[Watchdog]

I have a Headroom Little Version (non premium, no P/S upgrade).

I thought the sound from it was pretty good, however reading these forums makes me wonder how much better other headphone amps are and how much of an improvement I would see if I upgraded.

I live in Vancouver, BC and was wondering if there are other members here that live in Vancouver. I think it would be kind of neat if we could get together sometime and do a comparison of amps, headphones, source material etc.......

Too bad I missed the World of Headphones tour, I definitely would have driven to Seattle for that!

 

[markjia]

I've seen several people from vancouver here (myself included). I'm not sure if there has ever been a gathering here, but I might be interested in particpating if there were one. Although I'm too busy at the moment, so unless it's after 2-3 weeks, I cannot make it.

 

[mkyy]

There used to be one thread about vancouver meeting but somehow not enough participation to get it going. So, revive the thread in the meeting forum.

 

[Watchdog]

Quote:

Originally posted by mkyy There used to be one thread about vancouver meeting but somehow not enough participation to get it going. So, revive the thread in the meeting forum.

Being a newbie I didn't even realize there was a meeting forum. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[cyclingasronomer]

i live near vancouver. i have an hd600 and a head otl. now there are three here!

 

[fyrfytrhoges]

watchdog, be careful what you wish for, my first amp was the headroom little, then I got the tube bug and bought the mg head, after listening extensively to both amps I found that with my current setups I actually enjoy the setup with the little better than the more expensive setup that uses the mg head, of course this all has to do with personal taste, but my advice would be to audition if humanly possible before plunking down a boatload of cash just because someone else says that this amp is better because this, or this cd player is better because of that, do some investigation of you own.

 

[PC Corp]

I think you can go to Hi Fi Centre, 578 Seymour St, downtown Vancouver (Next to A&B sound) to test some amps and phones there. They have amps, such as Grado RA-1, Naim Headline, Rega EAR and Musical Fidility X1 there. They also have the whole series of Grado phones, except the RS-2 I think.

http://www.hificentre.com/

http://www.space-tech-lab.com/ also has two tube amps (I believe nobody has ever reviewed here). But they are not cheap.

 

[bifcake]

Quote:

Originally posted by Watchdog I have a Headroom Little Version (non premium, no P/S upgrade). I thought the sound from it was pretty good, however reading these forums makes me wonder how much better other headphone amps are and how much of an improvement I would see if I upgraded.

Before you rush to upgrade your amp, be sure that your other components are up to snuff. Depending on what components you have, upgrading your amp may not do anything for you. My personal rule of thumb for the upgrade path is as follows:

Headphones/Speakers
Source
Amp
cables

If you have let's say HD600 phones, Headroom Little and Fisher Price CD player, then chances are, upgrading your CD player will give you the best results.

If you have Panasonic walkman phones, Headroom Little and a Meridian or Accuphase player, then upgrading your phones will be the best bang for the buck.

If however, you have let's say HD600, Grado RS-1 or similar phones, a Musical Fidelity, Rotel, Accuphase or similar players, then upgrading your amp will be in order.

Hope this helps.


Edit: I just looked at your profile. I'm assuming you're using your Linn player as your source. Upgrading your phones and the Little is probably in order. You're very mismatched. You have a first class player, ok phones (Beyerdynamics) and an entry level amp. Look at better headphones first and then look at a SUBSTANTIAL upgrade to the Little.

 

[kelly]

Quote:

Originally posted by Watchdog I have a Headroom Little Version (non premium, no P/S upgrade). I thought the sound from it was pretty good, however reading these forums makes me wonder how much better other headphone amps are and how much of an improvement I would see if I upgraded. I live in Vancouver, BC and was wondering if there are other members here that live in Vancouver. I think it would be kind of neat if we could get together sometime and do a comparison of amps, headphones, source material etc....... Too bad I missed the World of Headphones tour, I definitely would have driven to Seattle for that!

That even HeadRoom offers several amps better than the Little should answer that question for you.

Yes, it definitely gets better. Which version of the DT990 are you using? Either would probably benefit from the power supply upgrade to the Little if you're happy with the overall sound of the amp and want an improvement. Morsel (the M in META42) is a fan of the DT990 and seems to think it pairs well with that amp (it should, I imagine).

 

[Watchdog]

My headphones are the weak link in my system? Boy, when I bought them I thought I was getting Beyer's best headphone, but in the last few years I've found that's not the case, now I'm finding out that they're good but not great headphones.

Oh well, I suppose given the price I paid for them (I think it was around $150 Cdn. for a demo set) I shouldn't be too surprised.

Now I really want to see the World of Headphones tour. Too bad it will be quite a while until I get another opportunity.

The irony in this is that I originally bought The Little version because I had a Naim Nait 3 at the time and it didn't have a headphone jack. I figured I might as well get a headphone amp. I can't remember how much I paid for The Little, but I'm sure it was less than the $259 it goes for now, plus the exchange rate back in 93 or was it 94 when I bought it wasn't too bad.

At the time I figured better to spend about $200 - $250 Cdn. on something good then say $100 Cdn. on something bad. All I wanted was the ability to use headphones. Now I'm finding I use portable audio players more and more and listening to headphones more and more, and spending big bucks on equipment that I never dreamed I'd be interested in

Tyell, he's like a preacher enlightening people like myself to how good headphone sound can be, he's dangerous for my bank account

 

[markjia]

If you bought the little back in 93/94, you should know that headroom has done some major redesigning of its gear since then, and the stuff they make now is significantly better (at least that's what i've heard)...BTW, I'm not trying to get you to spend more money...just thought you should know.

If portability is of interest, then you should consider some version of the META42.

But first, you should check out some other phones...namely the HD580/600s