New HeadRoom Micro Stack Arrived... - Page 7

I'll take pic's when i get home and then post them.

I hate to correct you about your own products but I believe you are talking about the amp's opamps. The micro DAC uses 2134s (I sneaked a peek at mine) and according to your website the desktop uses 134s. So, the micro dac and micro amp w/desktop module will give you 2134s all the way through. Can't wait to get my coda upgrade...

edit: looks like headroom recently changed their lineup to start offering the AD822 in the micro DAC.

Some settling thoughts for a few.

TommyTunes, your new amp will be there on Monday with a Desktop Module in it.

KenW, your email is next on my list after this post. You should've broken that one up by chapters

and 2MnyToys, I got a good laugh from the phone message and am glad we got that figured out for you.

I'm glad you guys are enjoying the amps (and DACs) and as mentioned before we do have a PayPal account now so we should be accepting that via the web fairly soon but if you can't wait just give me a call and we'll get you set up.

Peace and off to emails for me,

Yeah, it could be close to 30% or 40% larger than the SM3 based on the pics I've seen of that lil guy, hopefully someone who already has an SM3 will get this amp and tell us all if size matters in this case!

Mmmm... The Micro pair was quite sweet. I had limited time with it at the Houston meet, only enough time to do a little A-B comparisons and either component was great on their own, but they come together in a pretty big way.

The Portable Desktop Amp and DAC was a clear step up, when I heard it right after the Micro series, but I don't know that I would be able to tell them apart otherwise. Again, not enough time to get a real feel for the hardware.

I'm certain I would be happy with the Micro stack, without feeling like I need more. I'm certainly enjoying my new Bithead enough to prove that. I wouldn't mind having the opportunity to satisfy myself with the Micro, though.

I got my Micro amp today. Plain vanilla Micro, no Desktop module or anything.

This is my first amp, so this won't really be a big "review" since I have nothing to compare it with, but I just want to touch on a few things.

The size...it's bigger than I would've liked, but it's not HUGE or anything. Actually, it ended up being smaller than I thought it was gonna be from the pics on their website. This is not pocketable, but it is still portable, make sense?

The sound is gorgeous, even without the Desktop module installed. It really adds a bit more thump and hump to the bass of my Beyer DT880s and tightens everything up more. Not to mention, there isn't much background hiss...none on good recordings, and very little on bad ones. I listen mostly to old jazz recordings, and they weren't exactly using cutting edge recording techniques. But it really opens up the sound of those old recordings. But the lack of hiss, I think that's what you guys call a "black background"?

The Crossfeed is pretty nice, and for tracks that weren't mixed as well as they could've been, this feature really goes a long way in making the sound feel more natural, concertlike, as opposed to "Left, Right, Center". You're able to tell much more easilly when a player is moving around the microphone.

Anyway, I'm not qualified to give a description of the sound in terms of frequency ranges, but I can just say this thing really opened up my Beyers. I am using it with an ipod line out, and it sounds wonderful...just a more natural, slightly richer/warmer/darker sound (whatever adjective you want to use). The Beyer is a very revealing headphone, and I feel the Micro amp lets it keep that quality, but enhances it with greater richness in sound. Maybe that's what any good amp will do, but this is my experience.

For the price, I think this is very competitive. I don't know another amp that has a built in cross-feed, and it's closest competitor (pricewise), which I think is the XIN SuperMacro3, costs about $50 to compare (since the switches are not standard).

I don't know much about these things, but I think Headroom will have a new hit.

Hopefully I can get some loot to buy a DAC as well...that would be great to travel with, along with a portable DVD player....!

Whoa....those are bigger than I'd thought or hoped for! By comparison, the SM is truly a dink of dinks! Certainly not pocketable as you said but I suppose it could still work portably with the right bag. Gonna have to sit down and see how it will fit in my camera bag with all my other gear. Sure don't want to take another bag on the road!

Rick, I appreciate those pics. Thanks!! Now if you'll just sit down and do a quick A/B against the SR-71 and report back, you'll go to the head of the list of favorite, cool posters!!

I hate to do this but I have to do it. Micro vs SR-71? Any info would be would be greatly appreciated.

Yes please compare to the SR-71. I'm looking at both of these amps and I know that I can't lose either way. I would love to hear more about just the Micro amp (i.e. how it sounds by itself, without the Micro DAC, as I'd only be getting the Micro).

I do like the option of adjustable gain, where the SR-71 doesn't have that option (and most would say it doesn't need it). But I think it would make the Micro very versatile since so many of us are constantly buying and selling headphones in the quest for the perfect can.

Quote:[I did make a few comments early in the thread...I think it's on the first page. Basically, I couldn't choose a "best" between the two. To my ears, the SR-71 excels on the top end while the strong point for the Micro is the sweet mids. However, both amps are well balanced tonally (great bass extension), have excellent imaging, and are plenty dynamic.]

What this suggest is that you have to look at your entire signal path to make sure that the amp and headphones do not have the same discolorization. Having both bright in the highs would be very bad I would think. Having a headphone that is bright and a little quite in the mids, would suggest the microAmp would be a better selection from a simiply logical viewpoint. But one really has be hear the combinations to know for sure.

Actual picture for reference:


Tyll won't be in town till August for us so I doubt I will have a chance to compare against a microamp in the meantime. But the DAC does sound quite lovely with the SMv3. I am curious how they compare, particularly with the OPA627s in the SM. The biggest advantages Xin holds is his recharging in-amp, option switches, the ability to customize with a wide range of op amps, and compared to the headroom equipment, significantly better battery life. None of these are deal killers but for me it was prime reason to buy the SMv3 when I did.

It would be great if someone could post a few comments on how the MicroDAC compares to other DACs.

Thanks!