Podcast Academy

Occasionally I am contacted by manufacturers of gadgets and gear offering review pieces that have nothing to do with new media production. In most cases I cordially decline. Recently we were presented with the opportunity to a review a device, and my initial thought was it is just another example of something that would not be of interest to the readers of this weblog or to me personally. In this particular instance I was wrong. I really enjoyed testing the performance of the product that I am about to introduce to you to.

The HeadRoom Desktop Amp is much more than what it’s name implies. This customizable component offers a wealth of connectivity options, and most importantly it is capable of reproducing excellent sound quality. In fact, I was surprised when I realized how much better my headphone audio output sounded through this device compared to what I am accustomed to on a daily basis.

Let me explain…

It’s no secret that I use a Motu 896HD firewire interface as the main system I/O device. It serves me well. Since the interface is implemented as the default I/O device on my Mac, I monitor production output directly from the panel headphone jack. This holds true for my critical listening of new media programing, music, etc. I use Sony MDR-7506 headphones for all tasks. Much to my surprise the HeadRoom Desktop Amp improved the reproduction of my sonic experiences.

Before we discuss my findings, let’s focus on the attributes of HeadRoom device, it’s features, and available options. The amp is housed in a black matted aluminum enclosure. It’s actually quite nice. Front controls are as follows: system Power, 1/4” Headphone Input,1/8” Headphone Input, Rear Output, Brightness, Crossfeed, Gain and Volume.

The device is capable of driving two sets of headphones on the proprietary jacks simultaneously. The Rear Output switch places the desktop amp into the preamp mode. In this case it can be used to feed a set of powered monitors or audio/home theater system amplifiers. Brightness and Crossfeed provide customizable sonic adjustments, and the Gain control will compensate for variations in headphone impedance. Lastly the large volume control provides ultra-smooth loudness adjustment.

The rear I/O panel is diverse. Besides the single set of analog outputs used for linking, two sets of standard RCA analog inputs are available. On the digital side the amp offers three options: USB, Coaxial, and Optical. A Source Selector switch sets the input stage, [analog or digital], and a Digital Input Selector engages the corresponding input. Lastly, the female Power Input [+/- 15VDC] draws current from a supplied power brick and cord.

In terms of testing, my interest was twofold: level of quality when monitoring system audio directly from the computer, and playback listening from an integrated portable. Of course I’m referring to an iPod or iPhone. I used my MacPro [optical out], Powerbook G4 [USB], and iPhone [1/8” to RCA stereo by Monster] as playback sources. For source material I decided to use a recording of my own processed voice, music by Diana Krall [“From This Moment On,” CD and iTunes compressed files], and various production tracks/ snippets that I use for internal jobs and projects. The Sony MDR-7506 headphones were integrated exclusively.

One of the problems that I have with my Powerbook is that it does not do a very good job controlling [minimizing] low level noise during the process of outputting via USB. Various USB interfaces made me aware of this. It’s possible that it may be a proprietary issue with my system. Needless to say I was curious to hear how the HeadRoom Amp managed this. I will say this: the device was dead silent during the absence of source playback. Increase in volume increments made no difference. A pleasant surprise. Playback source audio sounded wonderful, and much improved when compared to monitoring directly from the Powerbook output.

This was also the case when sending the optical output from my MacPro to the optical input on the HeadRoom Amp. Here again I experienced great sound. At this point I realized the source audio sounded better than the output of my interface. I’ve always noticed a slight bid of sibilance while monitoring the interface output through headphones. Not the case with the HeadRoom Amp. Diana Krall sounded amazing, and my voice took on what I believe was an improved sense of warmth. In general there was an obvious improvement to the low end as well.

I connected a good quality Monster Cable to the 1/8” line output on my iPhone dock and patched this into a set of analog inputs on the back of the Headroom Amp. Please note at this point I have solely used the supplied white earbuds for private listening. This is due to the funky headphone jack on the iPhone. Eventually I’ll pick up an adapter or purchase a high quality set of buds that support the iPhone. Again the sound quality was amazing. It was pretty cool to place these components next to each other away from a computer, wire things up, and listen.

A few important issues: the Crossfeed enhancement is designed to add depth to music when listening through headphones, and it did. I enjoyed the results. However I preferred to disengage it when listening to spoken word. To my ears the Crossfade setting colorized the voice in a manner in which I deemed unsuitable. I did not use the Brightness Filter, and the Gain compensation placed at the low setting provided me with excellent reproduction of sound through my Sony headphones.

I realize there are similar devices available that are much more expensive and probably offer higher quality sonic results. However considering that I used a pair of $100 headphones, noisy computers, and my iPhone to deliver the source material, I think it’s safe to say I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of sound delivered by the HeadRoom Desktop Amp. If you are looking to improve your personal listening and production I/O monitoring, I would comfortably state this device warrants consideration.

A few closing thoughts: As I previously noted, this amp is customizable. It can be ordered with custom options that will enhance the current level of out of the box quality. You may also send a preexisting piece back to the manufacturer for additional upgrades.

I like this piece. It’s well designed, and it has a few interesting [and useful] options. Most importantly, it sounds great.

Frequency Response: 10-50k +/-0.3

Total Harmonic Distortion: <.002

Input Impedance at 1khz (ohms) 70k

$599 US ($848 as Shown)

www.headphone.com