HeadRoom Balanced Max Amp

WE HAVE SOLD-OUT OF ALL HEADROOM BALANCED MAX AMPS. THIS PRODUCT IS NOW OFFICIALLY SOLD-OUT & COLLECTABLE!

We firmly believe that the very ultimate high-end in ultra-pure audio resolution now exists on headphones. So HeadRoom's mission for our flagship product was really pretty simple: build the finest headphone amplifier we've ever created and (drum roll, please) the Balanced Max amp is the dazzling result. By taking everything we have learned about headphones and headphone amplification over the past 16 years in business and then refining only the most perfect design features regardless of cost concerns, we have created a unit that can satiate even the absurdly demanding tastes of connoisseur audiophile freaks like ourselves.

For those of you who remain unsure about the advantages of balanced listening, we think a world of transcendent sonic bliss awaits. In brief, balanced-drive topology operates headphones at twice the slew rate and half the amplifier output impedance while offering twice the voltage swing of identical single-ended amps, delivering a sound in your head as accurate, lightning-quick, cleanly transparent, and authoritative as can possibly be imagined. Balanced-drive also eliminates the common ground on headphone cabling which results in a nearly dead-silent signal noise floor; the music seems to erupt from a much 'blacker' background with tons of nuanced detail resolution to spare. The Balanced Max Amp's liquidity & articulation combines with dramatic punch and expressive dynamics to produce a purity of tone we feel to be completely unsurpassed in the headphone amplifier world. The sound is smooth, vivid, and drop-dead gorgeous.

Perhaps the most astonishing facet of balanced headphones is the incredibly deep and wide soundstage image which can only be described as totally immersive. The music appears perfectly formed within your sound mind as a wholly enveloping, completely coherent sonic embrace that surrounds the listener with a fully integrated musical landscape simply unachievable in single-ended headphones. Frankly, it's breathtaking stuff even for us jaded long-time audiophiles. Yeah, yeah, we realize that from waaay up here at the top of the pricepoint curve, you can practically see Greenland... but the view sure is lovely! The Balanced Max is truly the ultimate way to get it perfectly right between your ears.

Features

Of course, you should re-cable your headphones to balanced stereo (left/right) XLR connectors for maximized sound quality but for the luddites out there, have no fear, the Balanced Max amp can also drive up to 4 standard headphones in single-ended 1/4" unbalanced mode as each XLR termination houses a 1/4" ouput concentrically within. Four independent dual left/right mono power supplies provide instantaneous, perfectly regulated power for the four edge-mounted Max modules, the HUGE honkin' mothers of all modules. Naturally, the amp's topology is thoroughly Class "A" and utilizes only top-shelf Burr-Brown OPA627 op-amps plus four discrete solid-state Walt Jung-derived Diamond Buffer output amps.

Options

The most important option to consider for the Balanced Max Amp is our Digital to Analog converter option. The DAC not only provides you with USB, coaxial, and optical digital input, but (best of all!) allows you to take ANY digital source, even a laptop computer USB output, and obtain a true balanced analog signal ready for your XLR-terminated headphones. That means the uber-expensive balanced-output CD player you’ve been hungrily eyeing for eons is no longer a necessity to enjoy incredible balanced drive sound quality. Keep in mind that non-balanced (single-ended) analog stereo connections via RCA input will NOT convert to balanced-drive for XLR headphones in this unit. Please consider our small-footprint HeadRoom Balanced Desktop Amp for automatic full balanced-drive conversion from ANY digital and/or analog audio source(s).

For the "nothing is too good" headphone afficionados out there, the Balanced Max Amp comes ONLY with the incredibly hyper-pricey Alps Brass RK-50 continuously variable potentiometer* for which we are the exclusive seller in North America; It's the ultimate volume pot for all the 1% percenters out there who believe that absolutely nothing is too good for your ears. The part itself costs us about 1/4 the price of the amp but at least you won't get the dreaded upgrade-itis itch down the road when you think to yourself, "Man, the RK-50 Alps pot!" ... Talk about some loud bragging rights, eh!

*The stepped attenuator volume control option has sold-out/discontinued & is NO LONGER AVAILABLE on the Balanced Max Amp. Must select Balanced Max Amp w/Alps Brass RK-50 potentiometer ONLY!

Accessories

You will need to have your headphones recabled into balanced configuration. We currently offer the Sennheiser HD 650, AKG K701, and beyerdynamic DT880 headphones in balanced configuration. Replacing the 'quick-detach' cord on the Sennheiser HD580/600/650 headphones is a user-friendly snap, thanks to Oregon's Cardas Audio aftermarket cabling, which offers some of the best cable designs in the industry. A 10-foot length of balanced-XLR Cardas cable for the HD580/ HD600 / HD650 series is $300usd or a 20-foot Cardas length for $400usd. Also available is Cardas Audio balanced-XLR cabling for the 'hard-wired' Sennheiser HD-595, AKG K-701, and the beyerdynamic DT-880 headphones, all of which we can recable to balanced XLR terminations right here at HeadRoom upon request when the headphones are purchased from us. Feel free to give our helpful sales geeks a call about re-cabling your high-end Sennheiser, AKG, Grado, or beyerdynamic headphones! Also, check out our official HeadRoom 'B-stock' webpage for truly KILLER deals on several "like-new" balanced headphones re-terminated here at HeadRoom!

The HeadRoom Balanced Max Amp does NOT include any interconnect cabling. If you have selected the DAC option mentioned above, then lucky you, as any digital-output audio source can now serve as your true 'balanced' source! A USB cable will allow you to hook up your Balanced Max Amp directly to a computer. If using the optical input on the DAC, you will need an Optical Digital Cable, and if you are using coaxial inputs then take a look at this coaxial cable. To hook up your Max to a balanced source with ANALOG balanced outputs, you will need quality analog balanced interconnects like the excellent designs manufactured by DiMarzio Cable.

All HeadRoom Balanced Max Amps are hand-built in Montana, USA.

Dimensions

The Balanced Max line products are housed in unique, custom-manufactured six piece aluminum enclosures. The Balanced Max unit measures approximately 15.5 x 15.5 x 5.25" inches tall and weighs just under 19 pounds. These units require some sizeable real estate and occupy a full rack-space size.

Please feel free to call us at 1-800-828-8184 or email sales@headphone.com for any further information on our king-of-the-hill flagship amp or absolutely any of our HeadRoom products... We always love to help you get it perfectly right between the ears!