headphone amp

(1) A device that drives multiple headphones from a mixing console for studio recording.

(2) An amplifier designed to output the required wattage for headphones. The sound in low-end headphones can be improved; however, music lovers claim that a headphone amp is essential when high-quality headphones are used. Headphone amps can be analog only, boosting the stereo signal from any preamp output or from the headphone jack of a music player. However, they are often combined with a DAC and accept digital audio from computers, providing support for higher resolutions than the built-in sound card (see DAC/headphone amp and USB DAC).

A High-End Headphone Amp

Accepting analog and digital inputs, OPPO's HA-1 is a Class A amplifier for headphones. It also accepts digital output from iPods, iPhones and iPads. Resting on top are OPPO's Planar Magnetic headphones. (Image courtesy of OPPO Digital, Inc., www.oppodigital.com)

Portable Headphone Amp

OPPO's HA-2 was designed for PCs, Macs and mobile devices with USB On-The-Go (see USB OTG). It includes two gain settings to match the headphones. (Images courtesy of OPPO Digital, Inc., www.oppodigital.com)

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References in periodicals archive

Full-featured mixer -- equipped with ergonomic gain controls for fast and accurate mixing, and a custom-designed, wide-bandwidth, high-power headphone amp for monitoring.

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On the audio front, Sony has introduced a new "Signature Series" that flaunts two Hi-Res WM1 series Walkman music players, MDR-Z1R stereo headphones, MDR-1000X wireless noise cancelling stereo headphones and the TA-ZH1ES headphone amp. There will also be a new Hi-Res home audio system, two wireless Extra Bass sports headphones, and a Walkman with 3.1-inch touchscreen, soon.

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Headphone Charts understands this complicated relationship between headphones and amplifiers and has simplified the whole process by providing a simple "yes" or "no" designation as to whether they suggest the use of a dedicated headphone amp, or not, for each pair of the headphones contained within their charts.

Headphone Charts Launches New "Amplifier Suggestion" Feature

Look no further than USBPhonoPlus v2 by ART Pro Audio, a handy box that serves as a traditional phono stage or headphone amp, which the company touts as "the ideal low-cost interface solution for transferring any analog or digital audio source, including a turntable into a computer via standard USB connection."

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There is a built-in headphone amp for analog output as well as optical digital output for MiniDisc recorders and other digital devices.

Quality sound

India, April 20 -- Chord Electronics has brought to India its headphone amp - Mojo, short for Mobile Joy, that enables smartphones and connected devices to deliver recording-studio sound quality from any headphone.

Chord launches Mojo Headphone Amplifier and DAC In India

If you're perpetually straining to make out what your phone is trying to stream to your fancy pair of headphones, maybe it's time you got yourself a headphone amp. These amps can be as small or as large as you want, ditto the price.

Quick, cheap fixes for common tech problems

We tested these without a headphone amp, since the only amps we had on hand were the Little Dot Micro Tube and the M3 and both are meant to drive high impedance circumaural headphones.

SoundMagic PL11 - Ear-fully Enchanting! [Review]