HEADPHONE AMPS

Headphone AmpsThere are two kinds of headphone amps: audiophile headphone amps for home listening and mixer / distributor headphone amps which are used to amplify the signal to several headphones at the same time. The latter is mostly used for professional use such as recording studios.

Audiophile Headphone Amps
Mixer and Distribution Headphone Amps
Audiophile Headphone Amps

Mixer and Distribution Headphone Amps


As an audiophile you might ask yourself if you really need a headphone amp. "Need" is a strong word but we learned that the more sophisticated the headphones (and usually the pricier), the more the headphones(and you) will benefit from an audiophile high-end headphone amp. If you fit that category that owns or is thinking about acquiring a higher-end audiophile headphones, once you experience these headphone amps, you will not want to go back to your regular headphone stereo output. The higher the impedance of a stereo headphone, the "hungrier" the headphones will be for an amp to drive them. There are great headphones (like the EDITION 8) which has an impedance of only 30 ohms and an iPod will make them shine by itself. Take a DT880 600 ohms for example, and an audiophile headphone amp will be a must to get all those stereo headphones can deliver.

Since our site is about experiencing music to its fullest, we could not let our customers unaware of this most enhancing addition to the overall experience. As we said, some headphone models will benefit more than others from a high-end headphone amplifier, however all of them will sound fuller, more detailed and more pleasant with the headphone amp. We tested many models that are not listed here. Our job is to bring the best solutions and not add confusion. The models we ended up deciding to bring to you are simply the best ones we tested and had the best customer support from the respective manufacturers. Some of them are made in Europe, Japan and in the US as well.

When reviewing our audiophile headphones and headphone amps, we often use our Yamaha Disklavier Mark IV piano as a reference for natural sounding equipment.