HeadAmp GS-X mk2 vs McIntosh MHA200

Short answer

  • More power: the HeadAmp GS-X mk2, with 7.06 W into 32 Ω; the McIntosh MHA200 has 500 mW. The HeadAmp GS-X mk2 drives 1 headphone to 100 dB that the McIntosh MHA200 cannot (Symphonium Titan).
  • Hiss with sensitive IEMs: cannot be compared — neither maker publishes a noise figure.
  • Price: the HeadAmp GS-X mk2 costs $5 less, and wherever both makers publish a figure the McIntosh MHA200 shows no advantage for the extra money.

Both are desktop amplifiers, $2995 against $3000.

The HeadAmp GS-X mk2 reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the McIntosh MHA200 on 566.

Side by side

Every published figure, next to each other

SpecificationHeadAmp GS-X mk2McIntosh MHA200
Power into 32Ω7.1 W500 mW
Power into 150Ω2.0 W475 mW
Power into 300Ω1.0 W485 mW
Power into 600Ω500 mW500 mW
Output impedancenot publishednot published
Output noisenot publishednot published
Price$2995$3000
Headphones it reaches 100 dB on
out of 567		567566

Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.

How solid these numbers are

Where each power figure comes from

LoadHeadAmp GS-X mk2McIntosh MHA200
32 ΩDerivedPublished
150 ΩDerivedDerived
300 ΩDerivedDerived
600 ΩDerivedPublished

Only one of these two columns starts from a power rating. McIntosh MHA200 publishes one at 32 Ω and at 600 Ω; HeadAmp GS-X mk2 publishes none at any of these four loads, so its column is worked out from power it published at other loads. Both are arithmetic on a maker’s own figures rather than guesses, and the method used for the HeadAmp GS-X mk2 understates rather than flatters — but at 32 Ω and at 600 Ω are the only loads here at which its maker can be held to a figure.

What the labels mean.

What separates them

The headphones that tell them apart

1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the HeadAmp GS-X mk2 but not on the McIntosh MHA200 — Symphonium Titan.

566 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.

On real headphones

Headroom and hiss on 8 models, both sources

Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.

The widest gap on the list is the Shure SE846: HeadAmp GS-X mk2 has +49 dB of headroom there against +35 dB. 13 dB is about 20 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.

The hiss columns are empty for HeadAmp GS-X mk2 and McIntosh MHA200 because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.

HeadphoneImpedanceNeedsHeadAmp GS-X mk2 headroomMcIntosh MHA200 headroomHeadAmp GS-X mk2 hissMcIntosh MHA200 hiss
Shure SE8469 Ω0.04 mW+49 dB+35 dBnot publishednot published
Campfire Audio Andromeda 20209 Ω4.0 mW+29 dB+15 dBnot publishednot published
Audeze LCD-2 Classic70 Ω0.79 mW+37 dB+28 dBnot publishednot published
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω)250 Ω0.63 mW+33 dB+29 dBnot publishednot published
HiFiMAN HE400se25 Ω7.9 mW+30 dB+17 dBnot publishednot published
Audio-Technica ATH-R70X470 Ω1.6 mW+26 dB+25 dBnot publishednot published
Sennheiser HD 600300 Ω6.6 mW+22 dB+19 dBnot publishednot published
HiFiMAN Susvara60 Ω50 mW+20 dB+10 dBnot publishednot published
What the price difference buys

The gap in dollars, against the gap in numbers

The McIntosh MHA200 costs $5 more than the HeadAmp GS-X mk2, and on these three axes the money buys nothing: among the 567 models here there is not one that the McIntosh MHA200 handles and the HeadAmp GS-X mk2 does not — not on power, not on the one-eighth rule, not on hiss. The traffic runs the other way: the cheaper HeadAmp GS-X mk2 drives one model to 100 dB that the McIntosh MHA200 does not.

Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.

Next

Both pages in full

Each in full: HeadAmp GS-X mk2 and McIntosh MHA200.

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