The headphone itself is the most important part of a personal audio system.
The headphone amp is second on the list.
So if you're decidingwhether to buy a top-shelf headphone or a headphone amp first - the headphone is the most important part of the equation!
We recommend distributing your spending so the headphones come first, followed by a headphone amp and then a high-resolution music player.
Whew. Now that's out of the way. When deciding whether to acquire a good headphone amp, it'simportant to consider how much a pair of headphonescan benefit from an amp. In other words, their "performance ceiling"
See our selection of premium headphone amplifiers
If you spent more than $200 on your headphones, youprobably want to consider an amp. A headphone amp like an entry level Fiio Amp will help you get your money’s worth from yourheadphones and is an affordable gateway to the benefits of headphone amplification. Ifyou want to move up a notch in musical performance, see our full line of headphone amps to find the best one for your needs.
Of course, an audio system is only as good as its weakest link. If you have well-recorded music and great audiophile headphones, but are relying on the power-limited headphone amp inside your smartphone, laptop or tablet to make the headphones sing, you likely won't be driving your headphones to their full potential.
What Does a HeadphoneAMPDo?
Adding an amp between the player and your audiophile headphones can provide a significant, audible improvement in clarity, detail and dynamics.
You may know about a headphone "impedance rating".Impedance is the combined resistance and reactivity the headphones present to the amp as an electrical load.
High-impedance cans usually need more voltage to get up to a solid listening level, so they can benefit from a headphone amp especially with portable players that have limited voltage available from their internal batteries. But very low-impedance cans lower the damping factor between the amp and headphones and actually require more current.So while low-impedance headphones may be loud enough from a portable device, sound qualitycan be significantly improvedby adding a headphone amp.
The size and dimensions of your headphone may provide some basic clues as to whether an amp is warranted. Most earbud andin ear headphones are typically very efficient and less likely to benefit strongly from an amp. However, many larger over ear headphones will become clearer and better sounding with an amp. A few select audiophile models may even require a headphone amp to reach listenable volume levels and sonic performance, especially if connected to portable devices.
If you are listening to your music on a computer, laptop or tablet, a headphone amp with an internal digital to analog converters (DAC)can significantly improve your listening by employing the better D-to-A processing power available in outboard DACs.
With a portable device, use a “line output” when available to connect to a headphone amp. If no line-out is available, use the headphone jack to send the signal over to the headphone amp.
WHEN NOT TO USE AN AMP!
Most in earheadphonesor earphones are typically highly efficient so they work well with smartphones or other portable devices without requiring an amp.
You do not need a headphone amp when using noise-cancelling headphones, as they essentially already have a built-in headphone amp inside. It prevents an external headphone amp from adding any significant audio benefit.
