total bithead: intro
I received my headphone amplifier earlier in the week. I purchased the Total Bithead, designed and sold by the HeadRoom corporation. I haven't had enough time to really test it out thoroughly yet, but my initial impressions are very good. It plugs right into the USB port of my TiBook and is recognized right away. The Etymotics have a considerably better bass response through the amplifier than previously. I'll try to do a full shootout sometime in the near future - amp vs. no amp, Etys vs. Sennheisers, mp3 vs. CD (computer D/A) vs. CD (Bithead D/A).
I just received my Total BitHead 4 days ago. I have almost nothing but good to say about it:
The sound reproduction/ clarity is simply put, beautiful. As a classical musician and one that listens to a lot of classical/jazz music through a pair of Senn 580's this unit adds a valuable dimension to my listening setup. The bass is not over present, the mids are clean and straightforward and the highs are tight and clean. There doesn't seem to be excessive added color to my recordings. I am getting a clean, straight- forward and natural reproduction.
One of the features I am intrigued with is the “anti- blob” switch that Head Room puts on this unit. When switched on, this virtually eliminates fatigue caused by extended periods (45 minutes or more) of listening time. This really does work. The switch subtly cross- feeds uneven signals that are present (from when the recording was mastered) on either left or right channel-- to produce a more homogenous product. I really enjoy this feature because I can listen more comfortably to my music now, and not get fatigued at the end of a listening session. You can turn that switch off if you prefer to hear a non- enhanced product.
In comparing with lesser quality amps I am struck by the way the amp directs the sound more in front of you (rather than just being directed into your ears in a more random fashion). I feel more like I am in the middle row of a concert hall— more dead center rather than floating off somewhere in la- la/ bla- bla land. This is immediately apparent when switching back and forth between a lesser quality amp.
There is no option of running the unit on an ac adaptor—Head Room did not include this option with the Total Bit Head. It seems as if they could have done this.
Your power options are USB (straight from your computer) or 4 AAA batteries. They claim up to 40 hrs (depending on what headphones you have). I bought a rechargeable set to avoid any worry of waste. I’m guessing future amps will have a power source upgrade option for more $$$, but I could be wrong?
The portability of the unit is invaluable for use with portable cd players/ mp3's. It's not heavy and the sound advantage outweighs the loss in portability for me. I especially enjoy using the unit with my Sony portable DAT recorder as I now have an accurate (in the field) reproduction of my recordings. I think I could fit my entire setup in the pocket of my rain coat. For computer use: the fact that it runs on USB connection eliminates any additional decrease in sound quality from running it into the line out of your computers sound card. I guess the question now is how clean is your USB connection?
The housing is absolutely mediocre. This is my biggest complaint. It seems as if Head Room could make a better effort at designing the unit in something other than crappy, cheap plastic. At first glance I wanted to return the unit simply because I felt insulted Head Room would think I would be so stupid to pay $270.00 on such a flimsy little piece of $%#!. My wife thought the same. Justification for keeping it was only made after we both listened to it! However, the rubber foot that holds the batteries in is really cool/ practical and provides a nice stand to put a portable device on.
All said, I will not be returning mine and am looking forward to continued enjoyment. Worth the $$$ spent for me—a versatile piece of equipment that can be used with both computer and portable equipment.
That's interesting that you don't like the housing. I feel like the housing is pretty sturdy. I'd rather they spend the money on the components inside than the case - the difference of a couple of dollars between a cheap op-amp and a good one can make a huge difference in sound quality. With regards to not having an AC adaptor option, there are several computer accessories companies that sell wall warts that can charge/power various devices with a USB cable. I don't know if that would work with the Total Bithead as plugging in a USB cable might disconnect the analog input, but it might be something to investigate (or ask tech support).
Thanks for the review! I hope to have my full review up eventually, but I'm pretty busy with school...
Hi,
Just stumbled on this review. Thanks so much. I tried the USB power supplies but they don't work with the BitHead. If we made it so that it could it wouldn't comply with USB spec. If you need any tech support send me an e-mail.
Thanks,
Jamey