[2bigears]

well i drank way too much coffee the other day and called up the HeadRoom boys.They are nice people down there and sold me a balanced desktop amp with their dac inside and a Senn 650 set of phones with a Cardas cable.This setup will test a home system for 20 grand.I gotta hear it to believe it. Anyone hear this kinda stuff as i have never tried a setup like this.???? 

[IronLion]

I used to have a very nice headphone setup, Senn 650's with an Equinox cable and a tricked out $2400 MPX3 from Singlepower, run by a Bel Canto DAC2.  That thing made very sweet music, better than my current setup.  Nonetheless, when space was available, I moved to speakers as I always prefer the sound of speakers in a room to headphones, even though on many levels a good headphone setup does sound spectacularly good.  I remember going to a Headfi meet a few years ago and listening to the famed Senn Orpheus electrostat setup run from a Meridian G08, it was clearer than my MPX3 setup and really made incredible music that I hope my soon-to-be finished speaker setup can rival or exceed.     

[ecramer]

Oh Yea that will put a big smile on your face  aa NIce very nice.

[2bigears]

   HeadRoom is really pumprd on the balanced thing.they say it works very well for some reason Any-hooo it should be cool to give her a try.They give ya a 30 trial....

[Alwayswantmore]

I've owned a couple balanced rigs, and now run a high-end rig with AKG K1000s. Haven't heard the Headroom balanced amp though. Headroom uses an older Wadia as their reference CD player (it was one of Wadia's top of the line at the time). I use an older "entry-level" Wadia 830, with Wadia's factory upgrade to add a second power supply board (something that comes standard on the big Wadias.)

I ran HD650s with both Zu Mobius and Moon Blue Dragon balanced directly from the balanced outs of the Wadia (Wadia is built like a line stage, with almost zero impedance, and the same voltage as your typical headamp -- in fact Wadia recommends that users drop their pre-amp and go straight to the amp).

The sound was excellent, and the soundstage and detail were far better than any single end rig I've heard running 650s.

I now run AKG-K1000s from RWA Signature 30.2 with the same Wadia CDP. The K1000s have been hardwired by Moon with Silver Dragon V2, and I use an ACI Force XL sub. The sound is significant step up from what I got from the 650s, and yes in many ways it could go head to head with many rigs that cost $20,000 or more. On the otherhand, the rig totals out over $8K, so it's not cheap.

Now back to speakers: I also own a pair of Omega Compact Hemps with the latest Hemp driver (not the new alnuco (sp?)). The compact Hemps run about the same price as a set of used AKG-K1000s with a name brand hardwire. Properly set up, the Compact Hemps are far superior to the AKGs. Much deeper and wider soundstage, more resolution, greater dynamics and punch, and all around more realistic to the performance.

The beauty of the Signature 30.2 is that it does a great job with both K1000s and the Omega Single drivers, so I get double duty out of my entire system including the sub.

I also owned and returned an First Watt F1 balanced current amp, which I used with the K1000s. And I owned an Ayre V3 balanced amp, again for the K1000s.

Bottom line: A good balanced or K1000 rig is fantastic. And yes in many ways it will compete with your typical 2ch rig costing several times the price. On the otherhand, the Omega single drivers IMO set a new standard for price performance when coupled with properly matching gear, and even the best headphones I've owned take a second seat to my 2ch setup in this case.

[Alwayswantmore]

 HeadRoom is really pumprd on the balanced thing.they say it works very well for some reason Any-hooo it should be cool to give her a try.They give ya a 30 trial....

Balanced works well because it is like using two stereo amps running side by side. Each amp is dedicated to a single L or R channel. One channel of the stereo amp drives the "+" side of the headphone/spkr, and the other side drives an inverted signal for the "-" side of the headphone/spkr. This is referred to as fully balanced -- or equal but opposite signals. Balanced also adds some grounding benefits for interconnects that reduces noise. The main value to the user is that balanced amps slew rate doubles (when compared to a stereo version of the same amp), so the amp is faster, which can translate into greater detail and a bigger soundstage.

That's not to say that all balanced amps sound better than all single end amps. Balanced is just one trick designers have to produce good sound. There are other approaches (SET for example), that definitely sound different, and based on personal preference may or may not sound better.

[2bigears]

  AWM,cool when gear can do two or three things,makes a lot of sence.the 30.2 would be sweet on phones i bet and the Omegas.wonder why the AKG 1000 went the way of the Dow-Dow Bird ?? one good thing on the 650 is that it's cheap to buy and they say the Cardas cable helps a bit.

[Alwayswantmore]

AWM,cool when gear can do two or three things,makes a lot of sence.the 30.2 would be sweet on phones i bet and the Omegas.wonder why the AKG 1000 went the way of the Dow-Dow Bird ?? one good thing on the 650 is that it's cheap to buy and they say the Cardas cable helps a bit.

I've spent a lot of time on headfi.com. Based on my limited personal listening and comments from others, 650s definitely benefit from being run balanced (maybe more than any other headphone). As far as aftermarket cables for 650s, most people seem to like the Zu Mobius or Stephan Audio Arts the best. I would think Moon's Silver Dragon V2 would also be a good choice, but it is fairly new and has not received as much press.

Of the cables I've actually heard on 650s, the Zu Mobius was IMO the best with my gear and for musical tastes. The Zu is fast, and adds a bit more life to the high end compared to some cables. I think it's a combo of copper and silver. My guess is the silver adds a bit of speed, which IMO benefits the 650s sound signature.

In general I have not read much where people selected Cardas over the other cables mentioned. My guess is that Cardas was early to market, but it is not your only choice.

Again, if interested, do some keyword searching on headfi.com and you will find plenty of user comments on 650s with aftermarket cables and balanced amps.

As far as the 30.2, I could not be happier with this investment (I feel the same way about the Omega's and Wadia). Plenty of info on RWA 30.2 and Omega on this forum. IMO once you've heard their stuff properly set up, you will have heard some of the best sound per dollar around.

As far as AKG, the K1000s were based on out of date manufacturing techniques, and the sales volume was low. There is a lot more money in mainstream offerings like the 701s. I also believe that AKG is now a Harmon company, so profit is probably a big driver in all their product decisions. None the less, there is an active market in used K1000s, and the prices have held in the $1,000 - $1,500 range depending on age, condition and cable. Drew claims my late-model K's with Silver Dragon hardwire could fetch close to $2K in the oriental market (a market Drew actively sells to). On the otherhand, you could buy Omega Compact Hemps and Skyland stands for about the same money if you didn't specifically need headphones. The beauty of K1000s is you drive them just like speakers (from a modest-power high-quality 2ch amp), so all you need are the phones if you already have a good low powered 2ch rig. To me the Ks represent a great value (in they are arguably one of the best souding dynamic headphones ever built).

Good luck, Kent