Headsave Classic - how does it compare?

[HiWire]

For those fortunate few of you who have checked out the Classic in relation to other home amps, e.g. Headroom's Max series, Meier's Cordas, Ray Samuels, Gilmores, Perreaux, etc. I know they don't compare pricewise, but I am wondering how far up the ladder they are performance-wise.

I am planning on getting a NAD 542 as a source right now.

Thanks

 

[HiWire]

Hmm... I guess most people who have the Classic are upgrading or first-time buyers. I'll let this thread die now

 

[boodi]

I'm interested too .
anyone who can share impression on the classic and compare to a bigger amp , share share share ..

 

[HiWire]

Also, I'm interested because the Classic is "unbuffered." I don't know much about electronics, but this leads me to believe that it has a different sound than other amps.

 

[Reck45]

I'd be very interested in hearing as well, particularly between the classic and the gilmore lite.

 

[duetta]

I just bought one of these a few weeks back, and can offer a bit of feedback.

Mine was configured with the Dual 637 op-amps and the 24v power supply. All in all, I think this is a terrific unit for the price (I paid $200 delivered) and am enjoying it quite a bit. I've owned an X-Can V2 (with various tube combinations and the external power supply), and have had a bunch of other home amps in for auditions. It's not exactly liquid sounding with Etymotic ER-4s, but is very enjoyable nonetheless. It's given new life to my Beyer DT-990 Pros (although I suspect that the brighter, more lively op-amps would have been a better fit in light of the 990 Pros midrange coloration) - and has me thinking about buying another pair of convention headphones to use with it. I'm of the school of thought that the differences between this amp and the much more expensive amps are generally marginal - and I don't feel motivated at the moment shell out the cash for incremental improvements. When I do, I'll keep this unit for use with a 2nd system or my PC. This is a great little piece of hardware, and I strongly recommend it.

 

[HiWire]

Thanks for the info, duetta. That's exactly what we're looking for.

 

[Murdoch]

The Classic is a very nice affordable amp. Plus Norm is great to deal with. Go for it.

 

[HiWire]

I'm going to post a link to a more definitive Headsave Classic thread, since it has a lively and specific discussion of the amp:

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...adsave+Classic

I think I'll go for either the updated Home-Vibe or the Classic eventually, with dual OPA637s and a 24V PSU. The exact specs depend on how I want to run my source and cans - quite obviously, the Home-Vibe uses mini jacks while the Classic has a 1/4" jack and RCA inputs. So the Home-Vibe would be best for my current portable-based, Alessandro MS-1 setup and the Classic would be most suitable for a home CD/SACD player, higher-end headphone combo.

The upcoming meet at Tomek's should help me decide, along with input from Norm... I think there will be some heavy duty hardware on display