[fallsroad]

 
Quote:

fallsroad, it is sad but true.  See this link.

Thanks for the link. I started using headphones as a kid, but two people are responsible for it becoming a giant part of my hifi hobby. One was Corey Greenberg and his stout recommendation of the Grado SR60s when they first came out, and the other was Tyll and Headroom, for dreaming up outlandish and excellent products to make headphone listening a true part of the hifi hobby.
 
I remember some of Tyll's appearances in Stereophile (I'm guessing through Sam Tellig's column, but it may have been through other writers or reviews), where he came off as an absolute madman, an evangelist for headphone listening, in the best possible way.
 
Change is part of life, but I'm so late to this particular shift it will take me a while to line it up in my head.

 

[noseallinit]

travis, 
 
so how long will the balanced ultra desktop amp be in production after the discontinuation of the ultra desktop dac? 
 
thank you, 
nose
 
Quote:

Okay guys, here’s the schtick and sorry for the delayed response.  Because the Ultra Desktop DAC does not live up to HeadRoom’s standards, we’ve discontinued the product indefinitely. 
 
In a nutshell, we’re unhappy with the UDAC because of a design flaw in the implementation of USB.  The essence of the problem when listening via USB input is a small static sound, or glitch, that can happen randomly during a listening session.  After a lot of back-and-forth with ESS, trouble-shooting and racking of brains, we’re left to conclude it is a flaw in our own engineering.
 
The UDAC still works beautifully with coaxial or optical inputs.  It is only in the USB that we’ve had issues.  To fix will require a complete redesign and new production of the board.  And with that much required, we simply won’t do it without an upgrade to at least 24/96, possibly 24/192.  Problem is, that’s a pretty big investment.
 
Yep, the economy has definitely impacted our business but we’re still working hard every day to give our customers the service and products they need.  Sometimes you gotta pull a product out of the line-up—so goes life in our business.  BTW, we discontinued the Ultra Micro line last winter due to poor sales--current sale of DACs is to blow out remaining inventory.
 
Anyway, hope that explanation helps and thanks for your continued support!
 
Best,
Travis

 

[aimlink]

Quote:

travis, 
 
so how long will the balanced ultra desktop amp be in production after the discontinuation of the ultra desktop dac? 
 
thank you, 
nose
 

 

Wouldn't it seem that the UDAmp is a product on its own that could be used with any DAC out there whether balanced or not?

 

[JorgeC]

Hi Everyone,
 
Our Balanced Utra Desktop Amp ["The BUDA"] will remain in production at HeadRoom for the foreseeable future;
it's a terrific-sounding stand-alone balanced headphone amp!
 
Of course, The BUDA can also be used in 'single-ended' mode driving two 1/4" headphones  
 
Cheers,
 
jorge
HR Sales & Service Manager

 

[noseallinit]

let us hope so but they seem to have been made for one another. words spoken of upcoming products, the ultra micro dac soon to be off the shelves and the possibility of never seeing a new balanced dac. i'm not sure what to think but was hoping headroom might be able to say something on this..
 
Quote:

Wouldn't it seem that the UDAmp is a product on its own that could be used with any DAC out there whether balanced or not?

 

[aimlink]

Quote:

let us hope so but they seem to have been made for one another. words spoken of upcoming products, the ultra micro dac soon to be off the shelves and the possibility of never seeing a new balanced dac. i'm not sure what to think but was hoping headroom might be able to say something on this..
 

 

The UDDAC may be made to be especially synergistic with the UDAmp since their designs were made with each in mind in that they share the same chassis so they sit sweetly on top of each other and they connect easily together with full balanced signal support.  However, it doesn't mean that they can't stand alone with other equipment.  There's no reason whatever to think that they're somehow handicapped because one is without the other.   This would amount to a crippling concept for sales and if such were the case, they'd be better off selling a single unit as they do the Ultra Desktop Amp.

 

[Travis]

The BUDA and UDAC were definitely made to go together -- nothing to hide there.  But as Jorge indicated, the BUDA is a fabulous stand-alone amp and we will continue with it.  We're thinking through our options on our high-end, stand-alone DAC offering.  As I stated before, fixing/updating the UDAC is an expensive proposition today...but not completely out of the picture.  We're also looking at offering more high-end DACs on the retail side...stay tuned.
 
Best,
Travis

 

[noseallinit]

thank you jorge and travis! 
 
i just needed to hear straight from the horses mouth. i'm not sure where i am heading on me next headroom amp and i wanted this to be an option for later as apposed to now.. 

 

[Travis]

 
Quote:

Okay guys, here’s the schtick and sorry for the delayed response.  Because the Ultra Desktop DAC does not live up to HeadRoom’s standards, we’ve discontinued the product indefinitely. 
 
In a nutshell, we’re unhappy with the UDAC because of a design flaw in the implementation of USB.  The essence of the problem when listening via USB input is a small static sound, or glitch, that can happen randomly during a listening session.  After a lot of back-and-forth with ESS, trouble-shooting and racking of brains, we’re left to conclude it is a flaw in our own engineering.
 
The UDAC still works beautifully with coaxial or optical inputs.  It is only in the USB that we’ve had issues.  To fix will require a complete redesign and new production of the board.  And with that much required, we simply won’t do it without an upgrade to at least 24/96, possibly 24/192.  Problem is, that’s a pretty big investment.
 
Yep, the economy has definitely impacted our business but we’re still working hard every day to give our customers the service and products they need.  Sometimes you gotta pull a product out of the line-up—so goes life in our business.  BTW, we discontinued the Ultra Micro line last winter due to poor sales--current sale of DACs is to blow out remaining inventory.
 
Anyway, hope that explanation helps and thanks for your continued support!
 
Best,
Travis

Latest 'schtick' update:  The UDAC is BACK and we're taking pre-orders! 

 
So, we fixed the Ultra Desktop DAC[size=11pt] and we're ecstatic that we get to put this excellent-sounding DAC back on the market!  Look for the first batch to begin shipping in late February to early March -- the first batch will be limited to six units.[/size]
 
[size=11pt]Here's the scoop:  ESS had given us a new chip as a possible solution for the problem we encountered on some of the original UDAC units.  After dropping the chip in on a few boards, we noticed improvements but not enough to call it good.  Fast forward a bit and during recent rounds of new testing, we successfully zeroed in on the issue with the new chip implementation.  It immediately worked like a charm -- after multiple rounds of testing on different boards, not one instance of the glitch described above when listening via USB.  Coax and optical remain perfect as well.[/size]
 
[size=11pt]Yes, we lament the lost time and having to pull the UDAC from the market -- it makes the re-release of the UDAC now bittersweet for us ... but definitely more sweet than bitter!  We know this is a fabulous product as a stand-alone DAC, and of course, the ultimate companion to our Balanced Ultra Desktop Amp (BUDA).[/size]
 
[size=11pt]Thanks to Mike, Jorge and Joe W. for making this happen.  Way to go guys![/size]
 
[size=11pt]Best,[/size]
[size=11pt]Travis[/size]

 

[JorgeC]

GO, HeadRoom UDAC, GO!! 

 
 
http://www.headphone.com/headphone-amps/digital-to-analog-converters/headroom-ultra-desktop-dac-udac.php 
 
 
 
 
Cheers,
 
jorge
HeadRoom Operations Manager