So I've finally placed an order... - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

moogoob · 05-21-2008, 02:36 PM

for the Total Bithead.

I'll be sure to give my impressions when it arrives.

My first headphone amp... so excited!

velingara · 05-21-2008, 05:18 PM

You're going to love it! The micros are even better, you've taken the first step down an exciting, and increasingly expensive, road.

Enjoy your new amp!

moogoob · 05-21-2008, 05:53 PM

Thanks! I was thinking of skipping the micro and leaping full-force into the Desktop amp for my next step- I like the built-in DAC option. That won't be for a WHILE, though.

rlanger · 05-21-2008, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moogoob

That won't be for a WHILE, though.

Yeah, that's what they all say.

moogoob · 05-22-2008, 02:02 PM

Hmm, according to UPS, the shipment hit Mississauga this morning and is on its way! Wow, Montana to Toronto in only two days- impressive.

EDIT: I should have had them going to my work address, as I wasn't home when they showed up. Well, tomorrow then!

EDIT AGAIN: Bithead arrived! No batteries here at work, and the only audio source I have access to are Shoutcast streams. Hardly audiophilic in quality, if you know what I mean. I'll be doing some serious listening when I get home!

moogoob · 05-23-2008, 10:37 PM

Impressions... much better than my onboard card.

Much more control too... my HD280 Pros gain a bit more benefit than my Grados, but both of them benefit nicely from the offboard DAC.

Next up, get a better 1/4" to 1/8" adapter and give my AAAs a go with some proper amping power. Also, I need some batteries as all this has been entirely off of USB power and I'd like to test-drive my iPod with the Bithead.

elrod-tom · 05-23-2008, 11:05 PM

Congrats...with all the amps that I have, it's proven over and over again to be one of the more versatile and useful that I've owned. I still get a ton of use out of it. Enjoy.

moogoob · 05-24-2008, 02:43 PM

Further listening impressions: the Bithead gets along rather well with the HD280s! Not to say that my Grados don't benefit, cause they do... but the HD280s gain an impressive extra level of detail at my usual listening volume. I can see why Headroom's "Back to school" special had these bundled together.

Comfortable Numb off of Pink Floyd's PULSE live album felt even more like I was sitting there in the crowd of that massive concert.
Type O Negative's Love you to death in particular benefited from the extra control the amp gave and the extra detail provided by the DAC. As much as I love my Grados, there is no comparing the flexibility of the (properly amped) 280s for their price.
What else in my playlist... ah! Opeth! I also listened to a few tracks off of Damnation. This stuff I DO prefer my Grados for. I'll give them some serious listening tonight.

So far so good.

scompton · 05-24-2008, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moogoob

Next up, get a better 1/4" to 1/8" adapter

The Senn adapter is pretty good and when I bought 2 from Sennheisser USA a few months ago, under $5 each. I'm not sure what they are in Canada. I like the form factor a little better than the Grado adapter. The barrel on the 1/8" plug on the Grado is almost as big around as a barrel on a 1/4" plug.

moogoob · 05-24-2008, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton

The Senn adapter is pretty good and when I bought 2 from Sennheisser USA a few months ago, under $5 each. I'm not sure what they are in Canada. I like the form factor a little better than the Grado adapter. The barrel on the 1/8" plug on the Grado is almost as big around as a barrel on a 1/4" plug.

Cool, I'll look into that, thanks.

EDIT: I've also been A/Bing it against my sound card as a means of powering my cheap ($60 in 2002/3) Altec Lansing satellites and I can hear an audible difference and lack of clarity (from my lappy's card) even on these cheap speakers. Impressive for a $150 portable amp.