[rhy]

i'm a recent owner of the microstack and before buying was under the impression that it would be able to be powered on USB and USB only (i.e. nothing to plug in the wall or batteries).

can the total bithead be powered the way i thought the microstack could?

i've looked at the total bithead on headroom's site and don't see anything in text or provided pictures about needing to plug anything into the wall.

 

[rhy]

also i'm curious just how much power the microstack uses and if it's bad to leave it switched on "external" when not in use.

an equivalent to a household item would be good.

 

[TheSloth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhy /img/forum/go_quote.gif i'm a recent owner of the microstack and before buying was under the impression that it would be able to be powered on USB and USB only (i.e. nothing to plug in the wall or batteries). can the total bithead be powered the way i thought the microstack could? i've looked at the total bithead on headroom's site and don't see anything in text or provided pictures about needing to plug anything into the wall.

Yes, the Bithead can be powered by the 5V 500mA USB bus power. The MicroStack can't as it's current and voltage requirements are an order of magnitude higher.

 

[TheSloth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhy /img/forum/go_quote.gif also i'm curious just how much power the microstack uses and if it's bad to leave it switched on "external" when not in use. an equivalent to a household item would be good.

About 1 watt + an extra watt inefficiency from the wall wart. In household terms, the microstack consumes in 30 mins the amount of power a standard 60W light bulb consumes in 1 minute. As a percentage of your average daily usage, you would be talking 0.02% as a rough guestimate. If your electricity bill was $100/month it will now be $100.02, i.e. an extra cost of a bit over 2¢/year. So, if you keep your stack on only half the time and save the extra cent, in 400000 years you'll have saved up enough to buy a Balanced Max (and by then, I bet it will be pretty advanced too)!

 

[rhy]

lol. good to know. with the bricks being the size they are and needing to be isolated from all other outlets and whatnot i was a little worried they were taking up some heavyduty power. pleasant surprise.

 

[JMCIII]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhy /img/forum/go_quote.gif can the total bithead be powered the way i thought the microstack could?

Yep it can, and it does. Works slicker than.... well, you know. I love mine.

 

[rhy]

to prevent making another thread -

anyone out there have experience with the total bithead paired with the hd580s? can the bithead handle them okay or would i be expecting too much out of the little thing?

 

[feh1325]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhy /img/forum/go_quote.gif to prevent making another thread - anyone out there have experience with the total bithead paired with the hd580s? can the bithead handle them okay or would i be expecting too much out of the little thing?

speak of the

!
thats what i'm listening that combo right now. i think its driving the hd580 fine. but i'm a bit insensitive when it comes to amps.

 

[JMCIII]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhy /img/forum/go_quote.gif to prevent making another thread - anyone out there have experience with the total bithead paired with the hd580s? can the bithead handle them okay or would i be expecting too much out of the little thing?

Thanks to the new gain switch, the TBH can run just about any pair of headphones comfortably. Worry not. Buy it and enjoy it.

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMCIII /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks to the new gain switch, the TBH can run just about any pair of headphones comfortably. Worry not. Buy it and enjoy it.

Do you think that would include a 600 ohm pair of Beyers?

 

[JMCIII]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooperpwc /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you think that would include a 600 ohm pair of Beyers?

I think so. But if you really want to know for absolutely sure, call Headroom.

 

[DaveR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooperpwc /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you think that would include a 600 ohm pair of Beyers?

I owned a (2006) TotalBithead (with gain switch) for about a month. Overall I liked it but did end up sending it back. It slammed harder than it had any right to with low(er) impedance cans like the AKG K81DJ's for example. But that's a story\question for another thread..

I wanted to mention that it did indeed drive my HD600's reasonably well. It certainly sounded good with anyting I cared to listen to BUT it wasn't hard to get the amp to clip if you like to listen loud (like I do). In fact, I was forever adjusting the volume to juuuust below when it would clip. The HD600's are 300ohm cans so I would guess that it would drive 600ohm cans but not very loudly.

I'd imagine it depends quite a bit on what you're listening to as well...

Just my $.02!

 

[cooperpwc]

Very useful feedback indeed. It sounds like the 250 ohm is a better load for the Bithead. I listen fairly loud...

 

[hYdrociTy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooperpwc /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you think that would include a 600 ohm pair of Beyers?

[size=small]
by your powers combined[/size]

lol.

 

[Schalldampfer]

Drives my HD-650 fine. No clipping here. But since I don't have the Sennheiser with me right now, I can't see where it starts clipping.