[whitevitz]

Anyone know the pro and cons for Ibasso D2 Boa and Headroom Total Bithead?

I am choosing between these two.

Please help.

Thx in advance

 

[synaesthetic]

One of the big cons of the BitHead, and one of the primary reasons I didn't buy it when I first started looking for a portable amp is the placement of the I/O jacks. They're at each corner of the front of the device, mounted at a forty-five degree angle. This makes the amp almost unusable with anything but the smallest and lowest-profile right angle miniplugs.

 

[Casca]

Can more chime in on this? I am also choosing between these two. Just ordered a Denon AHD 2000 yesterday and been going through post on different amps today and actually came out with more questions then before I started reading. I had a Koss I bought at a walmart or bestbuy, which sounded pretty good to me. It fell apart about a year ago and since then I have bought 3 or 4 different cheap headphones..costing more then those Koss.., but am very disappointed with the sound they reproduced. So now I have decided to buy a good headphone and initially my budget was $200, which I have already exceeded with the AHD 2000 for $235+$15 shipping. And from all I read here, although the AHD 2000 will sound fine straight from my source (computer with Asus soundcard Newegg.com - ASUS Xonar D2X 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express Interface Sound Card - Sound Cards ), it would be even better amp'd.

Didn't realize I needed a DAC..doesn't the soundcard on a computer already do that? Anyway, after going through this forum I see alot of good post about the ibasso boa and a few mentions of the bithead. Either one would probably sound great to me, but I don't want to feel later that I should have gotten something else at that price range.

The bithead is $167 including shipping, Fedex 2 day, so I'd get it easily this week. The ibasso is $184 including shipping..from Europe and I'd guess it will be in excess of 2 weeks to get it to me here in Hawaii.

So, which is the better DAC+Amp? And is there a reseller for the ibasso in the states?

 

[srserl]

ibasso uses a better dac chip. I don't know if it sounds better because I haven't heard it (I own a Total Bithead).
According to the ibasso D2 Boa thread, shipping is VERY fast. Either one would sound good, but if you are only going to use your computer, then I would hold off until you see how it sounds. The advantage of a protable amp with a built-in dac is that you can get great sound out of ANY computer you happen to use (at school, the library, at work).
I think the Total Bithead sounds great with the AH-D2000, but I have a feeling the D2 Boa might sound better. I'm not willing to pay to find out though...sounds pretty good now.
synaesthetic is correct about the horrible layout of the Total Bithead for portable use, but I only use it for the computer, so it is always sitting on a desk where the layout does not matter.

Scott

 

[jpstereo]

I had a total bithead and I will not say anything bad about it. It certainly is worth every penny and it sounded fine. I now own a Boa and I must stay it's a cut above the bithead. Smooth, lush, well-built and a bargain!

 

[geniebomb]

I own a total bithead, and I have to say, there doesn't seem to be a difference if I use the bithead or go straight from the laptop headphone out to my HD580's. I did however, notice a difference between iPod headphone out and the bithead. However, most of my listening isn't done critically, nor is it always with the best quality of songs.

I guess it's always best to try out stuff that you want to buy before you commit. HeadRoom will allow you to do that, I think, and if you want to return it within 30 days, it's no questions asked.