[dgs]

I am finally breaking down and buying a new home headphone amp. Damn you high school students with thousand dollar interconnects.

I need my 580s less dark and my 501s less bright.

So, now comes the "fun" part: the agony of the decision, the ambivalence of the reviews, the moments of tight-lipped determination...but first, I'd like some comments from you all.

I'm basically deciding between the Corda (not the porta corda) and the headroom little. I will be using it with Senn580, AKG501, and the ety4s. Right now I use the JMT-built CHA47 which I prefer in many instances to my TA, although my TA is a great little amp that I use on the plane (since the JMT looks a little suspicious these days) and at work with my sr60s, ks35s, and akg501s.

I'm looking for something that will synergize well with all my phones rather than something that will sound supersweet with one phone and mediocre with all the others.

Here's my line of reasoning so far:

The corda gets rave reviews from lots of people, including Dark Angel and KurtW, the opinions of both of whom I respect. KurtW even ranks it a 9 out of 11 on his big headphone amp review. Pretty sweet. And Jan has a great reputation and is always doing really good PR and customer service on this site.

Less is discussed here about the Little. I know that MacDEF has recommended it a few times, and a few people seem to really like it. Furthermore, Todd and the other Headroom fellas also provide great advice, customer service, and have a great reputation here. I haven't seen anyone compare the two amps side by side...I'm a bit concerned that my TA makes things a tiny bit dark, and I don't want that to be the case with my home amp. THe most attractive thing about the Little, though, is the upgrade path. Man, that is sweet.

So, to my question:

Can anyone offer a sound comparison between the corda and the Little? If so, what "level" of Little would you consider equal to the Corda?

Any other diatribes or recommendations are welcome...have at it...

 

[MacDEF]

dgs, I haven't heard the Corda, so I can't comment on it directly. As you've pointed out, it receives rave reviews!

I wouldn't worry about the Little being "dark." The TA is definitely a darker amp compared to HeadRoom's home amps, and the new line is much less dark than before, so the new Little should be fine.

As for the two amps in question, from what I've read and heard, I would imagine that the stock Corda would be a bit better than the stock Little. That said, the Little has a killer upgrade path. So if it was me making the decision, I would focus more on now vs. later -- will you ever upgrade or not?

Good luck!

 

[KurtW]

dgs, I think you're considering the two best buys of headphone amps. I haven't heard them head to head but it should be an good contest...one I'd like to see happen someday. I have never heard the latest version of the Little, but it seems like it should sound good based on the older version and the latest updates. It is in another class than the Total Airhead, using similar circuitry to the Supreme but now with a better power supply. There are aspects to the Supreme that I liked better than the Corda; I thought it sounded a bit more refined. However the Supreme lacked the regulated power supply that the Corda had and the Little now has. The regulated supply of the Corda is what I thought gave the Corda much more authority in the lower frequencies. Not all regulated supplies are created equal but certainly HeadRoom knows how to build a good one and hopefully they've put a good one into the Little. It does make you wonder a bit, however, that they used to sell a upgrade regulated supply for the Little for about what they now sell the Little for with a regulated supply.

Both companies are excellent to work with, but HeadRoom has the edge because it's in the US and offers a 30 day return policy.

Speaking of upgradablility, don't rule out the Corda. My Corda (I build mine from a kit, so I can't speak for the assembled version but I'm sure you could find out from Jan) comes with IC sockets. The OPA627 that is featured with the top of the line HeadRoom amps can be plugged into the sockets for the first stage of the Corda. I've done this and think that it improves the sound. The second stage delivers the current for driving the headphones. HeadRoom uses transistors here and the IC that the Corda uses is a high current one that would be better than the OPA627 but there are other alternatives here too. The schematic for the Corda is published and the circuits are not potted like the HeadRoom amps so they are much easier for a DIY person to modify. The upgrades through HeadRoom are typical of the usual manufacturer upgrades...a little pricy. Better that than none at all, of course.

Good luck on your choice...I think you'll be happy either way for the price.

 

[BenG]

Kurt, thanks for your massive amp review a few months back.
You mentioned in this thread that you thought the stock Supreme was more refined than the Corda, but that the Corda had better bass.
I thought from looking at Headroom's site that the Supreme is designed to soften up the source a bit to mate with rougher sources, whereas the Cosmic is supposed to be a little more neutral or honest. In your review you state that the Cosmic with the PS-1 sounded close to the Corda. You also rated the Corda and Cosmic w/PS-1 a 9 and the Maxed-Out Home a 9.5.
It seems from your ratings that the Corda(especially in a kit form) would be a better deal, even if you upgraded the Little to it's max(near Maxed Out Home territory). And like you said, you could upgrade the opamp in the Corda quite easily and relatively cheaply on your own.

 

[sacriste]

Just in case you haven't noticed, the Little now comes with a better power supply than two month ago and is still the same price. This is supposed to improve the sound even more, without expecting for the expensive upgrade.

 

[arnett]

dgs,

unlike the TA, the little has the 'treble boost' switch which you can leave off with your k501's and leave on with your 580's.

i have a pair of k401's and the new little. i use x-feed without the treble boost. the resulting sound is very warm and smooth, albeit a little too dark for most cans.

but for the k501's it might work for ya.

you can't really change the sound with the corda.

btw, i've heard the k401 and 580 with the JMT, and the JMT just not powerful enough to drive either 'phone*. a more powerful headphone amp will work wonders.

*the JMT is a great amp--but only with lower impedance cans.

 

[dgs]

Quote:

Originally posted by arnett *the JMT is a great amp--but only with lower impedance cans.

Arnett: agreed. It helps the 580, but mostly by removing the darkness. Doesn't really open up the sound...wasn't meant to.

Thanks everybody. It sounds like it's still a toss up. I guess it comes down to, as MacDEF pointed out, it's buying for now or later...The corda might win out in that regard, although it's not clear that this is true. Maybe better to buy the Little and try it out for a while. If it's not up to my expectations, I can return it and get the Corda. Or maybe I should risk death from my wife and buy both...not gonna happen.