Cmoy vs Total Bithead

[awu_gigabyte]

Hi all, new to the forums, not new to headphones, but new to amps for them.

I currently have the senn hd 555s and just bought a cmoy amp off ebay for 50 dollars. While this amp did increase the volume, sound as a whole i don't think changed much.

I've been reading on here that many people, for computer, like the total bithead, and i'm wondering how much "better" (yea i know thats an subjective question), it would be vs the cmoy?

I use my computer mostly, and my ipod other times. Should i drop the 200? or stay with the cmoy?

Thanks in advance,
Rob.

 

[afireinside]

What sound card do you use?

I've heard the new Airhead line is almost on par with the Micro Amp so it should sound a bit better. The Bithead also has a built in DAC. If you don't have a good sound card it might be a nice upgrade. Someone with experience should be able to help you more than me though

 

[awu_gigabyte]

I use my ipod, the built in sound card in my macbook pro, and i have a creative audigy 2 platinum in my pc.

Hope that helps with more recommendations.

Thanks!

 

[mektarus]

Welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet!

I haven't heard the HD555's myself but from what I've heard they work well enough unamped that anything but a high-end amp does little more than make them louder (which is exactly your experience).

 

[Filburt]

Well, if you're running the amp out of the headphone out of both sources, you may not see as much of an improvement as you'd hoped for. Real gains are made by running things off of line-level output as you bypass the amplification stage, except maybe in the case of your iPod if it's a 5G as I've heard that its line-out is just the headphone out at 90%.

The Total Airhead/Bithead is AD8397 based. If you want something in the price range of your CMoy that will probably be similarish sonically, there's the PINT or the Mini3. Note, though, that the Bithead does have an on board USB DAC which could be handy, depending on your needs.

 

[awu_gigabyte]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mektarus but a high-end amp does little more than make them louder (which is exactly your experience).

Yes, this is exactly whats happening, i just dont' have to turn it up all the way, there has been little or no sound improvement. This is normal?

Thanks for the replies.

Rob.