[Welly Wu]

HiWire:

Focus on which source component will make you happy for a few years down the road. What is it that you want from your source component? Excellent Red Book CD play back? Hi-Rez capabilities? DVD-Video? Universal format handling? Portability?

Your source component will determine to a large extent the final sound of your rig. This is especially true of headphone rigs.

Focus on the headphone amplifier later. Concentrate on the source first.

As for headphone amplifiers, be advised that the HR Cosmic is a few years old in design. There are other transportable headphone amplifiers that give it a run for its money because of updated design techniques and parts quality. One such contender is the Emmeline XP-7 with the Power Supply Upgrade. It has almost twice as much battery life, less weight and smaller size, and you can change the op-amps to suit your fancy. It is also far less than the Cosmic (Reference Module) + BS1. However, if your source is not up to par, then it is all for naught.

 

[HiWire]

I'm thinking about a Red Book source because that's all I have in discs right now

and I don't plan on buying too many SACDs in the near future (it's like buying CDs in 1980 - early adopters only - I bet some of those people are kicking themselves for having to buy new versions of discs again).

As an example, I just got a CD of John Coltrane's Blue Train, 24-bit recording - The Rudy Van Gelder Edition (for $10 Canadian) that wasn't in the store two months ago. CD is a mature medium, while the high-res stuff is still in its formative stages.

The config that you describe is basically the kind of system I'm looking for... now to find the cash. One can only give so much blood in a week

I like Headroom just because their site is easy to navigate... that is a really good example of an effective marketing tool

 

[cpw]

I'm a big Headroom fan and I think the Total Airhead drives HD-600 just fine but in the price range you're looking at, I think you should really consider the Ray Samuels designs. I have an HR-2 that still makes me smile every time I plug in and I've heard great things about the XP-7 (I'm sure they're true) if portabilty is important. I won't say anything negative about a Cosmic as I've never heard one and have great repect for Headroom stuff. I'm just so impressed w/ my HR-2 and it's in your $ range. I really think an XP-7 might be just what the doctor ordered. I'm considering one for a second system.
CPW
PS Cosmic does offer integrated cross-feed.

 

[HiWire]

The crossfade is kind of a motivator for me. Right now, I seem to have a leftward bias when I close my eyes and listen to music (when I open my eyes, I kind of realize it is in the center, weird huh?)... I really hope it's my player and not my ears. I find straight headphone listening "artificial" in stereo imaging and fatiguing after an hour or so. This happens with the portable on Sennheiser HD320s and Koss Sportapros.

I think I'll dip into the wading pool with a Total Airhead or Porta Corda, then take it slowly from there.

 

[cpw]

Right now I'm listening to my TotalBithead even though my HR-2 is only 3 feet away. I like the convenience of being able to listen and web surf w/out having to get up and chg cd's all the time. When I just want to listen and get lost in the music the HR-2 gets it but I'm very impressed w/ the sound of Headroom's plastic portables. It's definitely a big toe in the water rather than a double gainer in terms of $'s invested. W/out a quality source in the very near future I think the Headroom amp is fine. It's good enough to reveal the limitations of a mediocre source but won't punish them like the family mule.
CPW

 

[orion5456]

The cross fade/processor on the Maxed Out Home, is where my HD600's headphones, come close to replacing my Maggies on my home setup. "Close", but I am not sure how close,until I do much more listening, to the HeadRoom Maxed Out, and the HD600. But with the TAH on my portable, it cannot be beat, in IMHO. That being said, what is this boards "recommended closed cans", that will work/sound as good as my Grado 325's and the TAH, and my iRiver 350 portaple player? I am going on a trip Thursday, and do not want to upset my seat mate. The 325's are on the loud side, because they are open and, so easy to drive.
Thanks,Tony

 

[OneMalt]

Quote:

Originally posted by HiWire I'm in Toronto, Ontario.

Do you ever make it into Buffalo? If so, you're more than welcome to audition the set-up you mentioned in your original post.

 

[ipodstudio]

I came very close to ordering the HR Cosmic Ref, myself, but after much research here and a little gentle persausion from a few Head-Fiers, I went for the Larocco PPA instead. I'm told it has the edge over the HR C.

 

[HiWire]

I'm definitely not nailed down to the Cosmic Ref, but Headroom has such a persuasive site

I'm not in Buffalo very often; I admit that I haven't made a very thorough search of the hi-fi stores around here (they tend to be intimidating and expensive).

 

[ipodstudio]

Well, many of the amps discussed here cannot be found in the stores; they have to be ordered from the maker directly. Best is to read up as much as poss and if you in the US, head to one of the meets where you can audition the units yourself. I'm over in Spain so that's not possible for me, unfortunately

 

[HiWire]

I just checked out Ray Samuels' new site. The Emmeline XP-7 looks awesome

but it doesn't have a crossfeed filter?

 

[Ticky]

Quote:

Originally posted by HiWire I just checked out Ray Samuels' new site. The Emmeline XP-7 looks awesome but it doesn't have a crossfeed filter?

