BitHead Amp Review
So why do you need a headphone amp? There are two reasons, and the first has to do with the headphones you are using. Higher end headphones need more power and most MP3 players do not have enough to drive these larger high-end headphones. The second reason is for better sound quality; while a headphone amp won’t improve poor sounding headphones, it will make good-to-great ones sound even better. Additionally, a headphone amp can give your music a little extra warmth and brightness.
In this review we will take a look at a portable headphone amp that will improve sound quality, will drive quality headphones, and will double as a true plug-and-play sound card.
There are two way to use the HeadRoom BitHead amp. Plugging your MP3 player into the line-in will give you enough power on the go for your cans, or plugging it into your computer’s USB port will give you an instant high quality sound card.
Line-in
As previously mentioned, most MP3 players cannot supply enough power to a serious set of headphones. For instance, the Sennheiser HD650’s will not play at acceptable volumes when plugged directly into a flash or hard drive based MP3 player. (I so far only found one player that can power the HD650’s, the Cowon iAudio 6.) The BitHead amp will give you plenty of power for most high end headphones.
But connecting the BitHead amp between your player and headphones not only gives you some extra power, it improves the sound quality. I am not a hardcore audiophile, so I won’t be able to explain the difference with audiophile jargon. Instead I’ll let you know in simple terms what I hear as an above average audio enthusiast. What I can distinctly discern is a separation of sounds or instruments. Instruments sound more spread out and a little bit further from your ears and are easier to distinguish from each other. Apart from overall volume, there is definitely a sound quality improvement when using the BitHead amp in line with your MP3 player.
When using the line-in, the BitHead amp runs off of 4 AAA batteries, which will provide about 30 hours of battery life. Thirty hours are pretty good, considering it will outlast most of the hard drive and flash based MP3 players. On the downside, the amp turns on and off with a switch that can be accidently left on to drain your precious battery power. This may not be a problem for some, but for forgetful people like me, it may be better to stick with rechargeables.
USB
What sets the BitHead amp apart form other headphone amps is that it has own digital to analogue converter (DAC) and can be used as a dedicated sound card. The BitHead amp lets you completely bypass your existing sound card by plugging it in via USB. It really is as simple as plugging it in; Windows as well as Macs recognize it without installing drivers. More than likely it will be sound quality improvement over your existing sound card, especially if you are on the go with your laptop. Recently I really appreciated this amp during a 2.5 hour layover at the airport. I popped a DVD into my laptop and plugged in the BitHead amp paired with the Sennheiser HD650’s and created my own miniature theatre. As I described before, the pulling apart of sounds added much more realism to the movie even though it was on a 14” laptop screen.
Features
Gain Switch
The gain switch is there to boost the overall output of the amp. Lower impedance headphones will not need this switch on, but when you are using higher end can style headphones, you will want to have this on. When using Sennheiser HD650 phones the switch needs to be on because they are more power demanding than most headphones.
Crossfeed Switch
The crossfeed switch gives you the option to mix a little bit of the left channel into the right and vise versa. Why would you want to do that? Some music recordings are too separated in the right and left channel. Since in real life one ear always hears at least some of the noise the other ear does, the recording may sound unnatural if only one ear receives the sound.
The performance of this feature varied from one recording to the next. In some recordings it made little difference and in others it brought the sound too close. When the crossfeed switch did work, it gave the music more of a “live” sound.
Conclusion
The BitHead headphone amp is for people who want to take the next step to headphone upgrade. If you are using stock or lower end headphones, the amp will do you no good. However, paired with a nice set up, cans or inner ear monitors will definitely give your music added definition. Additionally, the amp contains its own DAC and can function as a stand alone sound card which pairs up nicely with a laptop for the on the go audiophile. You can purchase the BitHead amp at HeadRoom for $200.
Update: On sale for $150 now... definitely worth a consideration.
Comments
erik on December 12, 2006 6:09 AM
Can I use this device instead of LINE OUT?? My Creative ZVM is not loud enough to be used with serious speakers. What do you think?
Joshua on December 12, 2006 2:58 PM
But the TBH won't power HD650's without clipping..
EnzoTen on December 12, 2006 4:21 PM
It clips at very loud volumes. I dont know if it is the consensus but for me i get more than enough volume out of the amp before it clips when using the HD650s.
qarl (pronounced karl) on December 21, 2006 5:49 PM
would it be worth buying if you have sennheiser px100 headphones and a toshiba gigabeat s?
Bocephus on January 7, 2007 4:06 AM
who the hell would pay 200 bux for this
Mr. Havisham on January 27, 2007 4:41 AM
Q: "who the hell would pay 200 bux for this"
A: Just a guess, but oh- I don't know, "Bocephus"... Maybe people that find music to be an important medium that enriches their lives or possibly people that despise country and western redneck garbage?
It's just a guess on my part. I could be wrong. If you think in hillbilly terms, the technology that this unit offers for $200 equates into a significant quantity of Busch, Keystone or whatever barley pop you rural folks prefer these days.
