[whee]

Hi, long time lurker here.
I currently own a headroom microstack 2006 version (the ones with dual 9v battery compartments)
unfortunately portable audio has almost completely died out for me, for the last 2 years I've used these as a dedicated home audio setup.
 
I'm looking for a recommendation for a dac/amp combo (or just amp) that could provide me a noticeable upgrade. The last thing I want is to spend another $500 and find out I've bought a non-portable version of my microstack.
I had planned on getting the Headroom desktop or desktop portable, but I thought I'd see what head-fi thinks first.
 
some disclaimers:
I havn't read up on anything audio related in about 2-3 years so everything is new to me.
I'm really lazy and keep my audio equipment on all the time. I've never messed with tubes so I don't know if this is a problem with them; if so they probably won't be a good match for me.
I have no plans to buy or recable my headphones so any balanced offerings are off the table (and probably out of my budget too).
I own an emu1212 in addition to my microstack, so I have optical, line out, and usb out options and am really flexible in setups.
I own the dt880 2003 edition (flat earcups, 250 ohm) and the sennheiser hd 25-1 II (70 ohm).
budget is absolutely, without exceptions, under usd 500. this includes tax, shipping, customs, bribes, whatever. $500 is absolute limit.
 
so $500 bucks to get the most bang from my current setup.
any recommendations are welcome, users with experience concerning the microstack (and my particular headphones) are especially welcome.
I have no plans to sell any of my current equipment, though even if I did the $500 limit still stands and proceeds from sales will not go to that budget.
 
thanks in advance, sorry for the long read.

 

[whee]

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[aimlink]

If you're going for a HeadRoom Desktop, I'd recommend going for the Ultra Desktop.  You wouldn't be disappointed.

 

[whee]

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[mrarroyo]

whee, I had the same combo w/ the desktop module. I thought the microdac was very nice but did not care for the amp much. You should be able to sell your 2006 microamp for about $200 and use that money to add to your funds and be able to increase it to $700 if you so wish. I would also go the used route to maximize the bang for the buck, with $700 or even $500 you would have a few options to choose from in the used market. Personally I like the Rudistor NX-03 or 03 and the Graham Slee Solo SRGII. Good luck.

 

[SanJoseCanJunkie]

OP: Where are you going to get a Headroom Desktop amp for under $500?

 

[whee]

 
Quote:

OP: Where are you going to get a Headroom Desktop amp for under $500?

no thats really more of a last resort, the headroom desktop will obviously run me much more than $500. but if I were to up my budget to the price of the headroom desktop then well, I would rather just buy the HR desktop.

 
Quote:

whee, I had the same combo w/ the desktop module. I thought the microdac was very nice but did not care for the amp much. You should be able to sell your 2006 microamp for about $200 and use that money to add to your funds and be able to increase it to $700 if you so wish. I would also go the used route to maximize the bang for the buck, with $700 or even $500 you would have a few options to choose from in the used market. Personally I like the Rudistor NX-03 or 03 and the Graham Slee Solo SRGII. Good luck.

thanks for the tips, I'll check those out.
 

 

[Ypoknons]

Ask Baka, he found going from a Micro to a Gilmore Lite was an improvement (you might just get the last one! Or some other Dynalo). I agree, I think you should upgrade your amp section, the DAC can wait. 

 

[whee]

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[markkr]

I just upgraded from a 2005 micro stack to a 2010 Headroom Desktop, it was a very noticeable upgrade for me.