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HeadRoom's Ultra Balanced Desktop Package

post #1 of 12
12/25/09 at 9:43pm
Thread Starter 
Ultra Balanced Desktop Stack Package | HeadRoom Audio

Does anyone here own this package?

I own a pair of HD580s and am looking to possibly upgrade to the HD800s. How does this sound with the 800s? I've tried looking around these forums for an amp for the 800s, but there are so many mixed responses, I have no idea what to think. This reminds of me trying to buy my TV and reading the posts on AVS Forum!

Unfortunately, I missed the last meetup. Does anyone in New York City own this setup, or even something they think is better? I'd really like to listen before I make the plunge.

Last, I apologize for making another thread on amps for the HD800. I just can't get a straight response (I know it can be subjective)! I guess it's really up to me to decide on what is the best.
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post #2 of 12
12/26/09 at 12:26am
Headroom really loves Sennheiser, so I can't possibly imagine their ultimate rig wouldn't sound spectacular with your HD580's and potential HD800's. Call them up and ask. I'm sure they'd be happy to give you the run-down. I'm not a big fan of Headroom but they do make some excellent amplifiers.
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post #3 of 12
12/26/09 at 1:54am
Headroom products are great, but the balanced standard is moving away from 3-pin XLRs to a single 4-pin, so you may find yourself having to reterminate if you ever want to upgrade the amp.
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post #4 of 12
1/8/10 at 3:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by deeza View Post
Ultra Balanced Desktop Stack Package | HeadRoom Audio

Does anyone here own this package?

I own a pair of HD580s and am looking to possibly upgrade to the HD800s. How does this sound with the 800s?
I have both the BUDA and UDAC that I bought as a package last summer. About a month later, got the balanced HD800s and just a day ago, had a Cardas balanced headphone cord delivered -- so now I have the "full monty" so to speak. This may seem like overkill but getting the upgraded Cardas headphone cord made what was already a great combo even better. You really can't go wrong with the Headroom package and HD800s, and I would strongly recommend getting the Cardas replacement as well.
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post #5 of 12
1/9/10 at 12:23am
the bal cardas cable looks nice.

Cardas Balanced Cable for HD800 10ft | HeadRoom Audio
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post #6 of 12
1/9/10 at 2:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by vcoheda View Post
Ooooh me likey. I got the balanced HD650 Cardas cable with my BUDA/UDAC and I like the new cable more than the old smurf blue version. While the grey cable is much more microphonic, it is thinner and a lot more flexible. And it looks nicer too.

For the OP, I would think first about when you will be upgrading your headphones. I think you would be able to scale the BUDA/UDAC for a long time, but I think it is a waste to just use them with the HD580's. I think I would first op for the HD800's and then upgrade the amp. But yeah, the BUDA/UDAC package is pretty nice. A little overpriced I think but at that level your return on investment is really diminished with any amp you go with. It's a no brainer in my opinion if you want the UDAC since it is only marginally more expensive than the UDA/UDAC and you do not need the UDA's DAC. The features of the BUDA/UDAC are nice. The BUDA takes in XLR balanced or unbalanced RCA, has pre-amp outs, balanced and unbalanced outpus, and a crossfeed. The UDAC has USB, TOS, and coaxial inputs. While that isn't too special, I like the USB since that is how I use it.
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post #7 of 12
1/9/10 at 2:59am
idk. i feel like people who have owned the BUDA haven't always been happy with it. i really like my Bal Home (maxxed), but maybe they are not that equivalent.
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post #8 of 12
1/9/10 at 4:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by vcoheda View Post
idk. i feel like people who have owned the BUDA haven't always been happy with it. i really like my Bal Home (maxxed), but maybe they are not that equivalent.
I haven't really found a comparison between the two since the Home and Max line were discontinued the fall before the BUDA came out. Tyll has stated that for most practical purposes they should sound the same. With the DPS and UDAC I would wager that to be the truth as well since the BUDA and Balanced Home and Balanced Max both use the same modules to my recollection (Max modules). The power supplies would differ on the Balanced Home and I think the Balanced Max may have some slightly better components (Black Gate caps was one if I recall correctly). I'm not too sure about the BUDA and Balanced Home though. What were the negatives that you have found? I still haven't seen too many reviews of the BUDA and I can only recall one person that returned theirs.
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post #9 of 12
1/9/10 at 6:11am
Ahhh found some Wayback pages of the old Headroom line. So it looks like that old balanced Desktops had OPA2134 opamps, so I would expect that one could easily tell an improvement between the older balanced Desktops and the Home and Home Max line. I think that the current BUDAs are more in line with the Balanced Home w/ Max modules. I think the only big difference is that the BUDA can't have the stepped attenuator and lacks the dual power supplies. I would still be interested in more information from other owners and Headroom. I looked into this the best I could before I bought the ultra stack and this was the only real difference I could find.

Products - HeadRoom - Right Between Your Ears

Actually, interesting to see the prices of the old amps and the features. The Balanced Desktop and BUDA are much better buys than the old Home and Desktop lines in my opinion.
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post #10 of 12
1/9/10 at 12:24pm

BUDA vs "older" HR Balanced amps

Several of the prior posts have prompted me to expand a bit on my overall feelings about the BUDA. Several years ago, I actually contemplated whether to spring for one of the high-end HR balanced amps, but what put me off, in addition to their rather high price, was the large physical footprint they had. Frankly speaking the compact size of the BUDA/UDAC/DPS fits my bill quite nicely. Many of us who use headphone gear often have rather limited space for it, and the desktop concept works quite well, I think. I don't really regret not having a stepped attenuator as the older HR balanced amps had (it was actually an upgrade) -- I think stepped attenuators may be a little hyped to begin with since having had two previous amps that had them, I was always frustrated with having to settle on a volume setting that wasn't quite to my liking. The BUDA uses a high quality ALPs volume control that suits me quite well.
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post #11 of 12
1/9/10 at 2:13pm
I too have on order the new Balanced Desktop Ultra, Power Supply, & Cardas Balanced HD800 cable, and was also wondering if I should find a used Max Home unit like vcoheda has.
Vcoheda, I recall you gave a listen to the new Ultra, but I guess it was with different gear than you own. (PS, you think that SAA Voice HD800 cable is better than what you've tried as yet?)
Searched the threads a bit, but looks like there haven't been any BUDA/MAX listening comparisons, even from memory. Anyone?
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post #12 of 12
1/27/12 at 6:15pm

Ok so I'm a n00b on this site and this is an old thread. 

 

I have the triple stack (BUDA, UDAC, DPS) as well as balanced HD 800's

 

Has anyone come up with any mods for these electronics?

 

I have done one mod with great results, with a few more in the thought stage (but no further).

 

So I was wondering if anyone has any ideas or done any tweaks?

 

JJ

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