Headroom Standard Headphone Amp

Okay, thanks for the clarification. I didn't mean to suggest that you believed it an equal to the aforementioned high-end amps. That'd be thoroughly ridiculous.

Speaking of size, how weighty was the Standard? Is it prone to sliding about? That can be a pitfall with diminutive components.

 

Well, that's everything I needed to know. For $300, this appears to be one hell of a deal. Especially if HeadRoom follows through on developing a DAC of commensurate quality.

Perhaps the beginnings of a (friendly) rivalry with Schiit, here?

 

Did you score a 100 on the reading comprehension of your SAT?

 

Uh, seems a bit harsh. But then I've never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. Apologies if I offended you by misconstruing something?

I thought things were pretty clear, myself. @velvetx liked the Standard, said it was good for the money and had a mid-centric sound... don't think I'm missing anything there.

By the way, that HE-6 looks epic. Wish I had that kind of talent.

 

You assumed the Standard would hold a candle to an amp 40x the price.

Yes he seems to like it and probably decent sounding for $300 but not good compared to a big boy amp.

 

No, I actually didn't. And I added further that it'd be "thoroughly ridiculous" for anyone to suggest that it was "equal" to a "big boy amp." I think you may have gotten hung up on the phrase "hold its own" in my initial remark, which I didn't intend to mean "equals." Ambiguous wording on my part, fair criticism! Then @velvetx and myself clarified the terminology... and that's it.

All good? Our views seem identical, @ohhgourami. I don't think there's any cause for further dispute, here.

 

@velvetx Just saw your review. Thanks for listening and sharing your thoughts. Much appreciated!

 

Well the preorder price went from $299 to $399. Has anything changed with this amp, or was that planned all along?

 

I seem to recall that the site was referring to an early pre-order price, warning that it would increase.

Edit:

Yes, the page linked in the OP actually says:

So there's your answer.

 

^^^ Thanks

They also seem to have pulled the package amp/headphone deals

 

It's an intriguing-looking amp, but the price going up to Jotenheim levels is going to invite... comparisons.

 

I'm surprised there aren't more reviews/impressions yet. @Jamey Warren said about a month ago that more review units were being sent out.

 

Update:

"Right off, we want to thank all our HeadRoom Audio Standard Amp pre-order customers and early adopters for making the upcoming release of our first new HeadRoom product in a decade such a resounding triumph.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU from the bottom of our music-loving HeadRoom Audio hearts.

We could not have come this far without all of you.

We are very happy to report that the new Standard Amp parts have begun to arrive en masse, our circuit boards have been tested and QC'd, and the first initial run of chassis are being readied for production.

We remain on time and on schedule for a late October 2016 shipment as promised.

The only tiny wrinkle slowing us down by a few business days is actually a bit of good news.

Due to the success of the pre-order campaign - and in response to our pre-order customer feedback - we have been able to get better pricing on the new Standard Amp chassis panels featuring an improved, sleeker machined aluminum look and a bolder, cleaner faceplate. We think the sweet new panel designs are well worth the wait of an additional few business days.

Of course, all amplifier internals remain the same hot-rodded topology we originally engineered for the new HeadRoom Audio Standard Amp, so nothing has changed on the inside (so far!).

Again, thank you to all our wonderful HeadRoom Audio supporters - we promise this little headphone rig will blow away any other headphone amp of this size and price or your money back.

And if you haven't ordered one yet, we certainly welcome your Standard Amp order to be placed now right here on our website. It's the best place to buy HeadRoom Audio products anywhere.

Please be assured your hard-earned cash will not only get you some truly supernal headphone listening, but you will also directly support our engineering, research and production of new HeadRoom Audio products into 2017 and beyond - some of which are in the final stages now."

https://www.headphone.com/blogs/new...-92747993&mc_cid=7e8f2b3f64&mc_eid=257dc703fb

 

Really looking forward to trying this amp sometime. I'm glad that Headroom started making amps again.
I'm perfectly happy with my Micro Amp + Astrodyne PSU so that's why I haven't bought this yet.
That amp is the best "all-rounder" amp i've found so far under $350 that works equally well with every dynamic headphone i've tried (I don't use IEMS).
I originally had the Asgard 1 and found the Micro Amp to sound much better with everything I had at the time (D2000, HD600/650, K702 etc).
Usually when the Micro Amp sounds bad it's due to what DAC I'm using.

I wonder if there will be a matching DAC to go with it? Right now I have the Micro DAC.

If the engineer who designed the Micro Amp is making the Standard, then that's a plus for me.

BTW it'd be nice to compare the Standard to maybe the Micro Amp, Matrix M-Stage and maybe the Asgard 2 or something.
Maybe one of the more recent Ifi amps too. I really liked the Ifi Ican when I tried it.

 

The elephant in the room, at the price, is still the Jotunheim. It'll be interesting to see some impressions from sensible folks. It'd be awesome if it was decent, though- too many manufacturers phone it in with entry level SS amps (and yes, I am looking at you, Violectric).

 

Forgot about that one! That's on my radar too. I've always been very critical of Schiit amps and need one to really WOW me. OK, amps generally don't do that, but you know what I mean. I imagine I might like the Valhalla 2 as well.

I did like the Magni and find the Asgard 1 would be a good match for a brighter/thinner headphone. I'll admit i'm a huge fan-boy of the Modi 1 though.

Vali 1 also sounded great with the Q701..

 

Hah, maybe you should give it a listen- with some HD650 cabled for balanced. It's possible that you'll be pleasantly surprised- despite all the hype.

Yeah, I love the look of the Valhalla 2.. I mean, a small tidy OTL amp that tolerates lots of impedances? Looks like a lot of bang for your buck right there.

 

Has anyone other than @velvetx heard this amp? I can't find reviews anywhere.