[Gurloes]

Headroom has this package deal for micro DAC, micro amp, Senn HD 650 & cables
 
http://www.headphone.com/packages/micro-stack-package.php
 
Sounds like a good deal to me because it's new product, wouldn't take up much desk space, a reputable dealer, good customer service, & looks like a good build quality. 
 
I currently have Grado SR80, Beyerdynamic DT 770 / 80, but only a PA2v2 pocket amp. So I'm in definite need of a good amp (and DAC).
 
They don't seem to be talked about much on head-fi, but the reviews I did find seem to be favorable.
 
I don't think I want a tube amp, or at least not one with tubes sticking out (Maverick style might be ok) because I have a small desk in my office, so space saving is a consideration.
 
Anything else I should consider?

 

[gordie]

The Micro stack is awesome for the money. The Micro DAC is high output too (voltage I think), so it drives headphone amps really well (I use it with a Stax setup and it rocks). The Micro Amp is *very* powerful, it can drive my Hifiman HE-6 headphones, and sounds great with Sennheiser 580/600. Surprisingly, it didn't work well with the Sennheiser 800s (made them sound dark and bland without impact), I had them for a while and ended up using the Benchmark DAC1 for them instead. Every other headphone I've tried (including Grado  HP-1000s) sounded great. They even did a reasonably passable job driving AKG K-1000s before I got a proper amp for them (although you definitely wouldn't want to live with K1000s through an amp like that).
 
All these impressions are plugged into the wall, I never used them on battery, not sure how that would effect it - could have an effect on current delivery for loud/bassy passages.
 
However, it is impressive it can drive the Hifiman HE-6, that's what I was using until I got my Schiit Lyr today (I'll do a head on comparison to the Schiit Lyr I just got at some point, but they are located at different places right now). 
 
That said, I'm not a fan of the Senn 650s, your mileage may vary, but you might be better off getting the Micro DAC and Amp by themselves even if it is a little more, since you already have headphones.
 
-- Gordie

 

[SanJoseCanJunkie]

That seems like a really good deal w/ a 701 or a 650.

 

[Gurloes]

Thanks for the honest review. Sounds like a good starter set for me then. Since the Dac/Amp by themselves would be $650, I'll probably get the package. Even if I end up not liking the 650s, for that price I can trade them for something else.

 

[SanJoseCanJunkie]

The thing with the Micro Stack is that I don't think it gets talked about as much as others because it trades cost for flexibility, size, customer service and build-quality; it's a bit expensive for an amp of it's "stature", if you will.  Generally Head-Fi (as would be expected from an enthusiast niche) prefers to trade price for specificity; most Head-fi'ers would pick a M-Stage or a similarly priced Chinese tube amp, at the cost of losing the size and flexibility that the Headroom unit gives, with its 3-way gain, 1/4" in/out, and crossfeed.
 
As for the DAC, it's unclear to me whether or not it's worth the price, but I can't say for sure as I haven't heard any of the very popular and well liked cheap DAC's, like the Nuforce uDAC.

 

[ert]

I had an ultra microstack at work and loved it with my ER4 and RS1.  I sold it simply because I was using speakers much more than headphones at work.  Build and sound quality were top notch as usual for Headroom.

 

[Gurloes]

I ended up getting the micro stack & have been very happy with them. The quality of sound greatly surpasses the pocket amp & computer output I was using before.