[Anyone here heard Headroom's Balanced Desktop?]

That little guy would be just the ticket if I could be sure the performance would please me.

Ken,

I'm honestly not trying to pimp Headroom's gear here but if you're nearly that sold on the unit I'd give them a call and ask them if there was any way that you could get a hold of the demo unit with the expectation that if you liked it you'd buy a new one and that if you didn't like it you'd send it back in 30 days? I have no idea if they'd go for it but it can't hurt to ask right? It strikes me as you trying to save them the hassle of another used amp to sell if you returned a new one during the 30 day window. Just give it a fair shake for what it is, an 8" x 8" box where the DAC (assuming the Home DAC) certainly isn't going to be the better of your $1200 Stello (but might be close) and the headamp, with the Home module, really is pretty neutral.

[What the hell do you have to do to get an amp from singlepower?]

The key is to make enough of a pest of yourself so that he makes the time to work on the amp. This is known as the "squeaky wheel gets the grease" theory of customer service. If you don't bitch enough, he ain't gonna serve you until he feels like it, which may be never, if you call him up every day and go "where's my amp? I want my fucking amp done now or else!" he will break down and get your amp done, and if he doesn't then you fuck him up good on Head-fi.

I don't really want to beat a dead horse here but I think it's gotten to the point where there are so many squeaky wheels that there can never be enough grease. And good luck posting something like this on Head-Fi, the SP mafia will come out in full force.

[Anyone here heard Headroom's Balanced Desktop?]

Warm? Neutral? Edgy? How does it drive cans like the Senns and 701s? Guess it's pretty clear that I'm looking for a space saving SS amp for a bedroom setup. Not an easy task IMO. Anyone got experience/thoughts on this one?

Ken,

I think you're already aware of my thoughts on the Balanced Desktop. If not have a look at the featured reviews forum at Head-Fi, my ramblings can be found there. Also, you might try shooting immtbiker a PM at Head-Fi, he spent some time with the amp after I did and he's certainly heard more high end gear than I have.

Nate

[What the hell do you have to do to get an amp from singlepower?]

the warranty transfers to the new owner.

I think the point was what good is a warranty if your without the amp for 6 months while it's being repaired. Maybe he treats repairs different than upgrades though?

It's worth noting (as it seems like I'm bashing Singlepower here) that I like Mikhail. We've shared meals and candid conversations so I feel like I know the man in addition to knowing a bit about his business. My general feeling is that he's currently a victim of his success and a desire to please all of his customers. He's taken on way too much and needs to put a stop to it before he does serious damage to his brand.

[What the hell do you have to do to get an amp from singlepower?]

If you don't like single powers service, stop ordering from them damn...

Biggie.

Biggie,

That's all well and good for new customers but the issue here seems to be people that have already paid for services and are not receiving them in any sort of timely fashion. And it's not just as simple as calling your credit card to cancel your order if you've sent the guy your amp to upgrade. And it doesn't seem like calling for an update really works since all he does is placate you by telling you that it's nearly done and should ship soon. The net result is that he gets to it when he gets to it and that's that. I didn't realize that things had gotten as bad as they appear to have based on recent threads and conversations with folks. Not good...

[Why is the Wheatfield so hard on tubes?]

Well, $50 in parts from Digikey and my HA-2 is now back up and running pretty much silent. There is the slightest, and I mean slightest hum in the background but it is so low that there has to be no signal present and you have to concentrate to hear it. WUHOO! My new trafo for the amp should be in next week if all goes according to plan and while that will probably have no effect on the remaining hum I'm hopeful that the new trafo might be quieter than the current one. Now that the hum is gone the trafo noise, that is to say the actual noise that the trafo makes while it's working (sort of buzzish) is now what I hear more than anything. I tell you, living in the country with almost no ambient noise can be awful hard on the old audio system!

[The Great Dac search]

That aside, he regularily pimps his gear through the Head-Fi PM system and I have no idea why he hasn't been shut down yet.

How that clown is not a member of the trade is a mystery to me. He claims that he's asked to be made one, maybe they took a look at his website and decided that he couldn't be serious?

