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Just purchased a microstack of my own - Age question

post #1 of 25
2/17/09 at 11:47pm
Thread Starter 
I had a few quick questions and I didn't want to hijack the thread below.

I bought a micro amp from 8/31/05 and a micro dac from 3/7/06, I was just wondering what the differences were, if any, between those and the ones made now (besides the older ones being capable of battery power).

Just wanted to say, it was my first big step into this crazy(awesome? debilitating? the jury is still out on that one) hobby and I am completely confident that I can do no wrong with Headroom gear. Would have bought new to support the business but shipping, duty and forex commissions would have put me in a tight spot.
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post #2 of 25
2/18/09 at 4:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by limin View Post
I had a few quick questions and I didn't want to hijack the thread below.

I bought a micro amp from 8/31/05 and a micro dac from 3/7/06, I was just wondering what the differences were, if any, between those and the ones made now (besides the older ones being capable of battery power).

Just wanted to say, it was my first big step into this crazy(awesome? debilitating? the jury is still out on that one) hobby and I am completely confident that I can do no wrong with Headroom gear. Would have bought new to support the business but shipping, duty and forex commissions would have put me in a tight spot.
Hello Limin,

The current HeadRoom Micro series offers a rechargeable lithium battery-powered 'all-in-one' Portable Micro Amp with an optional DAC aboard. So, yay, no more 9-volt batteries!

The rest of our HeadRoom Micro products are all 'plug-in' [AC-power required] head-amp & DAC separates operating in 'Class-A' biasing for superb sound quality. These Micros will exceed the audio performance capacity of our old 9-volt units -- especially the Ultra Micros!

Cheers,
Jorge
HR Sales/Product Manager
HeadRoom was founded in 1992 & manufactures headphone amps, DACs, and accessories; and sells headphones & related personal audio gear. We offer exceptional products, customer service, & information.
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post #3 of 25
2/18/09 at 11:06am
There is also the fact the older ones had all their inputs and outputs on the front, too. The newer ones just have switches, the volume knob and 1/8" headphone out on the front, with all inputs (and preamp/line outs) on the back.
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post #4 of 25
2/18/09 at 3:21pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the info Jorge and Moogood
Is it possible for Headroom to put up a chart with all the amps they've made? I've noticed there's quite a bit of reselling in this world and a chart with info on Headroom amps would be very useful.

Definately plan on upgrading to an ultra micro stack or desktop setup once the money grows up a bit more
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post #5 of 25
2/18/09 at 5:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by limin View Post
Thanks for the info Jorge and Moogood
Is it possible for Headroom to put up a chart with all the amps they've made? I've noticed there's quite a bit of reselling in this world and a chart with info on Headroom amps would be very useful.

Definately plan on upgrading to an ultra micro stack or desktop setup once the money grows up a bit more
No problem. I've also gone on record as saying I'd love such a chart of their older amps- with pics. Some (like the Blockhead!) are really neat looking.
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post #6 of 25
2/19/09 at 3:40am
Yo moogoob,

This link should REALLY help. It's also quite entertaining.
Internet Archive Wayback Machine

Over the years I have been trying to get an archive of just about every single amp HeadRoom ever made, including some of Tyll's first prototypes

Right now is not the best time in the world, but I would LOVE to help in any way I can. HeadRoom needs a museum of amps; preferably behind glass please.

Mike
Service Tech @ HeadRoom
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post #7 of 25
2/19/09 at 8:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Werm View Post
Yo moogoob,

This link should REALLY help. It's also quite entertaining.
Internet Archive Wayback Machine

Over the years I have been trying to get an archive of just about every single amp HeadRoom ever made, including some of Tyll's first prototypes

Right now is not the best time in the world, but I would LOVE to help in any way I can. HeadRoom needs a museum of amps; preferably behind glass please.

Mike
Service Tech @ HeadRoom
Thanks a LOT for this link. Very interesting.

