An Excellent Starter Amp
Written: Jun 20 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sweet, articulate sound; Inexpensive; Has the HeadRoom Audio Image Processor
Cons: Build quality lacking slightly; Sound bereft of depth or artistry
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| silicon_jesus's Full Review: HeadRoom Little |
I've owned the HeadRoom Little for over a year now, and I've been rewarded by it's sound each minute I've listened to it. It's a highly articulate, capable little unit. It's great for a first amp, though its well-designed minimalism may not provide everything you want.
First, the system: my Little is plugged into a Rega Planet via Van Den Hul MK III Hybrid interconnects. Hooked into the front of the Little are a pair of Sennheiser HD600s.
The Little is absolutely everything it needs to be. Since it's the lowest-priced stationary amp HeadRoom sells, it's designed with a frugal approach. A single headphone jack, a modest pot, two switches for the filter and "Audio Image Processor" and a single set of RCA inputs. All of it is housed in a simple black metal enclosure and powered by an in-line power brick (it's a bit larger than your standard wall-wart).
The build quality is good, with a few exceptions. The unit feels solid, the pot and switches are smooth and precise. It's light yet tough -- it doesn't mind being tossed about during transport, or dropped on the ground. The inputs in back don't feel very strong, though. When plugging in the interconnects, the jacks actually recede into the enclosure a little. It's a minor annoyance, since you nominally don't unplug and plug things into the unit. Still, I can't help but think that this kind of motion would eventually wear down the jacks.
As to the sound quality, it would best be described as precise and broad. You'll hear every iota of detail your system puts out, and you'll hear it exactly as it comes out, without any coloring. The sound is broad because of the excellent HeadRoom Audio Image Processor. More than once I've been startled by standard stereo recordings (not binaural, mind you) where it sounded as though part of the music was in the room with me. It's a beautiful sound stage; the only thing it needs is more sound to occupy it. For, while the Little represents every tone in your music, it does so without a lot of depth, power, or artistry.
As to the filter, it makes very little perceptible difference in the sound. For all I can tell, it tends to clear up the mid-range. I typically leave both it and the image processor on while listening.
The HeadRoom Little is a perfect first-time headphone amplifier. If you can do with the less-than-excellent build and the beautiful-but-limited sound it might just be for you. At $250, it's appropriately priced. It'll bring your music to life in a new way, as it has done to mine for more than a year -- a very enjoyable year.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
silicon_jesus
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 1 member
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