[myk7000]

Hi guys,

I recently acquired the Headroom Desktop Balanced Headphone Amplifier and I am loving it! It is quite an amazing amp / dac in my opinion and goes well with my HD800, D7000, and HF2.

Now my question is:
Has anyone ever compared this particular model (has the Home amp and Home DAC modules) versus the Headroom Ultra Desktop Amp? One is balanced, the other is single ended, one has the max module, one has the home module..

Does going balanced benefit more or does increasing the module yield better results? I'm not too sure many people have compared these but I thought it I would give it a try.

Thanks!

 

[matthewhypolite]

Hey guys,

Im wondering the exact same thing.

I current have a Denon D5000 with HR Micro Amp. Looking to do a major upgrade.

D5000 + HR Ultra Desktop
or
D5000 Balanced + HR Balanced Desktop

Both amps are around the same price, but the Balanced solution is more expensive in the end given the need to Recable my D5000 for balanced drive.

Which one sounds better, thoughts anyone?

 

[myk7000]

bump, would still like to know.

 

[matthewhypolite]

well myk7000, i've bitten the bullet, and purchased the following from headroom:

HR BUDA + UDAC Package
HR DPS
D7000 + Fatpipe Balanced cable

My wallet said OUCH!, lets see what my ears say when i get my hands on them.

You own both the HD800 and D7000, which one you prefer and for what reason?
Thanks.

 

[aimlink]

I'm curious myself.

Apparently, it's a matter of taste and whether you prefer the SE sound vs a balanced sound sig. All I can say is that I went the Ultra Desktop Amp route and am finding it to be fabulous as well.

Looks like you can't go wrong either way.

 

[Born2bwire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthewhypolite /img/forum/go_quote.gif well myk7000, i've bitten the bullet, and purchased the following from headroom: HR BUDA + UDAC Package HR DPS D7000 + Fatpipe Balanced cable My wallet said OUCH!, lets see what my ears say when i get my hands on them. You own both the HD800 and D7000, which one you prefer and for what reason? Thanks.

I went with the BUDA/UDAC/DPS combo myself. I wanted to get the UDAC and so that made getting the BUDA a no brainer. The BUDA is only $100 more than the UDA, but you save $150 by getting the BUDA/UDAC stack so there's no point in my mind in getting the UDA/UDAC versus the BUDA/UDAC. The BUDA should sound the same as the UDA for single-ended phones. I recall though that this question was asked before and I thought there was somebody that bought a UDA and had a DBA at the same time. I can't remember what their impressions were though.

 

[aimlink]

The BUDA apparently comprises two Max amp modules, one driving each channel. So if you use a SE can with the BUDA, you should be getting pretty much the same performance as with the UDA.

The Ultra Desktop Amp here sounds so cool that I'm more looking at headphones to send its wonderful signal to, rather than upgrading to a balanced output.

I should have my Ultrasone Ed8's to play with tomorrow.

 

[eugenius]

I'm wondering the same thing ... I just sent headroom an e-mail asking the same thing. If they respond I'll paste it here.

 

[eugenius]

I just received the reply:  In  short:
 
The balanced is a better amp and obviously a lesser dac, but overall the balanced gets the nod.
 
Also, the DPS is only worth it for max dacs/max modules and the BUDA-UDAC..
 
Also, all headroom desktop amps drive the HE6 well and the HE6 is recommended instead of the LCD2.