I applaud HeadRoom for not increasing the complexity of their product line appearance. In fact, they've streamlined them. Thank goodness the hexagonal cylinder shape has been outmoded!
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post #8 of 25
2/19/09 at 10:48am
Interesting indeed. I was able to look up the reviews and product descriptions of stuff that got me into this mess. Yipeeeeee.
Kevin
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post #9 of 25
2/19/09 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Werm View Post
Yo moogoob,

This link should REALLY help. It's also quite entertaining.
Internet Archive Wayback Machine

Over the years I have been trying to get an archive of just about every single amp HeadRoom ever made, including some of Tyll's first prototypes

Right now is not the best time in the world, but I would LOVE to help in any way I can. HeadRoom needs a museum of amps; preferably behind glass please.

Mike
Service Tech @ HeadRoom
Cool! I keep forgetting about Archive.org, but I'll see what I can find.
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post #10 of 25
2/25/09 at 3:15am
Thread Starter 
So I have been listening to my micro stack, I've been noticing that occasionally, my music... hiccups. It's almost like a CD skipping or does a micro seek of 1/10th of a second and a song will jump a little bit. Is there something wrong with the DAC?

I am running them on AC, playing mp3's and alac from itunes connected by usb with k701's. Everything else sounds good, but this skipping just awful.

Edit: it is almost like the headphones are clipping, but I know for a fact they are not because I cannot reliably reproduce the phenomenon, and it doesn't happen when I have the amp connected to my ipod nano's headphone out.
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post #11 of 25
2/25/09 at 8:59am
It more likely has to do with your machine and the USB output.

For example, I have a plugin for iTunes that searches for music lyrics. On occasion, a search transiently interrupts the flow of the music play. Of course, the DAC will make this audible.

Do you have any device that's USB attached that could be interfering or competing with the USB output/bandwidth.

What are your machine specs like? Any USB peripherals like an external drive?
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post #12 of 25
2/25/09 at 10:28am
Thread Starter 
the machine is a dell xps m1530
2.4 ghz, 4gb ram, 320gb hard drive, nvidia graphics, 32bit windows 7

at the time, I had a logitech mouse and an iPhone plugged in, is this enough to affect the output? If so, is there any way to change my computer's settings to improve it? I generally have 1 or 2 things plugged into my computer besides the dac
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post #13 of 25
2/25/09 at 12:32pm
Limin -

I get the same problem, sounds like a crackling huh?

Here are my specs: Asus g2s-b2, 2.4, 3gb ram, 250gb 7200, nvidia 8600m. However I use an external monitor, keybard and mouse. Keyboard and mouse are USB.

The problem is not to be fully blamed on USB, it's the other components jammed so close to the usb ports. Specifically the video card. When mine heats up and the fan is on full speed thats when i get the crackling, popping, and hissing. When the cpu is stressed but the video card is not everything sounds just fine. I can even saturate my USB bus with an external HD and not hear it. I can reproduce this effect on a macbook pro as well but only when it is rendering video. Tested the stack on a mac pro desktop with three video cards rendering hard in final cut and it sounds fine.

So... in my experience and testing I can only blame it on interference from a video card tightly packed too close to your usb ports. Using a mini -> toslink cable fixes this issue for me and should for you. Hopefully you have digital audio out on that xps!
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post #14 of 25
2/25/09 at 1:25pm
The ideal solution would be to not use USB out, but that's possible only if you have an optical or coax out. The Mac's do have an optical output and that's what I use. However, I don't know about the Dells.
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post #15 of 25
2/25/09 at 3:16pm
Thread Starter 
thanks for the advice mbliss

aimlink - unfortunately no optical out

I will adjust my power settings to try to keep the video card cool (pci express link state?). it does seem to be worse if my computer is running hot, and this xps is awful with overheating. The USB port i had it plugged into originally was right beside the video card, I have switched it to the other side where the dvd bay is, hopefully it will not be as bad.
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