Well, so much for being happy with what I got...
I didn't take my own advice, and after a few weeks with my just Fubar III, I decided to splurge on getting the Micro Stack so I could 'spoil' my HD650s. I was originally going to start a thread describing the differences I found between the Micro Stack vs. the Fubar III, but after finding this, I don't see any reason to.
Aimlink's advice on my other thread was spot-on, so I kept with it and got HeadRoom's Micro Stack. At first the differences were not overtly pronounced to my ears. Actually, at very first, I thought they were *extremely* pronounced, but I realized that the crossfeed switch was on. *** Once I figured that out, I didn't think I was hearing a difference that warranted me spending twice the cost of my Fubar III/PSU. However, after ten days straight of just listening to the Micro Stack, as soon as I switched back to the Fubar, the Micro's improved sound quality became accessible to me. The improvement wasn't overwhelming, but it was definitely there. Like you've mentioned to me before and again here, I began to fully understand that the Fubar III/PSU is a great deal for the money.
The same day I gave the Fubar a second chance and was able to pick up on the Micro Stack's strengths, I then rolled the Fubar's op-amps, replacing the stock OPA2227 with the Burr Brown 2627. I had seriously underestimated the role of op-amps and the sound of the Fubar III improved far more than I thought it would. Still though, to my ears the Micro Stack was ahead of the Fubar.
Here's the interesting part; after playing around with all the units for the next few days, I felt the combination of the Fubar as the DAC (via its RCA outs) used with the HeadRoom Micro Amp, outperformed the Micro Amp + DAC. The strengths I originally heard over the Fubar from the Micro Stack - better defined bass, broader sound stage, faster response, were again magnified with the Fubar III (rolled op-amp & PSU). The difference was slight, but to my ears, that's what I was hearing. When I had originally tried the Fubar III (with the stock op-amp) as a DAC for the Micro Amp, the differences were surprisingly minimal compared to the the Micro Amp + DAC.
After hearing all the nut-huggery HeadRoom's crossfeed was getting, I've been pretty let down. In the very beginning, I thought it sounded great, but after my very first intensive listening session, the crossfeed's effect sounded really intrusive and artificial. The bass is ridiculously magnified, and the sound stage gets mashed into an echoey cardboard box.
So far, there's only been two situations I've felt the crossfeed was a 'plus', 1) rap/hip-hop. I feel the added bass lends itself quite well to rap's intended musicality along with the vocals blending in with the instrumentals. 2) old stereo mixes of early rock (i.e. Beatles). When the vocals are located entirely on one side, and instruments on the other, the crossfeed definitely does help. What actually helps much more though, is listening to the remasters of the mono mixes instead.
Actually, the incredibly altered sound created by the crossfeed shocked me because so many 'audiophiles' here love it. The effect is far from subtle and runs counter-intuitive against all these people claiming to be in search of, and preferring, more neutral, transparent sounds of expensive h-fi. Don't get me wrong, the crossfeed is a definite plus, but only with rap and recordings with poorly mixed stereo. I'm boggled that certain hi-fiers aren't distracted by its unsubtle impact.
All in all, I'm basically in agreement with most of what you said about the Micro Amp and your comparison of it with the Fubar III. I'd be curious what you think of the Fubar's sound after adding the 2627 op-amp, which I felt made just as much of an improvement, if not more of one, as the PSU did.
Tomorrow, I'll be calling up HeadRoom to return the Micro DAC. I'd rather save that money and get the Denon D2000's you had suggested earlier, perhaps with the "lite" Markl mods (hmmm, I smell a whole nother thread a brewin), than keep the Micro DAC. The only objective value I see for the Micro DAC is the extra inputs, but since I only used listen to my 'phones off the computer, that's not a major plus for me.
Questions: how do you feel the D2000 matches up with the Micro Stack/Fubar compared to the HD-650? As far as I can tell, except for the added bass, the 650s beat the D2000s in all other areas (detail, soundstage, etc). Are there certain genres or whatever that you prefer the D2000s to the HD650s or feel they are equal to? Also, how much of the difference does the Astrodyne Power Supply make with the Micro Amp? Are the differences noticeable, have you tried the Micro without it? Is it comparable to the Fubar III and its PSU? Basically, is it worth the $120? I ask cause I'm thinking about ordering it when I retrun the DAC...
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