Heed CanAmp - Page 184

These photos are from a small display that we had in our room at CES 2011.

Heed Obelisk DT (Digital Transport) and DAC as source for the CanAmp driving a set of Ultrasone PRO900 headphones.  The other items are Heed's Quasar phono stage and the Obelisk Si integrated amp.

Another view.

And a close up.

Has anyone tried the Audeze LCD-2 on the Heed Canamp yet, and what are the impressions? I failed miserably to find any such threads at least.

I own the Heed Canamp already along with some good cans (the obvious K701, and the fantastic ATH-W1000X) and I might have the opportunity soon to borrow the LCD-2 and JVC DX-1000, so I was looking forward to comparing my impressions of the combination with others. I will also compare them with the headphone out on my Benchmark DAC1 and Little Dot MK II.

Got the canamp, and I'm rather happy with it. It gave the sound a full body, but I feel like i've lost a little of the highs/high-mid detail. The bass has filled out quite nicely though.

Getting a bit of noise since i've added the canamp, but that'll be resolved once I replace my source 

Got mine coming in the mail, to  go with my HD580s I scored on ebay for $100AU!!

Good deal, that.

I definitely want to buy the K701s now.

It's all getting me back into dynamics, having owned STAX for the last year (and keeping them).

My canamp died on me today! Anyone here had this happen and how did you get it fixed? Is it likely to be a blown fuse? My warranty has expired so I can't have it replaced at a store. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by karnov 

My canamp died on me today! Anyone here had this happen and how did you get it fixed? Is it likely to be a blown fuse? My warranty has expired so I can't have it replaced at a store. 

Where/when did you buy it?  Did you get it second hand or are your the original owner?
Regardless of these questions, give me a call if you have not resolved this issue and maybe we can put our heads together about getting it running again for you.

Dan
619-449-2787

Blackbird Audio/Gallery

dan@blackbirdaudio.com

So the latest batch of Canamps comes with a detachable, IEC-style power cord, right? Has anyone compared the hard-wired power cord version vs. the removable power cord version with a high-end cord?

Thanks.

I actually tried mine with a Electraglide Ultra Khan II which I had borrowed from a friend and noticed a slight change, mainly a deeper, more black background.

Nevermind.

Wow, I would never have imagined this thread to have lasted as long as it has, having started back in 2006!

I'd like to thank all of you for your support of the Heed Audio CanAmp and also for supporting my business, Blackbird Audio Gallery by ordering your amps from me.

The latest news from Heed Audio is that I will be sharing a display room at T.H.E. Show @ Newport Beach, CA on June 1, 2 and 3, 2012.  Our display room will be at the Atrium Hotel, room 230 along with the Heed Audio importer and Alpar Huszti of Heed Audio will also be with us.  If you plan on making it out to this event, please do swing by and say hello.  I'll look forward to meeting you.

MORE news from Heed Audio is that we've just taken delivery of a new headphone amplifier from them called the Canalot.  This amp is fitted with a single RCA jack (S/PDIF) for use if the amp is fitted with Heed's Dactilus v.1.2 card (optional) and is also fitted with one pair of analog inputs and a set of analog outputs in the same "tape loop" fashion as the CanAmp.  What really sets the Canalot apart is its use of Heed's already very successful power supply design, the Q-PSU which is a more elaborate design than could be fitted internally. Retail for the amp and power supply is 1200.00.  The optional DAC card is 400.00.  
Blackbird Audio will continue to support the Head-Fi.org community with full support, a group rate, as we have been on the CanAmps and can also offer to take your CanAmp back as a trade-in against the purchase of the new Canalot.  Just contact me directly through our website's email link or here, through private IM and I'll be happy to answer any questions and work up the trade-in value and delivered pricing on a case by case basis (though to be up-front there may be some limitations in areas that have local Heed dealers in them but I can check that for you).  

I'll get more detailed information about the Canalot to post here but in the meanwhile, ours is being burned in in preparation for T.H.E. Show, where we hope to have it set up in an active display.  Here are a couple of photos I took when it arrived.

(above) the front faceplate on the Canalot has been fitted with two 1/4" Phone jacks, a selector switch to choose between the digital or analog inputs and master volume, which governs output volume to the two headphone jacks equally.  You can also just make out the vented area running along the left edge of the Canalot's top.  The headphones in the photo are our Ultrasone Edition8's (which sound really very good on the Heed amps).

(above) angled view showing audio inputs/outputs, the power supply DIN connector and the optional DAC card (background) and the rather substantial amp output heat sink (foreground).

So this amp is a nice match for Sennheiser HD600? This business of deciding what amp to buy has been quite an ordeal. People shooting off different opinions, as for instance that the amp in question in fact IS NOT a good match with Sennheiser HD600. After trying out one second hand amp, Musical Fidelity X-Can V3, that sounded pretty decent as far as I could hear but had to be returned because of the fact that one of the tubes didn't function, I'm back at square one. However, I'm quite near to deciding that I will go with Heed Canamp and would want some comments with regard to the wisdom of this move.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rimbaud65 

So this amp is a nice match for Sennheiser HD600? This business of deciding what amp to buy has been quite an ordeal. People shooting off different opinions, as for instance that the amp in question in fact IS NOT a good match with Sennheiser HD600. After trying out one second hand amp, Musical Fidelity X-Can V3, that sounded pretty decent as far as I could hear but had to be returned because of the fact that one of the tubes didn't function, I'm back at square one. However, I'm quite near to deciding that I will go with Heed Canamp and would want some comments with regard to the wisdom of this move.

I might suggest "olympic scoring" for most any topic where many opinions are offered (such as on internet threads).  Take the most glowing of positives (as they could simply be biased by pride of ownership) and the ugliest of negatives (sometimes people with an axe to grind) and simply throw them out.  Somewhere in the middle is the meat of the matter.

As a dealer for this brand for some 6.5 years I can only offer the following:
1) I've sold a good many CanAmps, thanks largely to the enthusiasm and generosity of fellow Head-Fi members
2) the largest number of CanAmps I've sold have been mated to the following brands :

1st, AKG

a very close 2nd, Sennheisers

and lastly 3) Ultrasone  

The latter being a much younger company, they don't enjoy quite the market share of the other two.

There obviously have been other brands as well but these are the top three with the longest track record on this amp as far as my retail experience with it is concerned

With 184 pages of opinions, experiences, etc., to this thread, I'm sure that given a little time to read it over will help you come to a comfortable decision that is right for you.  

Good luck!

Dan

Let's see if Heed CanAmp will work for me. It's been in my possession now for 1 1/2 day and I must say that is appears to be a decent amp for HD 600. I have it to try out for two weeks so hopefully I'll be able to make an informed decision. The question is how long it will be before it begins to perform at its best. I've heard all kinds of assessments, 100 hours, 200 hours, or the seller himself who talked about 60 hours.