Just got this today (2/19). Unbelievable. I am truly in awe of the folks up in frozen Montana. Thanks! (now if I could just afford some music) 
Impressions at the bottom of this post.
Day 1
A set of Headroom Max components have been a dream of mine for several years now and I finally got the better halfs approval (that string of pearls really went a long way
) and I jumped. As long as your spending $1,400 what difference does another $200 make so I opted for the Astrodyne Power Supplies.
Source: Dell 1720 Laptop, Vista Ultimate, Media Monkey, 128kbps mp3's (kidding) FLAC, Asio4all.
Interconnects: SPDIF:. Canare RCAP-C4A, Canare L-4CFB cable, Neutrik NYS231BG mini plug.
DAC-AMP: Neutrik NYS231BG mini plug. Canare Star Quad
Cans: Senns HD650
Headphone Listening Equipment: iBasso D1, Headroom 2006 Micro Stack (sold 2 weeks ago after 2 years of use), Headroom 2006 Desktop/Dac, Citypulse 7.2, Citypulse 2.03II, California Audio Labs Delta modified tube 24/96 Dac, Headroom Total Bithead, Creek OBH-11, Creek OBH-10, Parasound Zamp.
Music Style: Blues, Blues, Blues, contemporary Jazz, Blues, Blues, (you get the idea)
I have always been someone who listens to mids and highs and always tried to get the best transient response, space, pacing, and air in the music reproduction. Bass was always a by-the-way it sounds good attitude.
What I was expecting to hear is NOT what I got. Within 2-3 seconds of first putting on the music I was blown away by what I was hearing. For the first time on headphones, I was hearing extended, EFFORTLESS bass.
I have a custom engineered 24x28 listening room with 5k watts of Crown Professional amps driving (4) 15" subs tuned to 17hz and (4) 12" subs tuned to 25hz. My room is +- 1db flat from 20hz to 80hz and +-2db from 80hz to 20khz. Thats measured with a spectrum analyzer with 24 steps per octave. When I listen to music, I hear effortless bass. I hear bass that extends to well below what you can hear. It has what I call "slam". It's not thumping, it's not heavy, it's just there and completely effortless.
This is what I was hearing on my HD650's. Very, VERY effortless bass, with the slam factor I have been missing. Even in my Headroom Desktop/Dac, it didn't have the bass I am hearing now.
After several hours have jamming through my music library, feeling like I had never heard the tracks before, I have finally settled in to my normal listening style and I am noticing the same effortless sound through out the entire audio spectrum. It's very smooth, warm, and relaxed.
Psychologically it's really tough hearing such great, dynamic sound from such a small package. I have heard that from people with the Pico or Predator. How can such BIG sound come from something so small. They also run VERY warm. The components are biased into class A and as a result are always on full and that creates heat. It's like having a hand warmer handy. Maybe I can get some sort of strapping for my feet.
I have been asked about how it compares to the iBasso D1.
Not a comparison that deserves to be made but, for 1/6th the price, the D1 is an incredible value. The D1 does a great job, infact it does it very well, but it's missing the subtleties that differentiate a good product from a great product. As I have maintained, most electronics will do 90% of the job and do it well, it's the remaining 10% that is what it's all about. The highs in the D1 are a little strained and the bass sounds rolled off compared to the MS. The bass is there but not with anywhere close to the same authority and effortless reproduction.
More to come.....
Impressions at the bottom of this post.Day 1
A set of Headroom Max components have been a dream of mine for several years now and I finally got the better halfs approval (that string of pearls really went a long way
) and I jumped. As long as your spending $1,400 what difference does another $200 make so I opted for the Astrodyne Power Supplies.Source: Dell 1720 Laptop, Vista Ultimate, Media Monkey, 128kbps mp3's (kidding) FLAC, Asio4all.
Interconnects: SPDIF:. Canare RCAP-C4A, Canare L-4CFB cable, Neutrik NYS231BG mini plug.
DAC-AMP: Neutrik NYS231BG mini plug. Canare Star Quad
Cans: Senns HD650
Headphone Listening Equipment: iBasso D1, Headroom 2006 Micro Stack (sold 2 weeks ago after 2 years of use), Headroom 2006 Desktop/Dac, Citypulse 7.2, Citypulse 2.03II, California Audio Labs Delta modified tube 24/96 Dac, Headroom Total Bithead, Creek OBH-11, Creek OBH-10, Parasound Zamp.
Music Style: Blues, Blues, Blues, contemporary Jazz, Blues, Blues, (you get the idea)
I have always been someone who listens to mids and highs and always tried to get the best transient response, space, pacing, and air in the music reproduction. Bass was always a by-the-way it sounds good attitude.
What I was expecting to hear is NOT what I got. Within 2-3 seconds of first putting on the music I was blown away by what I was hearing. For the first time on headphones, I was hearing extended, EFFORTLESS bass.
I have a custom engineered 24x28 listening room with 5k watts of Crown Professional amps driving (4) 15" subs tuned to 17hz and (4) 12" subs tuned to 25hz. My room is +- 1db flat from 20hz to 80hz and +-2db from 80hz to 20khz. Thats measured with a spectrum analyzer with 24 steps per octave. When I listen to music, I hear effortless bass. I hear bass that extends to well below what you can hear. It has what I call "slam". It's not thumping, it's not heavy, it's just there and completely effortless.
This is what I was hearing on my HD650's. Very, VERY effortless bass, with the slam factor I have been missing. Even in my Headroom Desktop/Dac, it didn't have the bass I am hearing now.
After several hours have jamming through my music library, feeling like I had never heard the tracks before, I have finally settled in to my normal listening style and I am noticing the same effortless sound through out the entire audio spectrum. It's very smooth, warm, and relaxed.
Psychologically it's really tough hearing such great, dynamic sound from such a small package. I have heard that from people with the Pico or Predator. How can such BIG sound come from something so small. They also run VERY warm. The components are biased into class A and as a result are always on full and that creates heat. It's like having a hand warmer handy. Maybe I can get some sort of strapping for my feet.
I have been asked about how it compares to the iBasso D1.
Not a comparison that deserves to be made but, for 1/6th the price, the D1 is an incredible value. The D1 does a great job, infact it does it very well, but it's missing the subtleties that differentiate a good product from a great product. As I have maintained, most electronics will do 90% of the job and do it well, it's the remaining 10% that is what it's all about. The highs in the D1 are a little strained and the bass sounds rolled off compared to the MS. The bass is there but not with anywhere close to the same authority and effortless reproduction.
More to come.....
