Whatta show! Four racks of headphone bliss featuring enough equipment to drain my life savings. Tyll really delivered the goods. He proved to be as friendly and humorous in person as he is online. He must be anal-retentive, too. Each amp and headphone was topped with its own little handmade plaque which, I was told, took a full week to finish. Now that's a dedicated man!
Rack One: The Headphone Rack
The first rack was an array of different headphones each connected to its own Headroom Home amp. One source drove all amps which facilitated an easy way to compare them against one another. Tyll even featured headphones he doesn't sell such as the Sony CD3000.
Rack Two: The Amp Rack
The second rack was a conglomeration of many different amps coupled with mostly Senns. Featured amps included the Porta-Corda, Grado RA-1, Corda HA-1, McCormack Integrated Drive, Wheatfield HA-1 and HA-2, X-Cans v1 and v2, MG Head OTL, and many others... all driven by the same source, thankfully. Frankly, I was surprised to see so many non-Headroom products there... but that's the kind of nutty guy Tyll is. He loves the headphone community and it shows.
Rack Three: Headroom, Inc.
The third rack contained a mixture of the PJB-100 MP3 player, a tiny portable DVD player, and a portable radio among other things. The Cosmic, Little, Blockhead, Base Station, and Max all made their debut here.
Rack Four: In Your Dreams
The fourth rack was VIP only. Total dream stuff. Orpheus, Stax Omega II w/007, EAR HP4, EAR V20, Cary 300b, Wheatfield HA-2, Blockhead w/balanced Cardas, and the Holmes-Powell giant retro styled "toaster" amp.
It was a bit overwhelming to say the least. I usually need a day to fully A/B a small amount of gear. Knowing I would only get a few lasting perspectives, I selected my criteria, took aim, and fired directly into the racks... Sennheiser HD600/Clou Blue in hand.
My impressions: Take 'em or leave 'em
Grado RA-1 "woodster" 9v amp:
Tiny but smooth. This little guy delivered a very smooth sound for a solid state design. I was impressed, but not enough to judge it as a "serious" amp in the $350 range. It lacks power. The traditional dynamics that make the Sennheiser HD600 punch and snap with pleasure were missing. Beautiful, but spineless, but portable.
Wheatfield HA-1 and HA-2:
HA-1 sounds good. MG Head OTL sounds better. HA-2 sounds a bit better still. Need I say more?
Ear HP4:
This is the one I would take home. Combined with the HD600, it delivered tubey smoothness yet was as detailed as the best of them. Versatile, capable, beautiful.... and quite expensive.
Cary 300B:
Not quite as controlled or finely detailed as the Ear HP4. It was equipped with the new production Western Electric 300b tubes. 'Spensive!
Holmes-Powell:
Good with Grados. Definitely not good with my HD600... rendering them thin and bright compared to the others. I hated the clackety stepped potentiometer!
Orpheus and Stax:
Unbeatable with certain kinds of music, unlovable with others. Such is the nature of electrostats. They shine beautifully when in harmony with the right kind of music. Otherwise they... well... *ahem* fall a little short (rude word deleted).
Ever seen Lord of the Rings? Notice how the elves are delicate beings who float around on magical sparkling clouds of flatulence? The Stax and Orpheus are the cans for those delicate elf ears. I call 'em fairy cans... because they are happiest when reproducing twinkling bells, female whispers, and golden harps.
Pipe organs and bassy jazz were never meant to mingle with fairy cans.
Blockhead w/HD600:
Want the best solid-state experience possible? This be it! Nuff said.
MIA:
Sugden Headmaster, Berning MicroZOTL, Earmax Pro. A shame.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Final analysis:
Sennheiser HD600 - Still the reference standard, and for good reason.
AKG K501 - Beautiful midrange, even better than the HD600 at times. BUT, the bass is light. Too light. Even when coupled with the mighty Headroom Home and Cosmic, it left its bass drum in the tour bus at concert time. By design or by accident, the K501 is light in the bass... and that is that.
Cardas vs. Equinox vs. Clou - Compared to the Clou, the Cardas muddied the midrange unpleasantly (!) and reduced the frequency extension on both ends. Big surprise there! Even after extensive A/B/A/B/A/B/A/B, the shift was detectable every time. Unless the other pair of HD600's were defective, the Clou whomped the Cardas. Conversely, the Equinox was airy and even across all frequencies. I liked it the best.
All cables were referenced with Headroom Max and Ear HP4 w/HD600's. For the money, the Clou wins. At $89, it's cheap and delivers a close approximation of the Equinox sound. The Equinox is slightly better, but at a not-so-slight price.
Orpheus and Stax Omega - Fairy cans. I couldn't help but think of Rivendell's rushing waterfalls when gazing at the gleaming tube shields. Both sound glorious with the right kind of music. The orchestral piece "Tinkerbell's Visit to Harp Landing" comes to mind.
Ear HP4 - Best in show, but it isn't 100% perfect. Or is it?
Cary 300b - Big bottles doth not necessarily make a superior amp. Comes close to the Ear, but cannot overtake it.
Wheatfield HA-2 - Son of Cary.
MG Head OTL - Still the best price/performance tubed headphone amp in the universe (for the right headphones, that is).
