[Quint]

My friend, who's not terribly computer savvy, is considering getting into the whole balanced-headphone world, and he's setting the bar pretty high. One of the amps on his scope is the Headroom Max Balanced. Do any 'Fiers have experience with the Max Balanced, especially regarding how it compares with SOTA offerings from RSA, Singlepower, etc.? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. I've heard it, but haven't A/B'd it against anything in my system.

 

[MaloS]

When I tried it driving a balanced hd650, it left me very very bored. Thats all I can say.

 

[klenkar]

you're friend should look elsewhere for absolute satisfaction.....

Just pulling your leg......I too asked question about Headroom and headfiers gently pushed me tords other brands.
dom

 

[granodemostasa]

I cant' echo the responses from other people... when i heard it on the wadia, it was absolutely amazing.

because most of us like to mix, match and experiment the all-in-one headroom solution isn't on everyone's wish list.

 

[episiarch]

Heard it at HeadFest, and it was stunning, absolutely top notch in my book. I have nothing negative to say about it except maybe that the photos don't really give a clear idea of its size, so be sure to take its 15x15x5 dimensions into account.

One nice plus about the latest round of HeadRoom gear is that I really enjoy it with the crossfeed on, whereas I tended to turn off crossfeed on earlier generations of gear (not just HeadRoom) to get slightly clearer sonics. On HeadRoom's latest I no longer felt that crossfeed was a sonic compromise.

 

[gswpete]

The crossfeed does wonders for the bass while not taking away from other elements of the music.

 

[twsmith]

I can't speak for the HR Max Balanced, however I happen to have the HR "Maxed-out" Desktop which has the same DAC and amp modules as the Max (although it's not balanced). I also have a new DAC1-USB and GS-1, and have compared the two outfits using my K701s. All I can say is that the DAC1/GS-1 beats out the HR Desktop with Max modules by a long shot -- everything is better - soundstage, frequency range, resolution, etc. My point in mentioning this is that based on my experience with the K701s, I don't think the HR Max Balanced may be your best choice. If I were seriously interested in going balanced, I would be looking at the GS-X and a good external DAC or CD player. Perhaps the HR Max Balanced would have more synergy with balanced HD650s - at least many here have praised the Balanced HR Desktop with these phones. I might even suggest starting with the Balanced Desktop rather the Max - your friend might find this to do the trick.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quint /img/forum/go_quote.gif My friend, who's not terribly computer savvy, is considering getting into the whole balanced-headphone world, and he's setting the bar pretty high. One of the amps on his scope is the Headroom Max Balanced. Do any 'Fiers have experience with the Max Balanced, especially regarding how it compares with SOTA offerings from RSA, Singlepower, etc.? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. I've heard it, but haven't A/B'd it against anything in my system.

From the impression I get on this board.. It's seems like you could do better for the money..2,200. Plus headphones..Plus balancing them.. Will run your friend nearly 3 grand.. I'd just buy the Maxxed balanced Desk top.. From what I hear its almost the same as the Headroom max balanced but is 500.00 cheaper..

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by twsmith /img/forum/go_quote.gif I can't speak for the HR Max Balanced, however I happen to have the HR "Maxed-out" Desktop which has the same DAC and amp modules as the Max (although it's not balanced). I also have a new DAC1-USB and GS-1, and have compared the two outfits using my K701s. All I can say is that the DAC1/GS-1 beats out the HR Desktop with Max modules by a long shot -- everything is better - soundstage, frequency range, resolution, etc. My point in mentioning this is that based on my experience with the K701s, I don't think the HR Max Balanced may be your best choice. If I were seriously interested in going balanced, I would be looking at the GS-X and a good external DAC or CD player. Perhaps the HR Max Balanced would have more synergy with balanced HD650s - at least many here have praised the Balanced HR Desktop with these phones. I might even suggest starting with the Balanced Desktop rather the Max - your friend might find this to do the trick.

Depressing.. Yeah.. I'd bet my balanced 650's that the GS-X is better then the HR maxed balanced..

 

[boomana]

It depends what your friend is looking for sq-wise. It is a very neutral amp, which some equate with boring. If you're looking for WOW factor, it's not there, but that's a good thing. It's a quality amp. I question its price tag when comparing it to the new balanced desktop option, which I think is the real headroom winner. I can't say that I spent enough time with either to answer my own question. The differences are in that subtle range that may matter a lot to some people or not at al to others. I prefer a tube sound, so I can't really add an unbiased opinion on what I would get.

 

[boomana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Depressing.. Yeah.. I'd bet my balanced 650's that the GS-X is better then the HR maxed balanced..

Have you heard the HR max?

 

[purk]

I was quite impress with the dynamight even more than the Balanced Max. The Single Power Square Wave XL ($1500) after burned in sound almost on par with the Max. When I compared the SP Sq Wave XL next to the balanced maxed via Tyrion's Esoteric CD player at the FL meet, I thought the two amps were quite comparabe with the Max had better seperation and bass response. However, I listened to SQ. Wave last week out of the SCD-1 at Tom Hankins's place and the blackgates were burned in and the result was more transparent and better extension and articulation in lows & highs. Still, I think the Dynamight and Beta22 are better choices.

 

[jp11801]

Having heard the amp at the meet I thought it was not the best, it has somewhat of a midfi sound. I like the balanced desktop better and it's half the price, I'd also recommend the beta22 or balanced dynamight over this amp.

If he can go single ended the Eddie Current Zana Duex is a great amp at around 2k.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

It should have great synergy if you get it with the Max DAC option. I like the idea of an built-in DAC because there're less connections/jitter to worry about. From what I hear, the Max DAC is top notch.

 

[twsmith]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dept_of_Alchemy /img/forum/go_quote.gif It should have great synergy if you get it with the Max DAC option. I like the idea of an built-in DAC because there're less connections/jitter to worry about. From what I hear, the Max DAC is top notch.

I'm not so sure everyone would completely agree - I think there are a number of better external DACs that exceed the quality of the HR Max DAC modules (Stello, Benchmark, Lavry, etc.). Doug Schneider in his review of the HR Maxed-out Desktop in Soundstage found that the Stello DA220 sounded better than the HR Max DAC module (although he did concede that the Max DAC did do a very good job). I'm not sure what exactly contributes to the very high cost of the HR Balanced Max, but I doubt that the DAC modules themselves do. The only concession may be that the Balanced Max because of its theoretically better power supply and other components may actually reveal more of the potential of the Max DAC modules as compared to the HR Maxed-out Desktop. I still bet that if you fed the Balanced Max amp with the balanced outputs of either a high-end CDP or external DAC (eg Benchmark DAC1) you would get better results. With regard to jitter, this is a transport-DAC issue and has nothing to do with the connection of the DAC to the amp -- it should make little if any difference whether the DAC is an external unit or built-in to the amp itself.