draytonklammer
Headphoneus Supremus
Decided to start a thread. Looks like the amplifier legends have announced pre-ordering for their new headphone amplifier.
I have had the chance to test a few of the different prototypes they have gone through directly against the Oppo HA-1, HDVA 600/HDVD 800, Moon Neo 430HAD and a few different Schiit/Fiio devices (Valhalla 2, Vali, E10K, etc.)
I would say for the pre-order price of $300.00 it is a great performer. Looks-wise some will call it ugly, or cheap looking, but it honestly didn't feel that way. Besides, aren't we here for sound quality over looks?
Performance against something like a 430HA(D) is to be expected. To sum it up, it sounds thin in comparison.
Against the HDVA 600/HDVD 800 I really couldn't tell a difference outside of some differences in features. The sounds was fairly similar.
Performance with the Fiios And Schiit devices I tried matched up well and I can see it being desirable at the pre-order price, or lower.
Anyhow, should be exciting to see if this ends up making ground. For the pre-order price I can see it breaking ground, but for the full price of $400.00 I might find myself looking for more features or a Schiit stack.
Hoping to either see it remain stable at $300.00 or drop to $200-$250 for the features and performance offered. I tried to give more feedback during the prototype phases and I will be passing this up to wait for a higher end model potentially.
The Headroom Standard Headphone Amplifier
The HeadRoom Standard headphone amp feature set includes dual 1/4" stereo headphone jacks with a 2 position gain stage. Input connection is via rear panel stereo RCA inputs and the RCA outputs are controlled from a front panel switch. The RCA pre-outputs are a true 'active' design and will not function when the unit is off. The large front panel volume knob is an extra quiet, smooth operation rotary construction with infinite level adjustment. A very tough extruded black aluminum casing ensures the Standard internals stay free of any induced extraneous noise and safe from travel bumps. The HeadRoom Standard Amp employs a clean 16VAC external transformer for the power supply which is internally converted to +/- DC power using new super high-quality regulators and then neatly smoothed out with lots of capacitance.
In essence, we purposefully kept the HeadRoom Standard Amp bells and whistles to a minimum. Our overriding design goal was simply to cut right to the chase and make a straight-forward analog headphone amp that could beautifully drive the best dynamic, planar magnetic or in-ear headphones available in the audiophile industry. We also wanted to create a new amp unit that could unquestionably stand alongside - if not even exceed - the sound quality performance of any other similarly priced headphone amp on the planet, including our own highly lauded HeadRoom designs of the past 20 years. After many long months spent in the audio lab and more than a few sleepless nights, we really think our lofty goals have finally been achieved.
I have had the chance to test a few of the different prototypes they have gone through directly against the Oppo HA-1, HDVA 600/HDVD 800, Moon Neo 430HAD and a few different Schiit/Fiio devices (Valhalla 2, Vali, E10K, etc.)
I would say for the pre-order price of $300.00 it is a great performer. Looks-wise some will call it ugly, or cheap looking, but it honestly didn't feel that way. Besides, aren't we here for sound quality over looks?
Performance against something like a 430HA(D) is to be expected. To sum it up, it sounds thin in comparison.
Against the HDVA 600/HDVD 800 I really couldn't tell a difference outside of some differences in features. The sounds was fairly similar.
Performance with the Fiios And Schiit devices I tried matched up well and I can see it being desirable at the pre-order price, or lower.
Anyhow, should be exciting to see if this ends up making ground. For the pre-order price I can see it breaking ground, but for the full price of $400.00 I might find myself looking for more features or a Schiit stack.
Hoping to either see it remain stable at $300.00 or drop to $200-$250 for the features and performance offered. I tried to give more feedback during the prototype phases and I will be passing this up to wait for a higher end model potentially.