Have you heard what crossfeed sounds like? If not, I wouldn't sweat too much that an amp doesn't carry crossfeed. Here's why:

1. On many recordings the effect is subtle. Reading about what crossfeed does for headphones makes it sound as if you can't listen without one. But in reality, the effects of crossfeed is subtle. It doesn't create an "out-of-head" effect for your music. The effects do not approach Dolby headphones or binaural recordings. With crossfeed on, the soundstage simply shifts ever so slightly upwards and forwards.

2. Headroom crossfeed alters the tonal balance. I've listened to the Meier crossfeed and Headroom's crossfeed. The Headroom crossfeed really does warm up the mid-range somewhat. Sometimes, the warming effect alters the tonal quality of some vocals too much for my liking. The Meier crossfeed is more neutral. However, this somehow also makes the Meier crossfeed more subtle. Often I could hardly tell if I had the Meier crossfeed turned on or off.

3. There are after-market external crossfeed available. If you really need crossfeed (i.e., you have alot of recordings with extreme stereo separation), there are external crossfeed available. If I'm not mistaken, Meier sells one for around $200. There are cheaper alternatives availabel from the DIYer in this forum. One of our members, Pinkfloyd builds an external crossfeed - I haven't heard his crossfeed though - and you could pm him for prices and information.


Personally, I used to listen to music with crossfeed. However, since I've bought the HR-2, I really don't miss crossfeed at all. In fact, I often listen to my TBH without crossfeed.

 

[HiWire]

Well, I guess crossfeed is kind of a function of headphone design, in terms of sound stage, etc. The phones I've got now (old and el cheapo) are kind of weird in stereo image, i.e. totally artificial. If I upgrade to decent phones, I might not need the crossfeed, as you imply... in that case the Emmeline XP-7 is looking mighty fine

 

[Welly Wu]

HiWire:

Again, focus on the fundamentals. The fundamentals will help make it easier to navigate through the dizzying world called Headphone Hi-Fi. Focus on the source component. I would daresay that you ought to invest exactly fifty percent - 50% - of your total budget on your source component. My experience has proven what the more senior and experienced members have known forever: it starts with the source, stupid.

As for headphone amplifiers, I would say that Ticky is correct in his analyses of the HeadRoom proprietary cross-feed option. It changes the tonal balance of music with particular distortion of the midrange in terms of tonal balance and loss of clarity. It is also subtle and you must specifically pick out older albums to test for it. It is also my experience that prolonged exposure to headphone listening (especially if it is done so exclusively) will acclimate you in such a way as to reduce the psychological stress of hearing extreme stereo separation. In other words, if you only listen to headphones for a long time, then your brain should get used to the sound and cross-feed is no longer necessary. I tend to think that the reason why Meier Audio and HeadRoom incorporate proprietary methods of cross-feed is due to two chief reasons: 1. Since headphone amplifiers are all but unknown to the general public, their stance is to incorporate the cross-feed feature to help reduce the unconscious stress of listening to headphones for hours on end, 2. It was targeted for such an audience who have relatively little exposure to the effects of listening to headphones exclusively. Perhaps I am wrong but that has been my casual assumption.

In terms of a specific recommendation, I would urge you to conduct multiple searches within the Head-Fi databases. You will get a plethora of hits. Currently, the Ray Samuels Emmeline XP-7 and LaRocco Pocket Reference are hot sellers and their designs are more current than the HR Cosmic (Reference Module). This does not automatically make them better but you can begin to approach the much lauded sonic performance of the HR Cosmic (Reference Module) for significantly less money and you will get a much smaller and lighter transportable headphone amplifier to boot.

Based upon my experiences with the HR Cosmic (Reference Module), I would say that there are other more attractive options that are currently available on the market. I encourage you to keep searching for the right solution for your needs but you really need to pay more thought to define precisely your exact needs and then conduct multiple searches until you find something that will meet most of your needs. Do not underestimate the power of clearly written goals and relentless research.

 

[HiWire]

Don't worry, I have no intention on buying expensive audio equipment half-cocked. When you make $500 a month, discretionary purchases are no joke. Purchasing a quality source, amp, headphone set, etc. is months down the road, with more time on head-fi coming up.

I'm not a big fan of "processed" sound anyway; I never understood why people would want all those DSP functions in the new receivers anyway (Concert Hall, Stadium, Club, etc.). I'm not even really looking forward to Dolby Headphone, but hopefully I'll get it when I update my computer's DVD software.

Actually, the reason I know about any of this stuff at all was the recommendation for Headroom's equipment in Stereophile. I checked out Creek and Grado amps, but Headroom seemed to have the most information for a headphone newbie. They've done a really good job of explaining headphone basics, and I appreciate that they sell more than their own amps.

Portability isn't actually a huge issue with me, it's just that it seemed like I could get Maxed Out Home sound with a Cosmic for a bit less money when I was looking at their lineup. The Emmeline also looks fairly good, but I'll have to do more research in the meantime. Thanks.