dparrish
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2001
- Posts
- 296
- Likes
- 10
Hi all,
I've remained silent and have enjoyed reading the comments here for some time. Now, I need some advice!
First, my current setup:
HeadRoom Cosmic (2yrs old--not the new version)
Kimber Select 1011 interconnects (I make them work by taking off the WTB connector outer sleeve on the Cosmic end)
Sennheiser HD600s
"Big Red" extension cable (15ft)
Sony XA777ES SACD/CD player
I am not totally pleased with this system yet.
To my ears, the system is pretty revealing, yet somewhat lacking in low end puch/slam/extension and a little too bright in the midrange to upper regions. I hear a certain stridency at times in the upper mid region. Sometimes it seems as if the headphones and/or amp could be clipping. I DON'T listen very loudly, and I listen to mostly classical and jazz music. I am a musician by trade and have pretty critical hearing.
I have considered the possible upgrades:
1. Get a Base Station One--this is supposed to give a little better low end and more open soundstage, @ $299. I have heard it suggested that the overall tonal balance might improve and the stridency as well to some degree. Correct?
2. Have my Cosmic upgraded to the reference electronics (@ $425 or so--only the electronics module would be upgradeable--I couldn't get the new Cardas connections, etc.)
3. Upgrade both electronics and get a Base Station One--this option doesn't really make sense to me from a cost point of view.
4. Keep the Cosmic as is and, since I use the amp 99.99% of the time in the home system (I have a Total Airhead anyway), get a completely new amp--I'm thinking that the most I could afford (and that's stretching it) would be the Maxed Out Home Reference (Sounds like the Max might be to my liking, but $1149 is already stretching it!).
According to the review I read on "Enjoy the Music", the new HeadRoom amps are a little smoother in the midrange and a tad more revealing on top, right (New Maxed Out Home, New Cosmic, etc.)?
5. Other suggestions?
For reliability and overall frequency extension reasons, I don't think I would be interested in a tube amp. I don't want a colored sound at all--I just want the sound reproduced as intended on the HD600s. I really enjoy HeadRoom's crossfeed circuit, so I would want this feature as well.
Has anyone out there been on a similar journey? Even if you haven't, what are your thoughts?
Thanks in advance!
David
I've remained silent and have enjoyed reading the comments here for some time. Now, I need some advice!
First, my current setup:
HeadRoom Cosmic (2yrs old--not the new version)
Kimber Select 1011 interconnects (I make them work by taking off the WTB connector outer sleeve on the Cosmic end)
Sennheiser HD600s
"Big Red" extension cable (15ft)
Sony XA777ES SACD/CD player
I am not totally pleased with this system yet.
To my ears, the system is pretty revealing, yet somewhat lacking in low end puch/slam/extension and a little too bright in the midrange to upper regions. I hear a certain stridency at times in the upper mid region. Sometimes it seems as if the headphones and/or amp could be clipping. I DON'T listen very loudly, and I listen to mostly classical and jazz music. I am a musician by trade and have pretty critical hearing.
I have considered the possible upgrades:
1. Get a Base Station One--this is supposed to give a little better low end and more open soundstage, @ $299. I have heard it suggested that the overall tonal balance might improve and the stridency as well to some degree. Correct?
2. Have my Cosmic upgraded to the reference electronics (@ $425 or so--only the electronics module would be upgradeable--I couldn't get the new Cardas connections, etc.)
3. Upgrade both electronics and get a Base Station One--this option doesn't really make sense to me from a cost point of view.
4. Keep the Cosmic as is and, since I use the amp 99.99% of the time in the home system (I have a Total Airhead anyway), get a completely new amp--I'm thinking that the most I could afford (and that's stretching it) would be the Maxed Out Home Reference (Sounds like the Max might be to my liking, but $1149 is already stretching it!).
According to the review I read on "Enjoy the Music", the new HeadRoom amps are a little smoother in the midrange and a tad more revealing on top, right (New Maxed Out Home, New Cosmic, etc.)?
5. Other suggestions?
For reliability and overall frequency extension reasons, I don't think I would be interested in a tube amp. I don't want a colored sound at all--I just want the sound reproduced as intended on the HD600s. I really enjoy HeadRoom's crossfeed circuit, so I would want this feature as well.
Has anyone out there been on a similar journey? Even if you haven't, what are your thoughts?
Thanks in advance!
David