[New Tiny SP]

Just be aware that he's still really only supplying the parts that you need to stuff the boards. For the balanced amp you're going to need a serious chassis and along with any build you'll always use more hardware than you think. From standoffs to jacks to switches and so on and so forth. Basically, I think you'd find that in raw parts costs if you were careful about what you did you could probably build a 3-channel version in a single-box (do so at your own risk) enclosure and be into it for about $500 or so. I tend not to keep track on builds like this as my configuration is somewhat fluid until I declare it done but I can tell you that I've got more than that into my 3-channel beta but it doesn't exactly look like your run-of-the-mill DIY amp either.

[The Great Dac search]

Honestly I'm extremely skeptical since it's information coming from the modder/builder, but I thought I'd hear what you guys had to say.

Not that this is of any help to you but I thought it worth noting that I always get a good chuckle out of the Oritek website. Where does he get those amazing graphics!?!?!

I'm sure you've talk with Skullguise about his Ori DAC, right? Last I talked with him he was pretty happy with it and he's actually someone who I'd trust not to just believe the hype.

[New Tiny SP]

based on your price guesstimates, wouldn't jrossel's kits defy logic?

At least on the surface that would appear to be a pretty amazing price if it does include all the amp and psu parts even without a case which I find hard to believe that it would since 4 beta22 boards aren't fitting in anything in the 1455 Hammond series. And if that includes the trafo as well it's miraculous. Please let me know what the results of your email to jrossel are.

P.s. You can't edit your posts after something like 5 minutes. It keeps the riffraff from saying one thing only to go back and edit it later.

[New Tiny SP]

Thanks, Iron_Dreamer. Your impression gives me some reference for B22 since I used to own an upgraded Balanced Reference. I wonder how much it would cost to have a balanced B22 built. LOL.

Salty, I'm sure we can find a way to let you hear the β22. I've finally got mine behaving well, it had some low level trafo hum with low impedance cans which has now been cured. I'm pretty pleased with how I was able to adapt the interior layout to accept the shielding.

As far as how much it would cost to have one built, I'd figure somewhere in the $800 to $1000 range for a 3-channel version, probably $1200 to $1400 for balanced, but that's really a guess as I haven't talked with Marshall about how much he's charging and he's the only one that I know of who's building them.

[No DFE here, only "expect perfection" ???]

May just started, and I just bought Reks' Northstar DAC so I need to slow down.

Perhaps your problem is the 4 pair of AKG headphones you've got right now?

[No DFE here, only "expect perfection" ???]

I actually have no comfort issues with them with long term use. But they might be for sale since they're not in the same league as my HP-2 and K1000. I might still use them in a bedside rig if I get a DAC/amp USB thingy.

You should drop your friend Todd (skullguise) a PM about the HPDac he just listed. Hard to beat that for the price in the "dac/amp thingy" category.

[What's your take on the RS-1?]

Really? I've been curious about this amp for sometime, but to be honest with you, its crazy popularity and reputation as *the* amp for the RS-1 actually turns me off. That and Earl gives it a lukewarm review.

I actually found that it performed very well with both Senns and Grados alike despite it's Grado friendly Head-Fi rep. As far as Earl's opinion is concerned it's just that, his opinion. My own listening preferences vs. his reviews make me think that Earl and I might prefer a different kind of good sound.

Can you compare it to say, the PPX3 Slam? Strictly for use with the RS-1.

I haven't heard any of Mikhail's amps for over a year now and I don't use the RS-1s. My impressions of the Ear were with my HF-1s but I don't see why a good sounding amp wouldn't sound good with other phones that are similar. I don't put a whole lot of stock in tuning an amp for one particular set of headphones. At some point, a capable amplifier should be able to sound good with just about anything. Unless of course there are specific limitations stated by the manufacturer that would tell you right away that (for example) low impedance headphones need not apply.

Just my 2?

Nate

[What's your take on the RS-1?]

Now I'm just looking for a tube amp, and I'm wondering what people think about the WooAudio6: http://www.wooaudio.com/products/wa6.html

Haven't heard the Woo (who has?) but I'd have a look at the Mapletree Ear + HD that's for sale at Head-Fi right now. I love that amp.

