Thank you, Headroom, for inventing the Balanced Desktop Amp!!!
Hey, Tyll, Jamey, Roz -- I've been so busy in Head-Fi's discussion forums that I haven't found the time to venture into this area. Glad I did. I just want to echo Arrowmark and say THANK YOU for the Balanced Desktop Amp package! I ordered it with the HD650. It's blown me away, and it continues to do so. I'm listening to it right now. At first, I futzed with it in all sorts of configurations but finally have it down to a very simple setup: my old Vaio Picturebook notebook, ripped lossless (WAV) tracks, Foobar2000, USB connection to the HRDB, and the HD650 with your balanced cable. That's it. But it beats everything else I've ever heard!
I've hesitated letting go of the maxed-out HRD-SE, and I'm glad I kept it. When I wanna listen with both feet on terra firma, I go with this rig. It's still my daily workhorse. I use it with a Cardas-cabled HD650-SE, K701, and GSK-BD -- alternating among the three for a change of pace.
With the balanced rig, I can't get any work done! So I need the SE setup to earn my keep.
For small units that fit on the desktop and deliver system-sized SQ, for solidly engineered equipment that hasn't hiccupped since day one, for a flexible design that allows for the simplest to the most complex setups without sacrificing SQ, for a look and feel that I never tire of, and for a team that's fo'real -- MAHALO!
P.S. So what else are you guys cooking up to beat the crap out of our wallets!
Hello! Recent purchaser of the Micro with desktop upgrade, here, and I want to give you a major shout-out for the crossfeed function HeadRoom features on its amps. On certain recordings, this feature is literally the difference between me being able to enjoy tracks with extreme stereo separation through headphones (my much-preferred way of listening to music) and not wanting to listen to them at all.
Here’s why: As a child, I had Meniere’s Syndrome, which left me about 75% deaf in my right ear. Now, normally, it’s not something I notice much - even though the loss in my bad ear is fairy extreme! This is because the brain is such a wonderful sound processor, that it’s able to take the blobby, low-detail sounds transmitted by my bad ear and mix them with the detail transmitted by my good ear so that I get the illusion of having fully functional stereophonic hearing (well, in most situations). Hence, sit me between two speakers in a room, and everything will sound fine, even in instances of extreme stereo separation.
This illusion, however, falls away if I’m listening to highly separated tracks through headphones. In the instance of, say, the Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby, I’ll hear the strings just fine in my good ear, while Paul’s voice in my bad ear sounds more like the whaw-whaw-whaw of the adults in the world of Peanuts. Nothing terribly enjoyable about it. But when I kick in the crossfeed on my HeadRoom amp, some of Paul’s voice makes it over to my good ear, and voila!, his voice sounds almost as distinct and detailed as if I were hearing the song through external speakers.
Granted, I can and have downloaded SRS or similar programs that offer “surround sound” through headphones onto my PC, but my HeadRoom amp allows me to experience this with my iPod, so I’m not tied to my PC when I want to listen to my tunes (this saves a lot of tussels between me and my wife about who gets to use the computer!).
Oh, and lest I forget, the amp improves the sound of my iPod in other ways, leaving me one very satisfied customer(!).
Might I humbly suggest that it might not hurt for HeadRoom to offer in its online sales literature that its crossfeed feature is ideal for those who’ve lost partial hearing in one ear but still want to enjoy high-quality, fully stereophonic sound? It seems in just about every office I’ve worked in I’ve encountered someone who also is hard of hearing in one ear, so I’m sure there are many of us “gimpy eared” types out there who have the same frustrations with headphone listening as I do, and there don’t seem to be a lot of headphone amps out there with this feature. Between the crossfeed and the fact that your amps are made in the US (I try to buy American whenever I can), I’d say you can count me as a loyal customer who will look only to HeadRoom if I should someday decide to upgrade.
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Cheers,
Robin Michael
iPod 5.5g 80 gig w/256k tracks > HeadRoom Micro with Desktop upgrade > Grado GS-1000s > A nice chianti
Thanks to HeadRoom for the convertible! It was a blast playing with all those modules, and was one of the best value for money purchases I ever made :veryevil:.
Thanks to Tyll for being an extremely fun and understanding guy, and to Jamey for sending me stuff I don't deserve.
Special thanks to Mike in the service dept who is one of the unsung heroes over there. On top of making special Max Modules for me (of course, the most important task in his career, undertaken on the weekend well outside work hours...), he's the guy who is sitting there going through all your amps when they (of course, almost never :veryevil have a problem.
My first Headroom purchase that stayed with me for many years was Total Airhead. This little amp made my numerous deployments with the Army that much tolearble. Thanks Headroom for the great product.
Seems people are kind of giving the "how I met HeadRoom" story. I'd like to add mine. Years ago, 2000ish, when my little sister headed to college, I gave her my "mobile office," which included a ballistic nylon briefcase, g4 powerbook, 5gb iPod, a set of noise-canceling panasonic headphones, extra battery, and stuff like this.
I felt great about it, as I'd given her enough to get started, but I realized that I had kind of bitten off more than I could chew. I had to come up with a new laptop AND headphones, and I thought the Panasonics were the best I could get (at the time they were about $120; now they're about $30). I started doing google searches for things like "best headphone" and so on, because I wanted something to match my new powerbook. I wound up finding Headphone.com, and I got myself a pair of Etymotic ER-6's, which I thought were way too expensive. Of course, when I got them in my ears, and really learned how to use them, I learned that there was a whole other level of headphone quality out there. I immediately picked up a set of Senn 590's because I figured if the Ety's were that good and I could use them on the metro (I live in DC), I wanted something just as good for use at home. I fell in love immediately.
