[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kabeer /img/forum/go_quote.gif oh crum....too expensive for me , I might have to catch the last of the old micro line, but im out of money atm.

I bet there will be some nice deals to be had on those units, which remain excellent DACs.

 

[mkozlows]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamey /img/forum/go_quote.gif With approx. pricing listed, the new Micro Line will consist of: Micro Portable Amp $499 with a DAC option available for $199 This unit uses an internal rechargable lithium ion battery. The rest of the line is AC powered only and comes with "The Brick" power supply. Micro Amp (comparable to a Home Module) $399 Micro DAC (comparable to Home DAC) $399 Micro Amp Ultra (comparable to Max Module) $999 Micro DAC Ultra (comparable to Max DAC) $999 Hope this helps.

The two things that particularly stand out to me are:

1. The "Ultra" stuff seems preposterously expensive. I mean, for $2K, you could get the Desktop with Max Amp, Max DAC, desktop power supply, fancy volume control, AND a set of K701 headphones as a bonus. If the Micro version can't run portably, then I can't imagine any reason at all for someone to pay more for the Micro than for the Desktop stuff. (Unless you're planning on cranking up the price across the board come summer, I guess.)

2. There's now a huge gap in your pricing. If you want to go up from the $99 Airhead, you have to jump to the $399 Micro; the $149 Bithead turns into the $700 Micro Portable + DAC. A year or so ago, the jump was from a $199 Total Airhead to a $299 Micro, which is much more reasonable. That seems to pretty much keep any Airhead/Bithead shopper from even considering upselling themselves, which seems undesirable...

 

[OracleGuy]

Let's not be too hard on Tyll and Jamey guys; the pricing etc. is still tentative so I'm sure they'll make sure the products fit sensibly within the larger lineup when the time comes.

I for one appreciate the sneak-peek of the upcoming gear. I too just bought a Micro DAC, and was worried that it would be instantly obsolete. That doesn't seem to be the case, especially with the the newer product coming in at higher (or much higher, in the case of the Ultra) price points.

I would like to add my 2 cents though and suggest as others have that for $1K, the Ultra DAC will be competing against (at least) Benchmark, Lavry and PS Audio; balanced outs would seem to be de rigeur.

 

[cooperpwc]

$149 for the Total Bithead! I hadn't noticed that. At that price for someone looking to upgrade their computer sound that is seriously good value.

 

[Kees]

I wonder, if there is a Micro amp/dac Ultra possible that is comaparable to Max modules, shouldn't there be a Balanced Desktop Ultra?
Now they only go to Home module level (due to heat restraints in the small housing I understand), but if a Max (-like) module is possible in Micro housing, it should be a possible upgrade for the Ballanced Desktop too I think.

 

[episiarch]

If the market is ready to support prices like those, then I hope it will also support the return of a HeadRoom switchbox product, which I believe was abandoned as uneconomic sometime last year.

I have the old HeadRoom Switchbox (I think it cost $130-ish back in the day) and it is an extremely valuable component of my home rig. I can understand that an updated $200/$300 price would be hard for most people to justify for "just a switch," but once it's part of a system, it's hard to see how to do without it.

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by episiarch /img/forum/go_quote.gif If the market is ready to support prices like those, then I hope it will also support the return of a HeadRoom switchbox product, which I believe was abandoned as uneconomic sometime last year. I have the old HeadRoom Switchbox (I think it cost $130-ish back in the day) and it is an extremely valuable component of my home rig. I can understand that an updated $200/$300 price would be hard for most people to justify for "just a switch," but once it's part of a system, it's hard to see how to do without it.

Actually, now that the inputs are on the back, it should be possible to have switching on the amps.... the constraints caused by the batteries was the reason that that the switching box was needed in the first place.

 

[Jamey Warren]

With the prototypes shown, the Micro Amps had two inputs on the rear with an input selector on the front panel. A switch becomes even harder to market and sell if our amps stay this way.

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamey /img/forum/go_quote.gif With the prototypes shown, the Micro Amps had two inputs on the rear with an input selector on the front panel. A switch becomes even harder to market and sell if our amps stay this way.

