Headstage Arrow 5TX - anyone heard it?

I've seen discussion of the Headstage Arrow 5TX around basshead threads across different forums and I'd be lying if I said it didn't interest me. There seems to be a lack of reviews for it, and at least one of the reviews I found is supposedly by a guy who works for Headstage or is involved with them in some way. Anyone here had a chance to hear one? I've been real curious about grabbing a 5TX with the enhanced bass boost, but not quite convinced it's worth the $400 price tag.

 

You might be talking about me. I'm not involved with them in any way, though.

http://www.basshead.club/headstage-arrow-5tx-enhanced-bass-boost-review/

To tell you if it's really worth the money, you'll have to answers some questions for yourself:

• Do you need something that is ultra portable?
• Do you need something that is good at driving IEMs and decent at driving full-size headphones?
• Do you need multiple bass settings and multiple treble settings?

Is it worth $400? Compare the amp section only. The DAC in it is basically in there because it can be. I think he's going to switch it out for crossfeed in some other iteration.

You can get 90%+ of the sonic performance out of a much less expensive Cayin C5 or Fiio, just with less of the insane bass (you'll need to use EQ to make up for it).

You can gain a little sonic performance if you go with the Vorzuge VorzAMP Duo, you just get one setting for bass and treble and it's not as good for super sensitive IEMs (but can power full-size cans better).

If I needed a portable amplifier, I'd still have the Arrow 5TX (Enhanced Bass). I don't, though. I can just use the EQ on my computer with a less portable amplifier that costs less money (slight step up in my opinion is the iFi iCAN Micro for a desktop basshead solution that doesn't need EQ).

 

Thanks for your honest opinion Luckbad. Also, no, it wasn't you that I was talking about in my original post

My amp/dac doesn't need to be portable at all... I just want something that's more intended for listening and musicality. All my DACs are professional/recording ones which are excellent quality and extremely honest, but sometimes I just want to enjoy the music and not deal with the brutal honesty of a completely reference based sound signature.

I'll still consider it. it might be a nice addition to the lineup, but i'll give the FiiO and C5 a look too.

I plan to use this 90% with my Sony XB90EX and whatever other IEM I get, occasionally I might run a Grado though it, i'll probably buy some Grado again at some point in my life.

I also would be interested in using it with my STAX SRD-7 with the bass boost on

 

If you want bass boost and musicality for the desktop, the iFi iCAN Micro is very good for the price. If you don't need the bass boost, that opens up options to meet any budget you might have.

In the sub-$400 range, for example, I love Garage1217's stuff. High value and gorgeous.

 

Yeah, I really liked the bass boost, so I'll give the iFi iCAN a look.

Saw I can get the Oppo HA-2 new for $300, that has a bass boost too. considering that too!