Entered CNET Catalog: 05/26/2004
SKU: 0000010003
Manufacturer: HeadRoom Corporation
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 01/06/2006
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 1 user reviews
Decent headphones, pair it with this to make them great
Pros: sound improvements, drive almost any phones, fair price now that its been deduced
Cons: no ac option like unit without DAC, rechargeable battery would be better if feasible
Review: After I bought a pair of Grado (not Grando like CNET calls the company in their manufacturer listing in headphones) SR-80's I wanted to see if I could get a noticable improvement with this well regarded amp/DAC. There is a noticeable difference, the highs are so smooth and higher and the lows go lower than before. The sound in general is crisper and quieter when there is a quiet moment which I'm guessing is from having a good quality digital-analog converter (DAC) outside of the computer. You can run the whole process off power from your USB port, but to get the amp going and to bring the best out of it, turn the unit on which runs the DAC off the USB bus power and the amp off the batteries. The unit makes the already fantastic Grado SR-80's sound even better, but be warned you'll find it hard to listen to cheaper head/earphones without an amp & good quality DAC.
Couldn't be easier to setup, just plugged it into my MacBook Pro and the laptop routed sound to the Bithead and on to the headphones first time. It even set the sound up to max automatically which is exactly what HeadRoom suggests and when I unplug it the sound automatically goes back to where it was before on the MacBook Pro. One downside (although Apple should get most of the blame here) is that if you just want to use it as an amp and plug it into your iPhone, the cord HeadRoom gives you will not fit into the stupid recessed headphone slot on the iPhone. The crossover switch on the BitHead does make a slight difference, so worth leaving it on. There is a high gain and low gain switch next to the batteries, the low setting powers the efficient Grado's louder than I could listen. Last thing, with good quality headphones and a good DAC and amp driving them, you will notice how bad compressed music really is, now I cannot stand listening to music bought from iTunes music store and have started re-ripping my music into Apple Lossless. Great piece of kit, your reference quality Grado's/Senn's/AKG phones deserve to be driven with a quality amp, and this unit is one of the least expensive ways to achieve the benefit. Headphones are always used with this now and I don't bother using the DAC in my laptop anymore, its getting use everyday.
Couldn't be easier to setup, just plugged it into my MacBook Pro and the laptop routed sound to the Bithead and on to the headphones first time. It even set the sound up to max automatically which is exactly what HeadRoom suggests and when I unplug it the sound automatically goes back to where it was before on the MacBook Pro. One downside (although Apple should get most of the blame here) is that if you just want to use it as an amp and plug it into your iPhone, the cord HeadRoom gives you will not fit into the stupid recessed headphone slot on the iPhone. The crossover switch on the BitHead does make a slight difference, so worth leaving it on. There is a high gain and low gain switch next to the batteries, the low setting powers the efficient Grado's louder than I could listen. Last thing, with good quality headphones and a good DAC and amp driving them, you will notice how bad compressed music really is, now I cannot stand listening to music bought from iTunes music store and have started re-ripping my music into Apple Lossless. Great piece of kit, your reference quality Grado's/Senn's/AKG phones deserve to be driven with a quality amp, and this unit is one of the least expensive ways to achieve the benefit. Headphones are always used with this now and I don't bother using the DAC in my laptop anymore, its getting use everyday.
