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...

Is there any chance of a repeat of the Airhead/Bithead scenario...both were dropped in favor of the Total Airhead/Total Bithead and the prices were lowered considerably. That would be awesome!

I noticed your original post said USB cable to the DAC...you may want to try an optical cable and see if that is an improvement. Fifteen feet is supposed to be about the max length for a USB cable, so it's possible that's an issue. Also, assuming that you ripped the CDs to Apple Lossless or...

I've been wanting to ask this question for a while, and this seems like a good opening. I would eventually like to get a Micro Amp and DAC but I'm torn on the regular/ultra decision as well. I'm the type of person that would hate to leave some improvement on the table, provided the price is...

Saw a great placement tip on Tekzilla when they were visiting Dolby Labs - hook up the subwoofer and place it where you usually sit and listen. Next, play a movie/music and walk around the room (into the corners, etc) and decide what spot the bass sounds best in. When you find that spot, place...

I had forgotten about the addition of power supplies or chargers for going mobile for any extended period of time. I heard recently that most of the major mobile phone companies had agreed to standardize on the mini-USB connector for charging. Maybe Headroom can do the same and eliminate one...

I think Pirate makes a good point about "portable" vs "mobile", or however you want to phrase it. I understand that everyone would like an iPod-like device with a digital output. Can I ask what your listening situation is though? On a plane, train, bus or in a coffee shop where you have to be on...

In several of the other forums people have mentioned portable DVD players with digital outputs. Many of them will play MP3 files - some may play one of the lossless file formats. You could burn 8+ GB of audio files to a dual-layer DVD and listen that way. If laptop size is an issue some netbooks...

After looking up DirectSound, I think I see the big picture now. Thanks man! As I said, I doubted the BitHead was doing the downsample. I did a little A/B listening between the (apparently downsampled) 24/96 version and the 16/44 versions of the files. At first, I thought there was a huge...

Based on the recommendation in one of the Ultra DAC threads, I thought I would download the 24/96 sample tracks from HDtracks and see how they sounded. Since they're FLAC files, I also downloaded Songbird in order to play them on my PC. It was my understanding that the BitHead's DAC could only...

kboe, Let me qualify my current position - I'm currently using a 2005 Bithead (not Total) to drive either a pair of Beyer DT231s at my desk or ER6is for travel. The source is usually lossless files via my iPod or USB/iTunes. I needed something closed/sealed for work, and I'm guessing either...

How about the Airhead/Bithead driving the Denon D2000? Does anyone have any experience with that? I'm considering the Denons for my next upgrade. After that, maybe a micro stack (or whatever is coming next in that line). For now though, headphones first.