[antberg]

hi guys,i did a research bib i didnt found something expressive,obviously because the Fiio E10 is a recent new product.
i have a few days before choose definitively witch to buy,because someone will buy for me in the US,as here there is simply no audiophile market.here where i live
 
so here is the question:witch one would you choose (if u had o not some experience with both) :
 
HeadRoom Total BitHead Headphone Amp / DAC  99$  or
Fiio E10    75$ ?
 
im not going to pray for answers because im atheist,but i urgely need some personal opinion because i dont have the possibility to change my stuuf or goods whenever i want,and im a newbie too.
thanks in advance

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Greetings, fellow Headfiers!
Like antberg, I hail from Brazil, where headphone amps are nearly impossible to find. I plan to order one from Headroom.
I too am undecided between the latest iteration of the Headroom Total Bithead and the Fiio E 10.
I need an amp/DAC combo to use at work, where I spend many hours a day listening to music. No portable use intended.
It just turns out that the onboard soundcard in the PC at work sounds harsh and edgy, causing a great deal of listening fatigue. A non-fatiguing unit would be a priority for me. I intend to use it with my Philips Downtown on-ear cans.
Which unit is less fatiguing? Total Bithead or Fiio E10? Which is more detailed? Which is most musically pleasant? Smoother sounding? Warmer? Neutral? Which is most durable? Better built? Better shielded? Easier to use?
How crucial is the Total Bithead's crossfeed feature? Will I miss it if I get the Fiio E10 instead?
I have found several independent reviews of either unit, but no direct comparisons of the Total Bithead vs. The Fiio E10. I believe such a comparison is sorely lacking.
I would deeply appreciate any feedback from you guys.
Cheers.

P.S.: I'm not an atheist (like antberg), but I hope I can hear from y'all without much prayer and fasting.

 

[Alex Altorfer]

This was a double-post. I don't know how to delete it so I just cleared the text.

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Apologies for the double-post, fellows!

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Bump.

 

[moshen]

Get the Fiio E10 or E17. The Total Bithead has much higher output impedance and I measured the bass to start rolling off slightly below 100hz which was very noticeable when comparing to the much flatter ODAC/O2 combo. 

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Dear Fellow Headfiers,

Do any of you guys have anything to say in defense of the Total Bithead? Of it's "musicality"? Of it's Crossfeed feature?

Has anyone found the Fiio E10 more fatiguing than the Bithead? I usually spend from four to eight hours a day listening to music at work, so fatigue is my #1 enemy.

I appreciate your attention. Cheers!

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Antberg,

I know you've started this thread over a year ago, but which did you choose anyways?

Cheers!

 

[moshen]

The O2/ODAC are different from the E10 & E17. I don't know how the E10 and E17 compare to the O2/ODAC which I own. I suggested the E10 or E17 over the Total Bithead since I think they have flatter response and lower output impedance. I thought the cross feed was a good feature but didn't like the frequency response change that went with them (bump in mid-bass).

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Hello Moshen! Again, thank you for your reply!

Unfortunately, I unknowingly quoted from a member banned from Head-Fi, so my last response to you was deleted by moderators.

Anyways, what got me on fire for the Total Bithead was this review by mangamonster:

www.head-fi.org/t/547857/review-headroom-total-bithead-dac-amp-an-oldie-but-a-goodie

He does make it sound like the Total Bithead offers a pleasant, fatigue free experience. Does this reflect your own subjective impression of your Total Bithead?

Now, the E10 is probably more detailed and clearer sounding, right? So, given that crossover is useless 98% of the time, the Bithead is a poor performer for the money, and the E10 beats it by a mile, right?

Food for thought. I am definitely leaning towards the Fiio now. However, I realise several users have complained about defective or malfunctioning Fiio E10 units. The Amazon reviews are particularly striking when it comes to a headphone jack that expels the plug all the time and units that fail after only a few months of use. OTOH, the Total Bithead is made in USA and comes with a 2 year warranty. More food for thought.

Again, thanx for your valuable input, Moshen! Cheers!

 

[tdockweiler]

The Airhead/Bitheads output impedance is not that high. It's like around 2 ohm and that's from Headroom. People claim it's anywhere from 7 ohm to 5000 ohm. Who is right?
It's true that the Bithead might not be the best with an IEM. Most headphones are not going to roll off with it at 100hz. That's nonsense. If there's any roll off, it's probably when it's used with the USB port.
I think I read this in an old stereophile review.
 
I will say that the Airhead (I don't have the DAC part, but same thing) seems to play well with all my headphones. There's not a headphone it doesn't sound OK with. NONE.
It even drives my K601, Q701 and 600 ohm Sextett. Ok, driving the Sextett with it is beyond stupid, but it drives it and doesn't clip unless I  crank it too high.
 
The E10 I didn't care for. It made my 598 too shouty in the mids and made my DJ100 way too muffled sounding. Seems like it was much too dark. The E11 to my ears sounded a bit better despite having the same chipset. Seemed slightly flatter.
 
The Airhead even can drive the HD-600/650 quite well.. for me the E10 would be a complete fail for any Sennheiser, but only due to preferences.
 
The Airhead SEEMS best for the harder to drive headphones..
 
The HD-650 and Q701 are especially good with it. Makes no sense..
 
I would say the Airhead/Bithead is quite neutral, but perhaps a touch of warmth. It's certainly not dark at all.
 
I guess it comes down to what headphone you're using it with. For some, maybe the E7 is better.
 
 
IMO the E10 is certainly not clearer or more detailed than the Airhead/Bithead.
 
BTW I actually prefer the Creative X-Fi Go Pro DAC/amp to the E10.

 

[Alex Altorfer]

tdockweiler, thank you for the input!

Very interesting. I see your experience is with the Airhead, not the Bithead, right? I do plan to use the USB at all times, though. Could the bass rolloff be inevitable, then? I also plan to use low impedance on-ear Philips Metro Downtown headphones, which are really easy to drive. I'll set the gain switch to low, whether I get the Bithead or the E10.

To your ears the E10 sounds quite lousy, then. Worse than Creative!?

Didn't you ever really try the Bithead's DAC? Apparently, that would be it's weakest point.

 

[moshen]

When I used the bithead and measured the rolloff (dropped to about -2db at 20hz) I was using it with the USB DAC. So it might be the bithead dac that isn't flat, and the amp is fine. Either way -1.7db at 20hz is only noticeable if you compare amps directly (I compared with the O2) and using headphones that can go that low to tell the difference. It isn't night and day but it was definitely noticeable.

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Thanks for the reply, Moshen!

I think I probably would not be able to notice such a bass rolloff with the Philips Metro Downtowns. However, since the Downtowns are low impedance cans (32 Ohm) and the Total Bithead supposedly works best with higher impedance cans, maybe the Total Bithead would not be a good match for my cans?

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Quote from the last paragraph of the old Stereophile review, by John Atkinson:

"Through its analog inputs, the Total BitHead offered excellent measured performance. The introduction of higher-order distortion harmonics as the load impedance dropped suggests that high-impedance headphones will probably work better than lower-impedance models. Through its digital USB input, the BitHead offered only modest measured performance, but on the desktop, using data-reduced sources from a PC, that probably won't be an issue".

www.stereophile.com/content/headroom-total-bithead-headphone-amplifier-measurements

It basically says the DAC circuit is not so great, isn't it.