Product/Design Update Request - Page 3

I have a couple of suggestions concerning a revision of the Airhead/Bithead lineup. Make the headphone jacks durable. I switched to another brand of headphone amplifiers after having multiple jack failures with my AirHead. Additionally, a decent 24/96 usb DAC section would be nice, and would make it a unique portable solution for those wanting a good quality high resolution portable computer audio device, provided it is coupled with a decent quality amplification stage. Additionally, the supply voltage needs to be higher than the current line, as it would be nice to have a portable amp for higher impedance headphones that doesn't cost an arm and a couple of legs, without necessitating the use of wasteful 9V alkaline batteries.

--Eric

for me,the sound is and always have been THE MOST important factor. headroom, please keep your excellence in the sound field before anything else.
I am more than willing to pay a little more for better electronic parts. I never heard other portable amps beside the total airhead,but I know that it sounds wonderful and can be used also as a good home amp and not just as a portable solution, as others said here,for those looking for a rather cheap audio solution those amps like bithead is a gift!

I would forget an optical input at this price point. USB is much more universal. I would consider USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed USB) for one big reason - more power! It provides 900mA vs. the 500mA available to USB 2.0. I think you will definitely need to have at least a 24/96 DAC to stay competitive. Maybe you can start to bring some of the up-sampling tech from the Ultra line down to the entry level? I would keep the analog input for use with portable players.

Since 90% of the time that I use my BitHead, I have it connected to my computer at my desk rather than a portable player it almost always draws power from the USB port. I think that the present AAA batteries are fine and have plenty of life when used with a portable player. However, if you want to refine the form factor, I can see how you would be inclined to go with an internal re-chargeable battery to save space. If you do this, please don't pull an Apple and make it sealed/inaccessible. There would be nothing wrong with 4 screws or a door on the underside of the case so that we could replace the battery if we needed to (without sending it back to HeadRoom either).

I'm not totally sold on the re-chargeable battery though, as this would add cost. For the same reason, as cool a unibody aluminum enclosure would be, it may be out of the question too. I also have always loved the rubber battery door on the BitHead anyway - it's so much harder to break than a plastic clip-door (really smart move Tyll!). Maybe you could have a smaller rubber door on one of the thinner sides and we could slide the batteries in? A smaller, thinner form factor of some kind for the amp is probably just as necessary as a bump for the electronics though.

I don't envy you the design challenge that you've got, given the price point you're trying to hit. I have a feeling it will be great though! Keep at it!

I think the bithead does have a really nice place in the market, but as someone who is looking to spend about that much money right now, I'll tell you what I'm looking for, and the few things that are making other options looks appealing as well.

1. rechargeable battery - I really do think this is a nice plus. I suspect it would let you run higher voltage (9V rechargeable are common enough), and keep the user from having to replace or remove batteries. Since I think it would often be plugged into USB, it would stay charged and then the power is not so much of a concern.

2. Size - I think there should maybe be a differentiation between the Air-head and the Bit-head here. Since the air-head is clearly more focused at being portable (and used while traveling with an iPod or the like), keep it small (but add rechargeable). Since the Bit-head has the USB capability, I suspect many people (like me) will be looking for a DAC/amp combo to use at work and at home, so it should be portable, but doesn't need to be super-small. This would let you make it a little bigger to add some nicer electronics and a rechargeable battery (in a cool aluminum case).

I don't really see the need for optical on a device in this price-point. It seems like if you spending little money since you want something small and probable, you wouldn't need it, and if you have the hardware to be able to really tell the difference, you have probably spent enough that you would be ok with spending more to get nicer everything else.

That's pretty much it, but I would do your best to stay under the $200 window if possible, above that and I think you leave the Bit-head's market (that's not to say you couldn't bring in a new device in the $250-350 range to compete with devices like the iBasso D10).

Just my thoughts.

I would make the case the same size as an ipod so you can just throw it in any ipod case when you are going mobile?

I personally would like the bithead to be able to be driven by an external power source in addition to USB: Primarily due to reviews stating that it works best with 6V vs. 5V.

I've already got the Micro Stack for my full sized speakers. Wanted to get something like this for smaller headphones (HD448/Denon1001) so I can just leave it at work.

I would also agree with the 24/96 DAC section. Other companies do it, and quite frankly it's neither difficult or that much expensive over a "regular" 16/44 DAC.

Rechargeable battery(Lipo), optical input(could be put on the same jack as the analog input, macbook style?) 24/96 usb requires special circuitry(AFAIK), which could prove more expensive and space consuming than an optical section)

I like the look of the bithead, and even though aluminium looks good, it scratches quite easily. Rubber is much more impact resistant, though it doesn't look as good. Sound matters though!

I totally agreed with you. But even with RSA, I felt they are somewhat behind in their design department. I thought the Pico product looks well designed. If anyone of you don't think design is important, just look at any and all of Apple products. They just killed all of their competitors. I recently bought an Ipad, you cannot find anything that is more sexier than that. I know in hifi, SQ is more important but if you could have both form and function, why not?

... the reality from a marketing perspective is that form does influence sound. If it looks great it will sound even better than it genuinely does.

When it comes to DAC, there is nothing more important than using the latest, best, most advance chip available, your UDAC is a good example. Do some research and see what is the last invention for DAC. I am looking for a nice portable dac now. Headroom equipments are never short of function, but I like to see more innovation and advancement in technology in your upcoming stuffs.