Sale Pending
I've decided to sell my Maxed out Headroom desktop. I purchased this amp a few months ago and have been using it with my Edition 9--and it's been the best setup I've owned--but I've decided to sell it and build my own high-end amplifier, which I'll use with a standalone DAC. It is the latest model, originally purchased from headroom by the original owner in June of 06 and it is marked 6/5/06 by headroom, so it will have the diamond output buffers that improved the desktop's performance substantially, especially with low Z headphones.
If you're considering the balanced desktop with the home modules and DAC, I'm of the opinion that the single ended version with max modules and DAC will give you substantially better sound quality, especially with low impedance headphones, and especially if you're using the DAC with a computer. Balanced amps basically put two amps in series (one on each side of the load; the headphones), so you get twice the voltage swing but no increase in current swing. Low impedance headphones require a lot of current, but very little voltage, so I wouldn't expect balanced configuration to be of much benefit there. A single ended amp that can supply more current and has overall better distortion characteristics would be better. As to the DAC, obviously the SE Max has the edge. There's no sonic advantage to the balanced Home DAC over the regular Home DAC, but it's required for the balanced amp. The Max DAC reclocks to get rid of jitter (which is very much an issue if you're using the USB input), and upsamples while interpolating to get rid of "digital haze." It's superior, especially when your digital source isn't up to par.
Everything is in perfect condition as far as I can tell, and everything, including all original packaging and paperwork (except for one sticker, which I put on my laptop
) is included, so it's essentially like buying new. To buy this setup new would cost $1546 + $399 = $1945 plus shipping from headroom. I'm offering it for $Sale Pending plus shipping. I'd also be interested in trading for a good DAC (a Bel Canto DAC3 would be my first choice) or a standalone high-end amp to hold me over until I finish building mine.
Some pics:
I've decided to sell my Maxed out Headroom desktop. I purchased this amp a few months ago and have been using it with my Edition 9--and it's been the best setup I've owned--but I've decided to sell it and build my own high-end amplifier, which I'll use with a standalone DAC. It is the latest model, originally purchased from headroom by the original owner in June of 06 and it is marked 6/5/06 by headroom, so it will have the diamond output buffers that improved the desktop's performance substantially, especially with low Z headphones.
If you're considering the balanced desktop with the home modules and DAC, I'm of the opinion that the single ended version with max modules and DAC will give you substantially better sound quality, especially with low impedance headphones, and especially if you're using the DAC with a computer. Balanced amps basically put two amps in series (one on each side of the load; the headphones), so you get twice the voltage swing but no increase in current swing. Low impedance headphones require a lot of current, but very little voltage, so I wouldn't expect balanced configuration to be of much benefit there. A single ended amp that can supply more current and has overall better distortion characteristics would be better. As to the DAC, obviously the SE Max has the edge. There's no sonic advantage to the balanced Home DAC over the regular Home DAC, but it's required for the balanced amp. The Max DAC reclocks to get rid of jitter (which is very much an issue if you're using the USB input), and upsamples while interpolating to get rid of "digital haze." It's superior, especially when your digital source isn't up to par.
Everything is in perfect condition as far as I can tell, and everything, including all original packaging and paperwork (except for one sticker, which I put on my laptop
) is included, so it's essentially like buying new. To buy this setup new would cost $1546 + $399 = $1945 plus shipping from headroom. I'm offering it for $Sale Pending plus shipping. I'd also be interested in trading for a good DAC (a Bel Canto DAC3 would be my first choice) or a standalone high-end amp to hold me over until I finish building mine.Some pics:
