Headsave price hike

[wali]

Well, Headsave amps are more expensive now. personaly I'll never pay $400 for an amp, which a guy has build in his basement; i'll rather buy a HT Receiver with that... that was not a rant, just me talking to myself, so ignore it.

[Iron_Dreamer]

Their PPA has always been $400 for as long as I can remeber

[eyevancsu]

I would much rather buy something that a respected builder, such as headsave, than anything that is more commercial. I like the fact that the product was custom made, tweaked and tested extensively for optimum sound and performance, and given extra care in manufacture. I like the fact that an actual person carefully made the item, rather than a group of machines with no "personal" touches.

just my 2cents

[terrymx]

agree on the price, but i rather have my amp custom built than buying a manufactured one sometime. a lot of time a custom built amp sound better than a manufactured. i think the porta corda and airheads are overpriced.

btw, what happen to the headsave tempo?

[Wodgy]

It's not Headsave's fault. Norm is in Canada and probably sources a lot of his parts from there. With the US dollar worth 20% less than it was a year ago, I imagine he just couldn't keep eating the loss.

[wali]

PPA was 375$ (300 something not sure).

PPA $400 + $35 power supply + shipping. I have not heard a headsave PPA yet, but emotions aside about a 'guy sitting somewhere and building something for you'. I can never bring myself to buy a PPA in that price from headsave even if it sounds like $3000 tube amp.

I want my box, my manual and a respected brand name. Not to forget, return policy, exchange, repaire and the rest of services, which come with buying hig-end equipment.

Headsave is based in Canada, but he basiclly sells to Americans only and have his prices in US$(?).

US$400 + US$ 35 = US$435

US$435 * 1.3(flat rate he asks for) = CDN$565

CDN$565 * 1.15 [GST 7% + PST (Ontario) 8% tax]= CDN$649 +CDN$7 shipping

CDN$650

For CDN$600 I can get this AVR-1404

Please do not attempt to convinnce me otherwise.

[Wodgy]

Yeah, it's a bum rap if you live in Canada and the prices are in US dollars.

That Denon receiver is an apples and oranges comparison. It will only drive high impedance headphones well, but of course it does a lot of other stuff too. Depends on what you want. If I was in Canada I'd probably think about the Denon (or a Pioneer A-35R, if I was only intending to drive headphones).

[darkclouds]

I'm not sure what you are ranting about. Headsave's prices are quite competitive, and that is what matters, whether in US dollars or Canadian dollars.

About the reciever thing, the whole point is to get something that sounds better than a mass marketed receiver. Hell, for $500 you can buy a complete Sony hometheatre in a box, with 5.1 speakers, dvd player/receiver. The question is, does it sound good?

[qwerty870]

With quality parts it costs almost $400 to build a PPA. It cost me over $300 to build mine. Judging from the parts he uses I think the price is competitive. (I would guess his total costs are about $300 per unit.) Although I prefer to build my own, I would rather buy one from headsave than from a large corporation for the reasons eyevancsu mentions.

[lini]

Originally posted by wali
I want my box, my manual and a respected brand name. Not to forget, return policy, exchange, repaire and the rest of services, which come with buying hig-end equipment.

Headsave is based in Canada, but he basiclly sells to Americans only and have his prices in US$(?).

Well, so how do you think all these "respected" (shall I ask my old hifi dealer to tell you stories about Denon? ) brands have started off? And what makes you think you'd get worse service than from those "respected" brands?

Have you contacted Headsave and asked about Canadian prices, yet?

And how serious was your post, btw?

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

[wali]

Buying any part of an Audiophile gear is a very personal thing; however, personal preference does not mean acting "in contradiction to common sense".

Putting that Headsave PPA and that Donan receiver side by side, and Putting the same price tag on them... I don't want to go much far into this, since my brain already hurts by thinking about it.

I wonder why this guy who runs Headsave does not work for a high-end audio equipment company, or patent his "revolutionary" and "incredible sounding" headphone amp technology?

I guess as long as there are those who "believe", there will be those who will make money.... now that’s an original quote by me, I better copyright it.

Relax guys; we need to accept each others different points of view. If everyone thought the same this forum won't exist.

[Wodgy]

The PPA is a collaborative effort among the DIYers here and at Headwize. It's meant to be one of the best headphone amplifiers that the armchair engineers here (and some real ones who are retired) can come up with, at any price. It's free and unpatented for the same reason that the Apache webserver software is free -- it's a community product by hardcore enthusiasts.

Norm is just a guy who assembles this design at a reasonable cost.

[wali]

Originally posted by lini
Well, so how do you think all these "respected" (shall I ask my old hifi dealer to tell you stories about Denon? ) brands have started off? And what makes you think you'd get worse service than from those "respected" brands?

Have you contacted Headsave and asked about Canadian prices, yet?

And how serious was your post, btw?

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

Donan was just a comparison, I'm sure i can find some other gems out there with CDN$600 price tag.

Yes, I have contacted Headsave. He simply says that convert his posted US$ prices with flat 1.3 Canadian rate (even if US$ market rate is 1.20 1.25). I was serious and was about to spend $200 on a MiniMe. I was new to this forum at that time and I was caught in the momentum... just before I send the money by Paypal to him, it just struck me that I'm about to spend $200 (a lot for a student like me) on a matchbox... I shook my head and thanked myself for overcoming a total irrational impulse. From then on I felt better about my decision makingļ.

Greetings from Toronto!

[wali]

Originally posted by qwerty870
With quality parts it costs almost $400 to build a PPA. It cost me over $300 to build mine. Judging from the parts he uses I think the price is competitive. (I would guess his total costs are about $300 per unit.) Although I prefer to build my own, I would rather buy one from headsave than from a large corporation for the reasons eyevancsu mentions.

Exactly, building something on your own is a different issue, since it becomes very personal and customized, and if it sounds great it turns into a great achievement. In that case money is not important.

[Wodgy]

If you're upset with Headsave's pricing, why not consider a PPA from one of the American vendors? (JMT, Voodoochile, etc.) You'll pay in American dollars and the exchange rate will work in your favor. Price competition is good for everyone.

None of Headsave's designs are unique. There are multiple vendors for all of them. Norm just comes up with cool names for his.