SNL is on... gotta go!
Rack One: The Headphone Rack
The first rack was an array of different headphones each connected to its own Headroom Home amp. One source drove all amps which facilitated an easy way to compare them against one another. Tyll even featured headphones he doesn't sell such as the Sony CD3000.
Rack Two: The Amp Rack
The second rack was a conglomeration of many different amps coupled with mostly Senns. Featured amps included the Porta-Corda, Grado RA-1, Corda HA-1, McCormack Integrated Drive, Wheatfield HA-1 and HA-2, X-Cans v1 and v2, MG Head OTL, and many others... all driven by the same source, thankfully. Frankly, I was surprised to see so many non-Headroom products there... but that's the kind of nutty guy Tyll is. He loves the headphone community and it shows.
Rack Three: Headroom, Inc.
The third rack contained a mixture of the PJB-100 MP3 player, a tiny portable DVD player, and a portable radio among other things. The Cosmic, Little, Blockhead, Base Station, and Max all made their debut here.
Rack Four: In Your Dreams
The fourth rack was VIP only. Total dream stuff. Orpheus, Stax Omega II w/007, EAR HP4, EAR V20, Cary 300b, Wheatfield HA-2, Blockhead w/balanced Cardas, and the Holmes-Powell giant retro styled "toaster" amp.
It was a bit overwhelming to say the least. I usually need a day to fully A/B a small amount of gear. Knowing I would only get a few lasting perspectives, I selected my criteria, took aim, and fired directly into the racks... Sennheiser HD600/Clou Blue in hand.
My impressions: Take 'em or leave 'em
Grado RA-1 "woodster" 9v amp:
Tiny but smooth. This little guy delivered a very smooth sound for a solid state design. I was impressed, but not enough to judge it as a "serious" amp in the $350 range. It lacks power. The traditional dynamics that make the Sennheiser HD600 punch and snap with pleasure were missing. Beautiful, but spineless, but portable.
Wheatfield HA-1 and HA-2:
HA-1 sounds good. MG Head OTL sounds better. HA-2 sounds a bit better still. Need I say more?
Ear HP4:
This is the one I would take home. Combined with the HD600, it delivered tubey smoothness yet was as detailed as the best of them. Versatile, capable, beautiful.... and quite expensive.
Cary 300B:
Not quite as controlled or finely detailed as the Ear HP4. It was equipped with the new production Western Electric 300b tubes. 'Spensive!
Holmes-Powell:
Good with Grados. Definitely not good with my HD600... rendering them thin and bright compared to the others. I hated the clackety stepped potentiometer!
Orpheus and Stax:
Unbeatable with certain kinds of music, unlovable with others. Such is the nature of electrostats. They shine beautifully when in harmony with the right kind of music. Otherwise they... well... *ahem* fall a little short (rude word deleted).
Ever seen Lord of the Rings? Notice how the elves are delicate beings who float around on magical sparkling clouds of flatulence? The Stax and Orpheus are the cans for those delicate elf ears. I call 'em fairy cans... because they are happiest when reproducing twinkling bells, female whispers, and golden harps.
Pipe organs and bassy jazz were never meant to mingle with fairy cans.
Blockhead w/HD600:
Want the best solid-state experience possible? This be it! Nuff said.
MIA:
Sugden Headmaster, Berning MicroZOTL, Earmax Pro. A shame.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Final analysis:
Sennheiser HD600 - Still the reference standard, and for good reason.
AKG K501 - Beautiful midrange, even better than the HD600 at times. BUT, the bass is light. Too light. Even when coupled with the mighty Headroom Home and Cosmic, it left its bass drum in the tour bus at concert time. By design or by accident, the K501 is light in the bass... and that is that.
Cardas vs. Equinox vs. Clou - Compared to the Clou, the Cardas muddied the midrange unpleasantly (!) and reduced the frequency extension on both ends. Big surprise there! Even after extensive A/B/A/B/A/B/A/B, the shift was detectable every time. Unless the other pair of HD600's were defective, the Clou whomped the Cardas. Conversely, the Equinox was airy and even across all frequencies. I liked it the best.
All cables were referenced with Headroom Max and Ear HP4 w/HD600's. For the money, the Clou wins. At $89, it's cheap and delivers a close approximation of the Equinox sound. The Equinox is slightly better, but at a not-so-slight price.
Orpheus and Stax Omega - Fairy cans. I couldn't help but think of Rivendell's rushing waterfalls when gazing at the gleaming tube shields. Both sound glorious with the right kind of music. The orchestral piece "Tinkerbell's Visit to Harp Landing" comes to mind.
Ear HP4 - Best in show, but it isn't 100% perfect. Or is it?
Cary 300b - Big bottles doth not necessarily make a superior amp. Comes close to the Ear, but cannot overtake it.
Wheatfield HA-2 - Son of Cary.
MG Head OTL - Still the best price/performance tubed headphone amp in the universe (for the right headphones, that is).
SNL is on... gotta go!
Most of the other stuff I've heard before and commented on already. I'm still a big fan of the everpresent HD600 and most of the attendants seemed to be, too. Do check out the DT931 if you haven't yet, though.