And they should stay that way. That's excellent! I'm curious: is one input mini plug and the other RCA? It was mini plug on the original Micro Amp and DAC.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkozlows /img/forum/go_quote.gif The two things that particularly stand out to me are: 1. The "Ultra" stuff seems preposterously expensive. I mean, for $2K, you could get the Desktop with Max Amp, Max DAC, desktop power supply, fancy volume control, AND a set of K701 headphones as a bonus. If the Micro version can't run portably, then I can't imagine any reason at all for someone to pay more for the Micro than for the Desktop stuff. (Unless you're planning on cranking up the price across the board come summer, I guess.) 2. There's now a huge gap in your pricing. If you want to go up from the $99 Airhead, you have to jump to the $399 Micro; the $149 Bithead turns into the $700 Micro Portable + DAC. A year or so ago, the jump was from a $199 Total Airhead to a $299 Micro, which is much more reasonable. That seems to pretty much keep any Airhead/Bithead shopper from even considering upselling themselves, which seems undesirable...

That's pretty much what I wanted to say, but didn't want to spell it out as explicitly as you did. I guess we'll get more info out of the Headroom guys when they do a sponsored thread where they can actually do some advertising. There must be something great about the Ultra AMP and DAC to warrant their substantial prices. Meanwhile, I've decided that the source can't wait and scored something else instead.

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by episiarch /img/forum/go_quote.gif If the market is ready to support prices like those, then I hope it will also support the return of a HeadRoom switchbox product, which I believe was abandoned as uneconomic sometime last year. I have the old HeadRoom Switchbox (I think it cost $130-ish back in the day) and it is an extremely valuable component of my home rig. I can understand that an updated $200/$300 price would be hard for most people to justify for "just a switch," but once it's part of a system, it's hard to see how to do without it.

I remember seeing one of this in the B-Stock section and not nabbing it. I am still kicking myself...

 

[applegd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamey /img/forum/go_quote.gif With the prototypes shown, the Micro Amps had two inputs on the rear with an input selector on the front panel.

This is great move! So the new MicroAMp will be mini form of DESKTOP.

 

[JosephJFK]

I'm inclined to think that the $999 price is a mistake. Perhaps someone at headroom discussed the idea of a $999 stack (with both DAC and amp), and this got lost in translation. At least with regard to the DAC, a $499 Ultra DAC would be far more consistent with the module pricing in the other amps. I can imagine no reason why it would cost $100 more to go from home -> max DAC in a desktop, but cost $600 more to do the same in a micro enclosure.

 

[Jamey Warren]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JosephJFK /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm inclined to think that the $999 price is a mistake. Perhaps someone at headroom discussed the idea of a $999 stack (with both DAC and amp), and this got lost in translation. At least with regard to the DAC, a $499 Ultra DAC would be far more consistent with the module pricing in the other amps. I can imagine no reason why it would cost $100 more to go from home -> max DAC in a desktop, but cost $600 more to do the same in a micro enclosure.

It's not really a mistake but is certainly subject to change. The BB627's are currently very hard to find and so the market price has almost tripled since we introduced the Max Modules and DAC's. The pricing of the Micro Ultra versions are based on the new market price but, I'm hoping I can find a way around this or that the market will change. If not, the Max Modules and DAC's will probably go up in price substantially.

 

[noseallinit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamey /img/forum/go_quote.gif The new Micro Line does not use any modules or any current circuit boards but the topology can be compared to the rest of our product line. The products shown at HeadFest are prototypes and subject to change a little regarding pricing, features or components but we are pretty close to a finalized design. The current Micro Line will be phased out of production as it makes economic sense. The new Micro Line will probably start shipping this summer with the earliest possible ship date estimated to be July 1. With approx. pricing listed, the new Micro Line will consist of: Micro Portable Amp $499 with a DAC option available for $199 This unit uses an internal rechargable lithium ion battery. The rest of the line is AC powered only and comes with "The Brick" power supply. Micro Amp (comparable to a Home Module) $399 Micro DAC (comparable to Home DAC) $399 Micro Amp Ultra (comparable to Max Module) $999 Micro DAC Ultra (comparable to Max DAC) $999 Hope this helps.

Jamey, will there be any upgrade options made available for us with the current line MicroAmp and DAC? I sure hope so!