Headsave amp....help!!

[doctorjuggles]

I've just received an email from Norm about my order. I've placed and paid for and order for a Home Vibe.
Norm has written me an email in which he's said that the Home Vibe is being discontinued, and he's offering me a Headsave Classic intstead for a further $15. Some points norm noted:
"the Classic is a more versatile amp with a standard 1/4" headphone jack and improved circuit board with higher capacity power supply."
"this would include same op-amp and power supply as the Home-Vibe."

Should I pay the extra $15 for the Classic? I don't know much about amps, what would everyone in here do??

Thanks for any opinions and help, people

 

[meat01]

I would go for Norm's upgrade. He would not steer you wrong. If you don't get the upgrade, you will always be wondering what if.

 

[halcyon]

Norm is reliable by accounts I've read here and elsewhere, so I'd go with his recommendation, if your budget allows for that.

regards,
halcyon

PS It's not considered very good etiquette to post personal e-mails to public boards. Perhaps Norm doesn't mind, but just so that you know

 

[doctorjuggles]

Oops, sorry. I'll edit the post. It was a group email sent to about 5 of us, but I'll change a few things. Thanks for the advice on both subjects

 

[sbulack]

You SHOULD upgrade to a Classic, if you can afford to. The Classic has better power supply circuitry, and the opamps used in these amps really DO benefit (make audibly better sound) when given more/better power to work with. I've actually done some audio experiments using them to demonstrate this to myself. I'd also advise you to spend the extra $20 for the 24V power supply instead of the 12V power supply. (Check with Norm to ensure that this is electronically OK with the opamp you'll be getting in your amp). Again, you can hear the difference in the sound the amp puts out when you give the opamp more voltage to work with. The differences are: more depth of sound, more translucence in the sound, more coherent soundstaging, more distinctness in the very soft, subtle detail, better tone to the sound. The differences are not subtle. To amps, power is like oxygen/food to us. The more abundantly you give it to them, the better work you get from them. If you can't afford these upgrades, the Home vibe with the 12v power supply is a fine amp, and you won't be disappointed with it. The upgrades above are inexpensive ways to get significant improvements in the sound quality you'll hear from your amp. If you can afford them, you won't be wasting your money and you won't regret making them, IMO.

 

[doctorjuggles]

Thanks for the advice, guys. The $15 doesn't seem much to me, it was more a question of if the amp was better or not. But the opinion in here seems to suggest it is, so I'll go with that.

Thanks again, sorry about including too much of Norm's email in the first post.