I sometimes think that HeadRoom gets a bit of a bad rap around here. I mean, over the years I've heard a LOT of folks take a poke at them as being too costly, not enough bang for the buck, and so on. What I often found out later, as I observed many of these folks posts, is that many had never even HEARD the amps, and were simply parroting what they had heard someone else say. Or, maybe they heard the amp for a moment at a meet, and made a conclusion based on what are frankly not the best conditions.
I've also heard a lot of folks say that they don't represent a good value versus <<enter favorite DIY amp here>>. Well, strictly in dollar terms, that's true I suppose...they don't have employees, R&D, insurance, facilities, and other costs to consider. Then one day, you need to get the amp fixed. We have a lot of good DIY folks out there, but more than a few have elected to leave the business...and one or two have simply vanished, literally leaving their customers holding the bag.
I also think that HeadRoom gets a fair amount of abuse by folks who wish to do little more than rail against the man. All this for essentially inventing the hobby and market. Oh well....
The market for headphone amps has changed a whole lot over the last 10 years or so. Back then, you had HeadRoom, and that was pretty much it. There were a few folks who were dabbling in the business, like the folks at Audio Alchemy (the HPA-1 is still pretty good by today's standards...and whose crossfeed circuit did they license??
). Today, there are a lot of folks who have decided that a living can be made in headphone audio. Lots of those folks got their start here, manufacturing amps one or two at a time. They are still small operations (in terms of employees) that make a product that serves what amounts to a niche. Lots of other manufacturers have slowly found their way around to adding headphone amps to their existing line of audio products.
Through all of that, HeadRoom is still the unquestioned leader in the headphone amp market. I say that as my opinion, but it can also be argued as fact when one considers their position in the market.
I bit of disclosure here: I've had a lot of different amps over the years. I own at last count no fewer than 7 headphone amps, from various manufacturers, and I've owned enough over the years that I've stopped keeping track. I own or have owned no fewer than 10 HeadRoom amps, including an old school Max, various incarnations of Total AirHead/BitHead, and was one of only 25 folks to purchase the Coda/Overture amp/DAC. I like the HeadRoom house sound, which has typically been warmer with a rich midrange. I also make use of crossfeed when I'm listening for extended periods (at work, for example). I've also always appreciated both their position in the industry, and what they've done for the hobby. I've always know that if something goes wrong, they have my back...and I'm frankly willing to pay a little more for that.
BTW - Don't misunderstand my last point to mean that I don't think that many of our manufacturers here don't look out for their customers. I know many of them personally, and have some of their products too. I'm quite certain that if something ever went wrong that I could get it resolved. I am just pointing out something that needs to be considered when one makes (especially a) substantial investment in a headphone amp.
With regard to the HeadRoom amps of today:
I think that the Micro series is an outstanding value, and ground-breaking to boot. A lot of the excitement around these parts lately concerns DAC's, particularly those that can take a USB feed. For $600 you get a pretty decent DAC and an amp that is as good IMHO as most of what's out there at its price point. Not bad...
I like their up-market amps...but I seriously doubt I'll ever own one. Just too much coin for a guy with two kids and a big mortgage IMHO. I do think that, so long as we're looking at that price point, they would be better served by using a different enclosure. I like the HeadRoom look on the smaller amps, but on the bigger ones I'm finding that I want something closer to the old school look. I also think that, fairly or not, a lot of folks who hang around here feel like real high-end headphone amps are going to be tubed.
Their portable amps (for someone like me who listens for long sessions) are IMHO a great buy. The Total BitHead, when one considers what it does, is an ideal amp for someone who travels or listens to music at work. I use mine a lot, and have no qualms about recommending it.
Finally, the next amp that I own will be a Desktop Balanced with Home Module and DAC. That's close to $2K, by the time I add PS and stepped attenuator...and IMHO it's an incredible bargain when one considers all that comes with and how versatile it is. It would not surprise me to learn that they've sold a butt-load of those amps. I'm not sure how long it will be before I get one...hopefully sooner than later. It's part of a promised reward by Mrs. Elrod if I, uh, slim down a bit. Wish me luck!!
In closing, I see a lot of folks around these parts championing their favored amp from their favored manufacturer. I don't see so much of that going on with HeadRoom, to some degree because IMHO they are the old stand-by. I know an awful lot of folks who have owned HeadRoom MAX's over the years that still maintain that it's the best amp they've owned. I think most of the excitement (at least here) generated over HeadRoom products have been those recently introduced that have a high value for their price point. Lots of folks seemed to be very happy with their Micro Amp/DAC combo, or their 2006 Total BitHead...and the Balanced Desktop is looking like a winner to me too. I think that their higher end products are very worthy of praise, but are not generating the excitement that some of their other products do, largely because there are fewer placements.
So that's my $0.02 worth...