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RE: Headphone Amp?

Posted by jaydacus on December 24, 2011 at 10:59:53

In Reply to: Headphone Amp? posted by slovell1 on December 24, 2011 at 08:10:24:

I just purchased my first headphone amplifier and could not be happier. I always knew that portable device were a compromise, but assumed that a decent quality preamp/ integrated amplifier would have a good headphone output. The thing you have to consider is that the headphone output is an afterthought and uses different amplification circuitry than what is used to output to the main system. The quality of that that extra circuitry, which the manufacturer knows will never be used by the majority of customers, is not likely to be as good as the rest of the device.

A headphone amplifier on the other hand is built for no other purpose but to power headphones. I just purchased the Fournier DAC2 and like it better than anything else I have ever plugged headphones into before. It was the perfect for me because I like like that smooth tube sound and only listen to music from my PC. There are hundreds of options out there depending on your needs and budget, but any way you look at you are better off with a dedicated headphone amplifier.

• Tube hybrid headphone amp with built in DAC   (Open in New Window)

Edits: 12/24/11

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