -> Xin Reference/Supermicro IV -> TF10P.

 

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wow excellent, glad i stumbled on this thread~~

 

so any news of pricing and availability for non SG parties :DD

 

 

im glad someone else decided to offer this service, i believe there was a chinese version of the modded ipod which was posted on head-fi, but got taken down mysteriously :\

 

keep up the good work~

 

 

 

IPB Image

woah.. is that a real tattoo u did on your back?

 

 

photoshopped.

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Whats the pricing like for the Gmod?

 

 

errrr...guyz i thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the interest. i'd be glad to answer any questions on the technical merits of the Gmod here however i dont think it'd be prudent of me to do business in a thread without the authorization of the mods.

 

anyone interested in getting a Gmod done, please PM me and i'd be happy to provide more details.

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Scottiebabie,

 

Thanks for the PM.

I'll definitely be considering sending my ipod for the mod when I am ready. =)

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hey guyz i know im not a frequent flyer in your good forum but what with work and r&d on the Gmod and all... :lol:

 

anyways a word of thanks to RYNER for his honest opinions. im still waiting for his update with fully burn-in (200+hrs) BG caps. i think he'd be seriously more impressed than he already is. anyhows, i just finished a mini meet in KL with some local headfier including our very own EFN whos btw a proud daddy of a 5g iMod (courtesy of Vinnie in replacement of his destroyed 4g iMod. if anyone's interested, you can follow our admittedly amateurish impressions and writeups HEREEE!

 

anyways its official!

Gmod = iMod = identical - verbatim from the very mouth of EFN.

 

that said, let me clarify the above statement with a bit of extra info as one of our headfiers did say that although Gmod and iMod sounds very similiar, he prefered the iMod. below is my interpretation on his (WALABIES) take:

just to further clarify that "Gmod = iMod = identical" (or was it the "same" - i dont quite remember EFNs exact words) statement.

 

1. 1st off, EFNs Blackgate caps has thousands of hours. mine's prolly just passed 200+ hours.

 

2. u listened to my Gmod via my dock+cable+Tomahawk. u listened to EFNs iMod via his dock+cable+supermicroIV. u did not listen to the Gmod via EFNs dock+cable+supermicroIV which is what EFN did.

 

3. last but not least, its a not so secret "trade secret" that there are 2 Blackgate HX HiQ cap values that are suitable for use as signal coupling caps. i've spent many many many hours R&D'in these 2 values. FWIW, i know exactly what iMod uses and my Gmod uses a different value because it suits my taste. but do remember that differences with the 2 BG cap values are very very minor and most importantly, its NOT a matter of which is better but which suits u more.

 

quick brief on caps values differences:

(tech sifus do chime in with your take on this)

 

lower value: very slightly more rolloff at the lower frequencies hence giving the illusion of quicker but tighter bass with upper microdetails very prominent (almost like the effect of sitting in the front row).

 

higher value: very slighty more rolloff at the upper frequencies hence giving the illusion of deeper and more organic bass with a smoother upper end (again almost like the effect of sitting in the 10th row).

 

which is better?? i've been racking my brains on this but since i love microdetails, i decided to go with the lower value on my own personal Gmod. again they are both Blackgate HX HiQs (which is argueable the best signal coupling E-caps available) and the differences are very very minor.

 

im also happy to announce our collaboration with ANALOGUE REFERENCE to bring you our complete Gmod package with us doing the actual mod on the ipod itself and Analogue Reference doing the special Dock+Cable combo. i have full confidence in the quality of workmanship exhibited by the Analogue Reference cables plus the fact that now, we have a representative in S'pore itself to take care of our valued customers.

 

indeed, anyone can contact AR for a demo of the Gmod before actually plunking down your hard earned cash!! how much more fairer is that. and on top, i do believe its priced considerably lower than the highly regarded iMod. another reason for our collaboration with AR is because we wanted to provide the best Customer Service we can (in the vein of the iconic American Brands).

 

sounds like a WIN WIN if i ever heard of one! :thumbup:

 

please feel free to post or PM me any questions on the technical merits our the Gmod and i'll do my best to provide the appropriate answer ;)

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in another thread, scottiebabie said

i've been longterm testing our Mk3 Gmod in which the headout (instead of the lineout) is modded into the special Gmod lineout. in function the Mk3 Gmod is virtually identical to a 4g iMod with the lineout still functional normally (ie. lineout's NOT modded) for normal attachment to hifi, car, etc and such. we developed our own custom Gmod cable which contains the BG caps for attachment to the Gmod headout.

 

as for SQ, its identical to the Mk2 lineout Gmod. thumbup.gif other benefits are charging and listening at the sametime and ofcoz we get rid of using the lineout dock which i always feel is the weakest link in the portable chain. also IMO the Mk3 Gmod presents a smaller and less fragile footprint.

 

This sounds like good news for choice.

 

I'm very duh, so please bear with me... In the Mk3 Gmod, does it mean

  • that the headphone out cannot be used as a regular headphone out anymore? ie, it must be used with the Gmod cable with capacitors
  • Since the Mk3 headphone out is at line level, the ipod's volume control won't work, so even if it goes through a Gmod cable, it's not suitable for connecting directly to headphones?

Btw, would there be any problems in opening up the ipod (say to do the gmod or imod process) if the ipod has one of the clear overlays (IS/BSE) on all sides?

Edited by tonedef

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[*] that the headphone out cannot be used as a regular headphone out anymore? ie, it must be used with the Gmod cable with capacitors

 

yes thats right. the Mk3 Gmod 'pod's headout is completely modded. it MUST be used with a special Gmod mini-mini cable or an special 1/8" male-1/8 female adapter which will contain the BG coupling caps.

 

[*] Since the Mk3 headphone out is at line level, the ipod's volume control won't work, so even if it goes through a Gmod cable, it's not suitable for connecting directly to headphones?

 

thats right again. the volume control is no longer functional. its highly recommended that the Gmod headout is routed via our special mini cable to an amplifier but a headfon with a built-in volume attenuator can be used (although SQ maybe degraded) in conjunction with our special Gmod adapter.

 

Btw, would there be any problems in opening up the ipod (say to do the gmod or imod process) if the ipod has one of the clear overlays (IS/BSE) on all sides?

 

not that i can forsee. infact we recently did a Gmod with a plastic clear overlay. it presented no issues except that we had to cut the overlay at the seams where both sides of the case met. u can redo the plastic overlay after the Gmod modifications.

 

i must add that doing the Mk3 Gmod entailed quite a bit more work and if offered, it'll be higher in cost than the Mk2 Gmod (which features the modded lineout ala 5g iMod). we had to search high and low for the best quality flexible internal cabling on top of a whacka R&D for the best routing to ensure complete reliability. i can honestly say it wasnt a cakewalk to develop and i can understand why even RedWineAudio doesnt offer it.

 

we'll be offering the Mk3 Gmod once we finalized the special Gmod headout cable.

Edited by scottiebabie

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woah.. is that a real tattoo u did on your back?

 

I should change it because I just bought a pair of Shure E500's -_- . Still love the Mylars though.

 

Anyway, I wouldn't be so dumb to tattoo this on my back, no matter how much I love the Mylars :))

 

A wonder what you can do these days with computers :grin:

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Any chance of seeing (hearing) this at the upcoming 2007 meet?

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