[New Tiny SP]

IIRC the SS-1 cost over $10,000. I'm either pulling this from memory or from my ass.

I believe it would be your ass , I think it was said somewhere that it was more in the neighborhood of $15k. But it is two amps in one, one "fun" and one "audiophile" or some such business. Given that it's 10x out of my price range I stopped paying attention quick.

[I need a component stand]

Ikea lak table. All other racks are a rip off in comparison. ^^

I dunno, the lack stuff I've seen leaves me kinda "meh".

[New Tiny SP]

well, it does worry me.... I'm torn between apologizing and reforming my ways and defending what i wrote.... but either way, it seems as if the national meet is destroying my reputation...

Here's my 2?, I don't think you should have to apologize for your impressions of gear. They're just that, your impression, hard for me to tell you they're wrong since they're whatever you thought. But some of the other stuff you posted was easily read as inflammatory if not insulting.

The Headroom Wadia player: that thing ate my CD and didn't give it back. It went nuts and they had to shut it down. Now i'm out a CD.

I can't speak for anyone else but that to me reads like you're a bit upset at the CD player for eating your CD. Turns out that it was your fault (double loaded the player) so if anything you might want to issue a little mea culpa about it. Maybe you already have, I haven't been following the drama all that closely.

Seriously, 12 dollars for a hot dog?

This is the one that really pissed people off I think. Again, to me it reads like a complaint and more than anything else it is misleading and doesn't tell the whole story. It was $12 for an all you could eat buffet lunch. But the first time I read your comment I really thought that that hotel was charging $12 for a hotdog and thought, "Damn, that's rough!" Whether or not you liked the meet, what it stood for, or whatever the fact is that people poured a lot of time and energy into making it happen. As a result they're emotionally involved and like I said, your comment is pretty easily read as a complaint of how much stuff was costing.

So, I stand by my previous observation, some of your posts have a distinct way of reading like you're a smartass. That may not be your intent at all and if it's not then perhaps it is in your best interest to look at the way you state things. FWIW I try not to let online impressions get in the way of actually meeting and talking with someone as my first impression. But a whole bunch of people at Head-Fi didn't think too highly of me at first either, largely due to the actions of one asshole former moderator, it took more than a year for most of them to give me a second chance and some (who clearly aren't worth my time) still haven't.

[New Tiny SP]

you know what??? now i am slowly becoming radicalized by all the HF stuff. I have to ask two questions:

1. Why is it that everyone acted too chill with me at the meet, and then gets the impression that it's okay to attack me when we are no longer face to face?

Probably because a couple of your comments (regardless of their true intent) could be read as if they were being said by a smartass. I'm guessing that when you were actually in the room with people they were better equipped to understand your true intent.

2. why is it that so many people's primary concern is that bad impressions could hurt manufacturers? think about that!

Because a lot of the people making damaging comments don't even have first hand experience with the product in question. Recently I posted in a thread were the OP asked the following question:

Is the Micro DAC on the same ball park level of $300 CD players in sound quality?

The first response was:

Never heard the MicroDAC, but i doubt it sounds as good as the $299 NAD C525BEE cd player ...

Now if you've heard the Micro and don't like it as much as your CD player feel free to post up but that response if friggen worthless and disparages a product that the poster admittedly has zero experience with. When I suggested to the moron who posted that rubbish he actually came back and said he'd think before he posted something like it in the future, I hope I actually go through to him/her.

There are probably hundreds of examples like this on Head-Fi and heck, in my early days I was guilty of posting about gear that I had no experience with but I learned quick. So I guess in the end I could care less whether or not some one likes a particular product or brand but I do care whether or not what I'm reading is an informed opinion. Otherwise it's just speculation and bullshit.

[I need a component stand]

I don't know about you but little pointy legs don't scream "stable" to me...

[Suggestion for DIY Tube Amplifier: ~$500 excludng enclosure/tubes]

Oh just wondering, do you know of any DIY designs (preferably cheap) that use a 6SN7 tube (yeah yeah, I know it's lame, but I have a few of these tubes lying around) as the driver tube?

