Bithead:It's good... Real good. But can I get better?

[PianoForte]

Title revision: "*sounds* really good" - but since I don't have a lot of experience in high-end gear, I speak only relative to my limited experience, which is why I am looking for opinions

My current setup is a simple one: Macbook pro--->itunes--->bithead---->ad700 . I enjoy the sound a lot...but I do feel like it could maybe get a bit better... Would getting something like the v-dac result in a significant audible (as opposed to placebo-based/psychological) improvement from the bithead? I feel like the dynamic range could improve, as well as clarity of instruments when the texture is thick (despite it being very good right now with these lovely ad-700 cans.) I will be getting the audioengine a2's soon. Will the vdac make an audible difference there, do you think?

Opinions please. Should I save my 300 for something else? Would an amp upgrade be more wise at this point?

Please be as objective as possible~ :-)

Thanks in advance

[estreeter]

I can only offer this:

- my Topaz makes a major difference to the sound from my Macbook Pro
- the reviews of the V-DAC have been overwhelmingly positive. Unfortunately, that isnt always a guarantee that it will work for you or me.

You have a significant advantage with the MBP - optical out from the headphone port. Unfortunately, the V-DAC and many others are USB-only : many here will argue that it makes no difference, but I prefer the sound of the Topaz using the optical connection. I dont know how you will take the signal from your DAC into the Bithead, but most will connect straight up to a stereo or AV receiver/amp.

The rest is straightforward - rip to WAV or a lossless format and research the different players available for the Mac to find which one is right for you. Good luck.

[PianoForte]

Actually e-street, please correct me if i'm wrong, but the v-dac looks like it has 2 optical inputs in addition to the USB. I realized the problem with using the bithead with the vdac...perhaps i should consider getting an amp, too...

It's true that it's not a gurantee that it will work for all people...I guess we have to take our chances sometimes. I'm usually a big skeptic in many things audio-related, but the the votes do seem unanimous with the v-dac... I guess, since I havent owned a whole lot of different audio equipment in the past, Im trying to get an idea about how much of an upgrade I can expect with a new "better" DAC.

Any more opinions would be most appreciated!

Thanks!

[Uncle Erik]

The AD700 is a good enough headphone, but $300 will take you to a different level of performance. I'd look at something like the DT880, HD-600 or HD-650. Your biggest performance upgrades always come from the transducer (well, second to recording quality).

After that, an amp capable of fully driving your headphones is next most important. I don't put a huge amount of weight on digital sources. Expensive ones sound good... but so do cheap ones. I noticed that by swapping components in and out of my rig. Even a $100 CD player sounds great with a good amp and good headphones.

On the other hand, running the vinyl rig (about $12k retail) into a portable amp and high end headphones doesn't sound good. Running the vinyl rig into the Zana with $20 Sony headphones (the ones I don't care about frying when testing a new amp) sounds like crap. And running a good source, amp and headphones off a bad recording sounds like crap.

So I'd upgrade headphones first. That will net you the biggest improvement. The AD700 is not bad, but I've heard a lot better. Then look for a good amp and you can worry about the rest later.

[Born2bwire]

I was underwhelmed by the Bithead. I would feel that a better DAC/Amp would probably provide you a noticeable benefit. I haven't heard the V-DAC though but I did have a Bithead for a while.

[estreeter]

PianoForte, you are correct on the optical - my mistake.

[fenixdown110]

I have the slightly lower Carat amp dac in the series than estreeter and I must say it is impressive.

[estreeter]

Carat make good DACs, but I am less impressed with the amp section. Still a wonderfully compact solution for my purposes, but it needs to be mated to a separate amp, and I think they realised that when they configure the outputs. I run mine into my integrated amp and its a very good combo.

From this point forward, its separate DAC and amp for me.

[fenixdown110]

I don't like the amp either. It's only so-so. I'll use it as a dac and pair it with a tube amp.

[PianoForte]

The AD700 is a good enough headphone, but $300 will take you to a different level of performance. I'd look at something like the DT880, HD-600 or HD-650. Your biggest performance upgrades always come from the transducer (well, second to recording quality).

UncleErik: I was just about to say that I think I might prefer the ad-700 over the hd-600 (i used to own the 600), but i realized there could be the argument that I didn't amp them (the 600's) well. At one point, I tried a x-can v8, which was great, but I had to sell it to fund a trip i wanted to take. I was with the rega ear and valab dac for a while, which sounded great, but I really enjoyed the wide soundstage that the ad700 had to offer. The hd-600 definitely had more detail, though...just felt more narrow than the ad-700. Part of this probably had to do with how tightly the hd-600's grasped my head compared to the ad-700 (which mentally translated to being more narrow.) If I like this sound could you (or anyone, of course) recommend a sound signature similar to the ad-700 that is more detailed as well as more general improvements upon everything?

Thanks for all the great responses! Sorry that this is slightly going away from Source Forum material...