[PeterDLai]

Right now I'm using onboard audio (I know, ick) with Realtek AC'97 in my laptop.

To me, it actually sounds alright. I plan to someday get a better set of headphones too (right now, I'm using cheap ones: Koss KSC-75, Sennheiser CX300).

I was wondering, if I upgraded to an Echo Indigo card, would I be able to tell the difference in sound if most of my music is ripped to MP3 format at 192kbps? I have mostly 192kbps or variable bitrate. I don't listen to any audio CDs or lossless formats.

Is it worth it to pay the $150 if I listen to only those bitrates?

What I'm worried is that if I get too good of equipment, my 192kbps MP3's will sound like crap, and I'll be forced either to rip my music into a higher bitrate/lossless or just downgrade.

 

[cook]

Absolutely.

For what its worth - newer notebooks come with half-width ExpressCard slots and there are enough Indigos on Ebay - they just don't fit in ExpressCard slot. I picked one for ~$78.

 

[mlarn]

I agree. It will make a huge difference, even with the 192 bit rate mp3's. Of course you should at least experiment with lossless, but thats for another day. If you go with the Indigo DJ, you can also have the option of using the headphone out (amp'd) or just the straight DAC out (unamp'd) to then use the amp of your choice. When I was looking around I was told that the line out on the Indigo DJ was just a step below the MicroDAC, and at this price point I have been very happy with the product. Sounds great to me, and very convenient/transportable as well.

 

[dieselzaf]

I just got a TBAAM and I would say there is a slight improvement in sound so I can only imagine that the echo would sound better.

By the way does anyone know what the gain on the echo amp is? I heard that it's amp is just as powerful as a total bithead???

 

[cclragnarok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselzaf I just got a TBAAM and I would say there is a slight improvement in sound so I can only imagine that the echo would sound better. By the way does anyone know what the gain on the echo amp is? I heard that it's amp is just as powerful as a total bithead???

I don't think there is any point talking about the gain of the amp when it is integrated with the DAC. The gain of an amp also has very little to do with how powerful the amp is.

I have an Echo Indigo DJ and a 2006 Total Bithead. I've compared the headphone out of the Indigo with the Bithead with HD580, HD595, K501, and K701. Of these, the HD580 sounds better on the Indigo, and the rest sound better on the Bithead. I've also tried the DT880 on the Indigo, and they sound pretty good together.

I've heard that the amp on the Indigo works better with high impedance headphones (assuming about the same sensitivity), and this is consistent with my experience.

Both the Indigo and the Bithead have 5V power supplys, and it seems that the opamps used are both rail-to-rail, so clipping was not a problem with any of the headphones. The Total Bithead with the AD8397 probably drives low impedance headphones better because it can output more current. With high impedance headphones like HD580 that do not require as much current, I guess the better DAC of the Indigo gives it the edge.



As for the bitrate question, I've never really tried to listen to the difference between the different bitrates, but I think 192kbps is usually good enough. With 128kbps, I think there is a difference (once again, I've never done a AB test or anything), but even then the mp3 files aren't really unlistenable.

However, I've had badly encoded mp3 files at bitrates up to 192kbps, which have wierd clipping artifacts. I think this has more to do with the crappy codec used than the bitrates not being high enough. So as long as the files use a good codec (like reasonably recent versions of LAME), 192kbps should not be a problem.

 

[PeterDLai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cclragnarok I've heard that the amp on the Indigo works better with high impedance headphones (assuming about the same sensitivity), and this is consistent with my experience.

So, would a good closed option for the Indigo I/O (I also happen to want recording) be the Beyerdynamic DT250-250 (250 ohm version)?

 

[cclragnarok]

I think the 80Ohm version of the DT250 is generally preferred over the 250Ohm version. I haven't tried either version though.

I'd say that the individual characteristics of the headphones would affect the sound more than whether the impedance is high or low.

 

[joefosho315]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cclragnarok I think the 80Ohm version of the DT250 is generally preferred over the 250Ohm version. I haven't tried either version though. I'd say that the individual characteristics of the headphones would affect the sound more than whether the impedance is high or low.

Actually, I've read that the 250ohm version is generally preferred over the 80ohm version. I've got the 250ohm myself.

 

[mosche]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cclragnarok I have an Echo Indigo DJ and a 2006 Total Bithead. I've compared the headphone out of the Indigo with the Bithead with HD580, HD595, K501, and K701. Of these, the HD580 sounds better on the Indigo, and the rest sound better on the Bithead. I've also tried the DT880 on the Indigo, and they sound pretty good together.

Hi there

If you should choose between indigo and total bithead, which one you would take? Frankly speaking, which one gives better sound? So the indigo -> bithead is better than bithead through usb alone?

 

[cclragnarok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joefosho315 Actually, I've read that the 250ohm version is generally preferred over the 80ohm version. I've got the 250ohm myself.

Nevermind then. I don't know that much about the DT250, so you are probably right. Since the sensitivity of the two versions is about the same, maybe the 250Ohm version would be a good bet.


Quote:

Originally Posted by mosche Hi there If you should choose between indigo and total bithead, which one you would take? Frankly speaking, which one gives better sound? So the indigo -> bithead is better than bithead through usb alone?

It kind of depends. The only headphones I've really ABed the two against each other are the HD595 and HD580. Of these, the HD580 works better with the Echo Indigo DJ, while the 2006 Total Bithead was better with the HD595.

I think the Indigo DJ lineout -> Bithead was a little better than Bithead alone. However, the difference in quality was fairly small. I guess the amp in the Bithead wasn't good enough to make the DAC in it the bottleneck. Therefore, I would not recommend getting the Indigo AND the Bithead.

Outside of headphone synergy issues, these are my recommendations (among the Indigo DJ, Indigo IO, and 2006 Total Bithead):

1. If you need recording, you are stuck with Indigo IO, since the other two do not have recording capabilities.

2. If there is a good chance that you will upgrade to a better amp later, get the Indigo DJ. Then you can get a desktop amp in the $150~$300 range later and take advantage of the lineout on the Indigo DJ.

3. If you are sure you won't be buying any more amps, then get the 2006 Total Bithead. It should have a more powerful amp than the Indigo overall, and you'll be able to use it to amplify your portable CD/MP3 players.