[arrowmark]

Has anybody heard this combination? Any opinions?

 

[ken36]

Haven't heard it, but I'm anxiously waiting also.

 

[TheSloth]

It will sound great, but only with the Desktop Power Supply. The included supply may work, but it will be seriously underperforming. The Home module is last years reference, so in all a very competent module (it's not a Max though...), and the Home DAC is said to perform very close to the Max DAC.

I have the completely Maxed out config, and absolutely love it. It just gets better the more I listen to it. Also, I added some PS Audio Ultimate Outlets, and despite my lack of belief in such things, they seem to have cleaned up the sound and removed some sibilances and resonances that were apparent before.

 

[SunByrne]

I have this combo, though without the beefy power supply (that'll be next year's upgrade, I think).

Even without the PS, it sounds great. I took a little gamble on this one because I hadn't heard the home module before buying it; at the meet Tyll had one with the Max module in it and one with the base Desktop module in it, but not one with the Home module. It's not quite as good as (my memory of) the Max, but it's markedly better than (my memory of) the base Desktop. If I were to guess why it's so much better than the Desktop, I suspect that's the Class A biasing at work. It's not a "split the difference" situation, it's closer to the Max than the Desktop.

In particular, it's very smooth and really cleans up the grainy-ness I sometimes hear in the HD595s without sacrificing detail. It's a teensy weensy bit on the warm side for me but I think most around here would consider that a positive.

The one qualification I need to make here is that this is my first "serious" headphone amp, and I've not heard much of a variety in this price range. Thus, I'm not in a position to say how it compares to others near competitors. I know, that doesn't stop a lot of people from coming to strong conclusions, but I feel the need to be up-front about that.

Now, on to the DAC. The DAC is simply terrific. That's what really got me seriously thinking about this, as the Home DAC in the model at the meet sounded very nearly as good to my ears as the Meridian CDP. There's something about the Cirrus/Crystal family of DACs that rubs me the right way; my HT receiver also has a Crystal chipset in it and I love it for Redbook. I think if the analog stage is done right, which it certainly appears to be in this case, there's something very pleasing about the outcome--very accurate and detailed without being cold. It's also great to have both TOSLink and USB (and coax, though right now I'm not using coax) so I can have both a changer and my computer hooked up to it.

So, I'm a happy camper. A definite thumbs-up from me.

 

[n_maher]

FYI to the original poster, there's a heck of a deal in the FS forums on the very amp you're looking for. It should be on the first page and easy to find. [edit]Here's a link to the for sale post.

FWIW, from what I've heard of Headroom's amps I have yet hear one that sounded bad. And it's really hard to argue with the convenience of the built in DAC.

Nate

 

[TheSloth]

To SunByrne, you will experience a very significant improvement in sound quality if you buy the external PS. I have tried various Headroom power supplies (brick, BS1, DPS) on many of their different amps that have a DIN power connector, and find the benefit of their HQ power supplies is far from subtle. You might want to try one out under the 30 day guarantee to see for yourself.

To the OP, I agree that the deal in the FS forums is excellent, and if you are considering this amp, that is the package to go for. Enjoy!

 

[SunByrne]

One other thing I forgot to mention: crossfeed. I frankly thought the crossfeed was kind of superfluous, but now that I have it, I wouldn't want to buy an amp which didn't at least have it as an option. (It's like a lot of small convenience features on cars, like power door locks and steering wheel audio controls: it doesn't seem all that important before you get it, but once you do it drives you nuts not to have it.)

Anyway, I don't use the crossfeed most of the time, but when I want it, I find that I really want it. I find the Headroom crossfeed a little less subtle than the Xin crossfeed but it's still very good for mitigating the fatigue I get particularly from closed cans over longer sessions, especially on certain recordings which isolate instruments entirely in one channel (lots of Beatles recordings do this). It also sounds very compelling with some classical and soundtrack music.

I'd hate it if it were always on, but it's not, and it's great to have it when I want it.

TheSloth: I'm not surprised the PS makes a difference--it's just not in the budget at the moment. Right now I think it sounds very good even without, so I don't feel a strong need to jump in right away. But, knowing me, eventually I'll almost certainly have one.