The HeadRoom MAX - Exceptional Headphone Amplifier

Fortunately there are folks out there like Tyll Hertsens of HeadRoom, who has made it a personal mission to bring high-end headphone listening to the masses. His HeadRoom Max was his contender for the state-of-the-art headphone amplifier crown—and at less than $1500 to boot. 

The HeadRoom Max is a, largely vintage, high end headphone amplifier hand built in Boseman Montana, during the late 90's-00's known for using premium components like Burr-Brown 627 op-amps and dual-mono power supplies. It was marketed as a flagship, "hot-rod" home amplifier designed for excellent resolution, deep bass, and high power, often featuring balanced connectivity and Neutrik jacks

One common thread in the growing line of HeadRoom amplifier/processors is their proprietary (although licensable) module, which attempts to ameliorate the hard-left/center/hard-right imaging that makes headphone listening an ordeal for so many people. HeadRoom's crossfeed circuit bleeds a measured amount of opposite-channel information into each stereo channel, in order to cure the hard-left/hard-right image location common to 'phones listening. Also, by adding time delay, it compensates for Inter-Aural Time Difference (ITD), which is one of the ways the brain establishes the location of sounds. The net result of this blending of sounds and timing is an image that does not inhabit the head, but rather seems to be located more in front of you, spread laterally across a soundstage. The processed sound is not the same as listening through speakers, but it sounds less artificial than the unprocessed signal—and is far less fatiguing to listen to.

• Components: Utilized high-quality parts, including Nobel potentiometers, Avel-Lindberg toroidal transformers, and polyphenoline sulfide film capacitors.
• Performance: Known for producing a full-bodied, detailed, and dynamic sound, often cited as an "all-out assault" on high-end headphone amplification at the time.
• Functionality: Served as both a dedicated headphone amplifier and an active pre-amp.
• Market Position: Originally priced around $1300–$1600, it was marketed factory-direct to audiophiles

So, those who know us understand that we're not inherently "can guys" but, we believe HeadRoom's Max is an extraordinary product, The headphone listener today does not lack for choices when it comes to headphones, that's for certain, and each manufacturer offers high-performance units that incorporate topnotch headphone amps, and at a wide range of prices. Yet, for the sheer love of music, I'd have to say that HeadRoom Max is the hard to beat even being what's considered a "classic" piece of electronics. This piece in in exceptionally clean condition and been thoroughly checked and inspected by our in-house headphone tech and he says this guy is a 100% winner.

Demos are always encouraged here in Andover.

The HeadRoom MAX Headphone Amplifier: $779.00