I believe that if you look hard enough you can find the schematic of the Wheatfield HA-2 which uses the 6SN7. With a little modification it would seem possible to drive both low and high impedance phones with it. I'm in the process of modifying/repairing mine right now so if you'd like Pete's list of suggested changes (for high ohm phones) just drop me a PM. I'm 99% sure the amp can be built for under $500 in parts per your criteria.

[New Tiny SP]

I don't know about that. How about we settle on the fact that we're both smart guys.

I think (or at least the way I read it) that Kevin was trying to say that he has more knowledge of the commercialization side of the business than you were previously aware, not that he had superior knowledge in general. But I agree, it's hard to discern from just the words typed on a page.

And I've said it elsewhere on this site but it seems more appropriately placed here so I'll say it again. More and more I see manufacturers (HeadRoom and Headamp NOT included) coming out with new products that are only a detriment to their current offerings. In one case the new amps only serve to further fragment an already small market segment (the high end portables) and in the other case the new products only show currently frustrated customers what has been putting off getting their already-paid-for amps. Neither manufacturer described above seems to suffer from lack of demand so one wonders what their motivation is for their actions. In a third case a well established manufacturer has essentially stopped production of his own designs and decided that it is better to farm all of this out to China in the name of bringing products in at a lower price point (or at least that's how I see it). He's now faced with a glaring example of how easily products are copied and how difficult it is to legally defend his designs. My guess is that had the had the copied design not come from the same country it may never have been discovered at all.

All of this to me it points to the fact that none of them seem to have a long-term lookout for their business which makes me decidedly less likely to invest in one of their products.

[The Great Dac search]

Considering that they are calling the new standard AC Micro DAC 'equivalent electronics to the Home DAC', and the only real difference between the Home and Max is the upsampling chip, I'm not sure what else there is to differentiate them.

Like I said, I'm not sure exactly what is in each box. I'm sure we'll be finding out relatively soon in the form of a sponsored thread "over there". I think that I saw in someone's pictures that Headroom did have product literature at each display.

What I want to know... is anything about this 'evil' DAC you are cooking up.

It's going to be a little while before any details come out. It's #1 on my priority list but I don't have all the necessary parts yet and it's not clear when they'll all be in.

As far as rushing new products to market because of National Meet pressure, well I think man'f do this at their own risk. They're all well aware of the dangers of bringing a half-cooked product out and how strongly the Head-Fi reaction can be. It's funny that people bitch and moan about how Headroom does business but in my view they're the only ones with more than a 3 month outlook when it comes to their product line, marketing, etc. Ray creates his own obsolescence by having three portables in the same price category and having virtually no amps in the $500 to $1000 category that aren't way out of date, Mikhail instead of finding ways to keep up with already high demand fractures the product line further and makes things even more confusing. When was the last time he updated his website? I think Headamp also does a pretty good job of product distribution and information but I think he's ultimately limited by being a one man show. I do give him full marks for developing his own modules now and branching out from the Gilmore name (not that there was anything wrong with that). And I think Meier is reaping what he sows right now by having outsourced all of his new production to China, someone is going to have to explain the sense in that to me. Sure it results in lower prices but the end result looks shockingly similar to the stuff that's both designed and produced in China, the fact that Jan designs it and then sends it to someone else to build doesn't hold much appeal for me. [/rant]

[The Great Dac search]

So I suppose people can add the Ultra Micro DAC to their list now. Small, cute, and supposedly the same electronics as a Max DAC (might even be slightly updated for all I know).

I believe that it is the MAX Dac minus the upsampling, but I'm not 100% sure either. And I also think that the new standard Micro DAC has better electronics in it (Home equivalent?).

[New Tiny SP]

As I said at head-fi... I just don't get it.

I'm with you. Until he's got at least a similarly sized power supply to go with it (battery or otherwise) I don't quite understand it's purpose. I'll hold further comment till after the official details are announced but it would seem to me a very hard sell at near $1000.