In spite of what you may believe, the crude and hollow sounds emitted by your favorite country and western songs are best left to the 6" X 9" Jensen's and Kicker subs in your truck. If you can hear the cries of the ethnic person chained to your bumper as you're dragging them down the road, even over the Flowmasters and your favorite David Allen Coe song,- fear not! The local flea market is sure to have several vendors providing a plethora of coffin sized, 36 channel/ 1.21 gigawatt amplifiers complete with neon lights and chrome casing for $79.95. Hell, if you're feeling real spunky, you could go ahead and add another set of 6X9's to go under the extended cab seat. Remember to pick up some plywood and Astroturf while you're out so you'll have boxes to put em in. Go ahead and splurge on the 3M adhesive spray to hold the artificial grass cover on the box- remember what happened to your Uncle Bubba's brand new Powerstroke when he used bathroom caulk? You could just stain it or paint Rebel flags on each one to match the one in the rear window. I digress...
Let's just keep it simple for the Hank Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, and Toby Keith fans struggling in the shallow end of the gene pool that don't understand why someone would pay $200 for an audio device of this type.
The reason is quite simple and simultaneously something you will never understand. Attempts to explain would be nothing more than self flagellation. Therefore, my recommendation to you is to simply throw this in the same category as: reading, museums, morals, respect for all people including the ones not of your Aryan heritage, dentistry, birth control, etc... and forget that it exists.
Drink beer, go to church and above all else, refrain from thought.
In Birmingham they love the governor...
Sun King on February 1, 2007 10:20 PM
When feeding the amp from the ZVM, the subpack should have been used. OMG!
AJanifer on February 14, 2007 5:37 PM
I have the Total AirHead Headroom, which is the same as the BitHead but it uses a mini plug for the input instead USB. If you love your music and have a really go pair of headphones, the BitHead can breath new life into your music and heaphones. I use my AirHead with a pair of Sennheiser HD590's, and love them, so much so that I recently purchased the Headroom Micro Amp to pair up with my HD650's.
Paul on October 1, 2007 6:07 PM
How would the amp be with Sennheiser HD215's? Also wouldn't the amp still boost the volume of any headphones, including cheap ear buds?
replicant on November 5, 2007 5:18 PM
Mr. Havisham,
Whoa, slow down there big ticket.. not all Birmingham folk are as you described. In fact, I consider myself an above average audio person, and yes I live in Birmingham.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand.. I've been considering a headphone amp to go along with my Vibes (even though I may not need it with the Vibes, I've read mixed thoughts on the situation). This would be great as it could be used with my Macbook Pro too.
Thanks for a great review again EnzoTen.
Angel on February 7, 2008 8:04 AM
To those that are trying to grasp what an amp, like this one, brings to the table - WELL - it is very dependent on your ear's appetite.
If listening to your DAP via earphones is OK - you probably don't need an Amp. However if you feel that the Bass is thin, the 'soundstage' is too tight, the highs drift off, you want to use FULL size 'cans', etc. then you SHOULD be exploring an external amp.
Basically, the external amp takes the load off of the DAP's amp, and because it has it own power supply, it has the ability to provide 'amplification' across the entire frequency spectrum - uniformly. Though one thinks of an Amp as an amplifier - that makes things LOUDER. The case for using it with a DAP is to provide uniform audio quality from Bass to Treble.
If you simply want to make thing louder, you can find a cheapie amp at Radio Shack for $20-30. The BitHead and AirHead (no USB) are typical of this new category - Portable Headphone Amplifies. The Headroom's are at the low end of a price scale that goes up to $1500. The Headroom units represent an excellent product at an excellent price point, and are an excellent introduction to these type of units.
Unfortunately, for those that discover these 'toys', they become as collectible as those that discover quality headphones and/or earphones - WHO HAS JUST ONE!
ray on March 5, 2008 3:16 AM
I have an '05 Land Rover LR3. I have just bought a Sirius radio that can be connected to the vehicle's stereo via the aux input. The problem is that the Sirius (or MP3 player for that matter) plays a much lower volume than FM or CD. Will an Airhead fix this problem? I would guess the SPL difference is in the 12 - 18 db range.
Regards,
ray
BTW, if it matters I do not live in the southern US and do not listen to C&W.
paulr on January 7, 2009 10:30 PM
I have a Total Bithead and I think it makes my Cowon D2 sound a bit better with Sony MDR-V6 headphones. However, the feature that I bought it for, the USB DAC, has a bad problem with passing 60 cycle hum from my computer through the audio chain into my Peltor noise cancellation headphones. This in my opinion is seriously dysfunctional and misses the point of an outboard DAC, which is to totally separate the analog audio path from the noisy digital computer stuff. I haven't tried other USB headphone amps yet so don't know if others have the same problem. The next step after that I guess would be SPDIF optical.