Despite the fact that I thought that I had spent too much on my headphones (and boy did my wife, too!), I bought the Little amp about a year later. Again, I learned that there was a lot more going on than I knew. Around this time my wife replaced her computer, and she was going to buy new headphones as well. Instead she stole my ER-6's, and I naturally wound up getting ER-4's, right? Wow. The amount of high-end gear we had was really piling up, but all I could see was a need for Senn 650's and a more portable (e.g., plane-sized) amp.
So I finally got my Senn 650s for the office, installed the Little in the office with them, I got the Total Bithead for the Ety's and when I had to go on the road with the Senn's, and I got the travel cases/bags for all of them. I am thoroughly and totally in love with the company.
My wife now earnestly believes that she needs the Shure 535s because she wants something that will top her ER-6's, and we're at laptop-replacement point again (funny; she went from vaio to powerbook and is going back to vaio!). I find the whole business of her picking out that set to be kind of funny given her previous reactions, but what really trips me out is the fact that she asserts that I obviously need to replace my ety's as well. Heh. Somehow, somewhere along the way, she kind of self-indoctrinated and now she's an evangelist (she works as a Mac Genius, and simply tells people who want good sound "go to headphone.com", even though Apple of course stocks the ER-6i) and understands what "three drivers" means and why the Senns (and to a lesser extent the Etys) need amps.
What amazes me most about the company, though, is the earnest, repeated, consistent help from everyone I've ever worked with there. To me, the above is a lot of money, even though I see people with much more expensive rigs haunting the forums here. When I spend money like that, it's really important that I feel like I know what I'm getting and who I'm getting it from.
The first person I got was named, I think, "Ros" (like from Night Court) on the phone when I called for a question about the Senns before I bought them. I then began emailing Jamey who was, I mean, really... He was He-Man of headphones. I would ask questions and he had all the answers, knew what I needed based on these convoluted emails I'd send him. I've literally dealt with Jamey for years and was shocked to learn he had left. When I forwarded the "bounce" email to sales@, I was again very impressed, this time by Jorge.
The company doesn't just impress, or "not disappoint." They continually exceed what I expected of them, which was high to begin with. If it weren't for the people there, I would not enjoy music half as much as I do today. I never knew that music could be so rich –*I was literally losing big parts of my music (even in something as simple as Sublime, you can hear a lot more with a good set of cans, but with something as deeply complex as Pink Floyd – Echoes for example – it's positively revelational).
So, I could say "keep up the good work," but I have no doubt you will. When she finally gets that vaio (her biggest question is whether she wants the smaller pink one or the bigger silver one, if you can believe that), we'll be getting the next set, and I just can't wait. I'd normally dread a purchase of that size. So instead, I will say "Thank you, Headroom." And it's for more than just cans. It's for enjoying music and learning more about it, in a way that can literally be life-changing.
Garmentus Vulgaris & Headphoneus Supremus Premier Sponsor HeadRoom
Holy smoke, avriette, you are most welcome. And, as is the custom around here when addressing one with a post count of one, sorry about your wallet!
I think I need to respond properly to your post. Your experience at HeadRoom doesn't come from some sophisticated customer service training program, it comes from a bunch of really terrific individuals who are simply told to honor the music, understand the value of the products they are involved with, and focus on finding a good value for the customers needs. Jorge, Mike, Roz, Tara, now Ben, (and previously Jamey and Todd) are simply given the opportunity to treate people as they would like to be treated, and being the great people they are, they rise to the occasion. I can't tell you how many times folks have contacted me to tell how how great it was to simply be told the truth and be helped regarding the products they wanted to buy. The performance of the folks here never ceases to amaze me ... but there's more.
HeadRoom is a workplace, and folks here work hard. Some suffer the chill of the concrete floor in a Montana January, and some of the upstairs offices are wickedly hot in the summer. We're constantly grabbing our bootstraps and pulling hard as we try to self-finance our growth; difficult compromises are constant stressors. The effort and energy it takes for all the employees of HeadRoom just to be civil to each other and turn the crank everyday is a big deal. And that's what really amazes me: how they suffer the work, and still want to help people to get great music. To be fair, most people, in general, really rise to the occasion and work to aid others when given the opportunity. However, these particular folks are my responsibility, and I promise I'll keep doing my best to provide a good job for them.
Just wanted to show some appreciation for Ben Thiede. I got into hi-fi headphones about a week and a half ago and needless to say, I am a noob. Ben has been able to answer all of my questions, and even give me suggestions on what I should and should not buy. He takes the time to explain what certain things are and how they compare. My credit card declined because there was a hold on my account to verify if the recent transactions were legitimate by the bank (thank you head-fi.org) because there were some major purchases that I don't normally make, and he made it a point of calling me back right away, to make sure that the amp I was buying would be shipped out the same day. It's been a pleasure doing business with Ben, and I would recommend him to anyone.
A gigantic thank you to Andrew and Ivy for lending the upcoming Autumn Philadelphia Meet a Desktop Balanced and balanced K701. Out of a large handful of vendors I contacted and aside from our vendor in attendance, HeadRoom was the only one to lend out equipment (so far ). And some very fine equipment no less. I just wanted to say how impressed I am with HeadRoom's friendliness, generosity, prompt replies and their willingness to take our small meet seriously.
I would like to add myself to the list of those who appreciate HeadRoom. I bought the Micro amp from HeadRoom and got good advice both before and after my purchase. I have recommended the company to a number of people, and I plan on more purchases from you in the future. You are truly a class outfit!
I just made my first high end audio purchase from you guys...I'm very happy with the service so far...and I think I have found a place where I can safely and compentently deal with for my audio needs..!
Thanks for caring...! we worked hard for this money...well I did...and it makes me feel great when I feel you guys care...!
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