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Originally Posted by Scottsmrnyc /img/forum/go_quote.gif
ed. Would anyone like to comment about how they like this amp. I ordered it with all the other options. I am using it with a pair of Sennheiser HD 650s, I have to get the Balanced Cables though! I also have the HD600s and the HD580s.
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I bought a Headroom Max Balanced Headphone Amp in January, 2007. I am still utterly and completely addicted to it. I have two young children, which put an end to loud, late night listening sessions with my main rig (Bryston/Wilson Audio Watt Puppy 7s). So, this was my compromise.
Only compromise is totally the wrong word!
I have the base model, without the DAC or the Alps Brass RK50 Pot. My source is a Slimdevices Transporter, connected by DiMarzio XLR Balanced Interconnects. I have a pair of AKG 701s rewired by Headroom with the Cardas balanced cable and also a pair of HD-650s with a 10' balanced Version 2 Silver Dragon Headphone cable.
I listen to FLAC files ripped with EAC -- about 95% classical music.
The amount of audio detail resolved by this combination is staggering -- you hear an unmediated presentation of everything the microphones picked up. I always say if I close my eyes I feel like I am sitting on the other side of the glass in a recording studio, listening to the live feed of performance by an orchestra, ensemble, soloist.
Usually this is great, but you also hear the unintended: conductors turning pages, piano benches creaking, bassoon keys clicking, and even trucks driving by outside the recording session (which made me jump out of my chair the first time I heard it -- I swore they were outside my window).
Some comments on DACs, headphones & configurations:
1) I love the Transporter's DAC -- it is the least grainy/digital and most natural DAC I have heard. I prefer it to both my old HR Max Desktop DAC (unbalanced, granted) and the DAC in my Bryston BP-26DA preamp. I don't know what the Slimdevice guys did, but they sure nailed this design. Also, the Transporter has a bunch of digital inputs (with word clock in!), so it can also be used as a standalone DAC, too.
2) On unbalanced amps, I prefer HD-650s to AKG 701s. But on balanced systems, my preferences are reversed, and I never listen to my balanced HD-650s. They just sound muddy. The AKG 701s sound much better balanced, and gain great, tight mid-bass (absent on unbalanced). Never heard a bass drum sound so good! In my quest for the best headphone I will one day try some balanced Grados and Ultrasones (maybe they will image better?)
3) I wished I gone with the Alps Brass RK50 Pot. There are often times when the stepped pot ends up on a notch that is either a little too loud or a little too quiet. You can get there eventually by playing around with the gain, but it's annoying. I will send the unit in for an upgrade at some point.
4) I find it strange that Headroom spent 2007 promoting their wonderful balanced headphone amps (Max & Desktop) and then in 2008 come out with an audio desktop that is unbalanced! Given that the Max Balanced Amp has preamp out I might build my own (perhaps with a pair of Channel Islands Audio D-100 monoblocks). Another possibility is a pair of Dynaudio Acoustics BM 6Mk II powered studio monitors.
Anyway, it's a wonderful piece of audio engineering that I'm sure you'll cherish for a long, long time.
Enjoy
