Total Bithead=Entry Level Portable Amp for Laptop/Ipod Classic?

[cesay]

Hi Everybody!

I bought a pair of Ultrasone HFI-780s a couple of months ago, and now I'm looking for a headphone amp to get the most out of 'em.

Ideally, I'd like to have a decent home amp and DAC to use with my home laptop, but before I drop tons and tons of cash, I'd like to start out with a good portable Amp. I listen at home, but also quite a bit at work, plugging into both laptop and iPod throughout the day, so a portable would be ideal to take with me everywhere and test the waters of hi-fi-dom.

As I said, I don't want to spend tons of cash so I was thinking the HeadRoom Total Bithead would be a good place to start. Any opinions on this? I've read the reviews, and the consensus seems to be "not mind-blowing, but excellent for $149."

Can you recommend a better amp/dac for the money? Can you recommend an amp/dac (not necessarily as one unit) for under $400?

I'm considering a keces DAC/little dot MK3 combo after reading this forum extensively, but I'll still need a portable for work, so thoughts on the bithead or similar would be most appreciated.

Regards,

Casey

PS: visit the search engine (finds many things, including audio/music) I work for-- SeeqPod

 

[cesay]

PS: I read somewhere that you cannot use foobar with the bithead... is this true?

 

[cesay]

Bump-- help me out guys-- I want to waste my money but I don't know how!

 

[Exediron]

Well... If it's like a Total Airhead, but better, then it's probably pretty good.

 

[Solid Snake]

Some popular ones people recommend are:

Practical Devices XM5 amp/dac
iBasso D2 amp/dac
Little Dot MK V (i think thats how you say it)
Headroom Bithead

I couldn't tell you which one performs the best with your headphones since I have had very little experience so far. I am actually in the same shoes you are looking for a good amp for my dt 770...

 

[JMCIII]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cesay /img/forum/go_quote.gif PS: I read somewhere that you cannot use foobar with the bithead... is this true?

Contact Headroom and ask them. (HeadRoom - Right Between Your Ears) They'll be happy to help, and probably offer you some excellent advise for free.

Oh, and the Total Bithead IS THE way to go. All those "good but not spectacular" posts are from people who think you can get it all for $149. No one can. Different yes. All, no. By the way, I've used my TBH with my Shure E530s at home, in the air and on the rad, and it works great. With my laptop (love that built in DAC and USB conection so I don't even waste battery life when using it on my laptop) and my iPod Classic. I don't see how you can go wrong. They even offer you a 30 try before you buy program. If you don't like it, send it back and they'll cheerfully (well, maybe not THAT cheerfully, after all, they love their products) refund your money. Can't beat that with a stick.

 

[JeffMac]

I'd say to absolutely try it out. You just can't go wrong with the no-questions-asked 30 day return policy that I can personally vouch for, since I am in your situation, and I bought the Total Bithead, and ultimately returned it.

Not because it wasn't good, but because it helped me to learn that I was (and am) after a bigger leap in quality. But I mean...for $150 bucks, I don't know what more you could want. (Evidently, I want to spend more money...heh)

But for the cost of shipping, I got to try it out to my heart's content. Doesn't get much lower risk than that.

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cesay /img/forum/go_quote.gif PS: I read somewhere that you cannot use foobar with the bithead... is this true?

Whoever wrote that is misguided. I've tried it and quite successfully at that.

 

[warpdriver]

I think the Bithead is a solid product. There may be some that promise more but for $150, I don't think anybody can fault the sound. The sound signature is neutral, maybe not as detailed in the lowest bass and highest highs as the more expensive amps, but it's a good improvement over built in soundcards and can push pretty hard to drive headphones with good dynamics. I don't plan on ever selling mine

 

[TickTockMan]

I just (like 3 hours ago) received my first headphone amp... the Total Airhead. I'm at work, so I don't have my good earbuds (Etymotic ER-4P) but so far I'm pretty pleased with the sound I'm getting using both my Sennheiser CX300's and, surprisingly, my cheap Philips 5910 "virtual surround sound" earbuds (I know,I know.... but hey, they were my first "upgrade from the stock iPod buds). The crossfeed is subtle, but it is most definitely there.

Headroom recommends giving the Airhead a good 40 hours of play time for it to sound its best.

Based on what I'm hearing so far, I'd say go with the bithead if you want the USB and DAC functionality. Personally, I don't need/want those, so I went with the Airhead and the $14 Cardas mini to mini that they sell.

BTW, I'm running through the 80 gig iPod Classic.

 

[cesay]

Thanks for the input everyone! Based on the return policy, and the fact that I'll keep this as a portable if I like it, and buy better desktop/home gear later, I think I'll give the bithead a shot.

 

[cesay]

Great--thanks for your input everyone! I think I'll go with the bithead as an entry-level/portable solution. Seems the return policy is pretty good in case I don't like it.