I bought this to provide a thumping amount of power to my Sennheiser HD 6xx headphones, which require copious amounts of controlled power to perform at their best.
I was not disappointed.
I have this connected to my Mac via a balanced connection over 6.35mm stereo jack to male XLR cables into a Komplete Audio 6 which connects to the computer and acts as a DAC.
I have used this amp with my Shure SE846 IEMs and my Sennheiser phones, and both sound better than I have ever heard them before.
My only criticisms would be 1) the lack of a low/no gain setting means that using sensitive IEMs like my Shure SE846 make the volume control a bit dangerous - by 1/4 of the way to full volume, the IEMs are verging on painfully loud, and 2) the non-square sides are a bit funky.
I like the switches more than the push-buttons on the (Mass)Drop THX-AAA 789, and the more compact size is very welcome. The volume control doesn't feel premium, but it's perfectly adequate. Having an integrated PSU is very useful.
All of which is to completely ignore the star of the show - the THX AAA-888 chipset, which is absolutely phenomenal. I won't go into the boring specs, suffice to say that this little amp considerably beats the performance of gear ten or one hundred times its price. The bass punch and treble resolution in my SE846 is unlike anything I've heard before, and the Sennheiser HD 6xx absolutely sings.
Get one. Listen to it and forget about everything else. It's that simple.
Product Description
Specs:
Inputs: Balanced x 1, Unbalanced x 1
Outputs: Balanced x 1, Unbalanced x 1
Output Power: 6W x 2 (16ohm) 3W x 2 (32ohm) 440mW x 2 (300ohm) 220mW x 2 (600ohm)
SNR: 130dB, A-Weighted
Output Noise: 2.8uV, A-Weighted
THD+N: -122dB, 0.00007% (1kHz, 32ohm) THD+N: -117dB, 0.00013% (20 - 20kHz, 32ohm, -3dB)
THD: -125dB, 0.00006% (1kHz, 16ohm, -3dB)
Output Impedance: Near 0 Ω
Frequency Response: 0.1Hz - 500kHz(-3dB)
Gain: Low(+6dB), High(+18dB)
Power Supply Voltage/Frequency: AC100-240V, 50-60 Hz
Power Consumption (EN60065): 24W
Power Consumption in Standby Mode: < 0.1W
Size: 160 x 149 x 73 mm Weight: 772g
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Endgame headphone amplifier
I bought this to provide a thumping amount of power to my Sennheiser HD 6xx headphones, which require copious amounts of controlled power to perform at their best.I was not disappointed.I have this connected to my Mac via a balanced connection over 6.35mm stereo jack to male XLR cables into a Komplete Audio 6 which connects to the computer and acts as a DAC.I have used this amp with my Shure SE846 IEMs and my Sennheiser phones, and both sound better than I have ever heard them before.My only criticisms would be 1) the lack of a low/no gain setting means that using sensitive IEMs like my Shure SE846 make the volume control a bit dangerous - by 1/4 of the way to full volume, the IEMs are verging on painfully loud, and 2) the non-square sides are a bit funky.I like the switches more than the push-buttons on the (Mass)Drop THX-AAA 789, and the more compact size is very welcome. The volume control doesn't feel premium, but it's perfectly adequate. Having an integrated PSU is very useful.All of which is to completely ignore the star of the show - the THX AAA-888 chipset, which is absolutely phenomenal. I won't go into the boring specs, suffice to say that this little amp considerably beats the performance of gear ten or one hundred times its price. The bass punch and treble resolution in my SE846 is unlike anything I've heard before, and the Sennheiser HD 6xx absolutely sings.Get one. Listen to it and forget about everything else. It's that simple.
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 May 2020
I bought this to provide a thumping amount of power to my Sennheiser HD 6xx headphones, which require copious amounts of controlled power to perform at their best.
I was not disappointed.
I have this connected to my Mac via a balanced connection over 6.35mm stereo jack to male XLR cables into a Komplete Audio 6 which connects to the computer and acts as a DAC.
I have used this amp with my Shure SE846 IEMs and my Sennheiser phones, and both sound better than I have ever heard them before.
My only criticisms would be 1) the lack of a low/no gain setting means that using sensitive IEMs like my Shure SE846 make the volume control a bit dangerous - by 1/4 of the way to full volume, the IEMs are verging on painfully loud, and 2) the non-square sides are a bit funky.
I like the switches more than the push-buttons on the (Mass)Drop THX-AAA 789, and the more compact size is very welcome. The volume control doesn't feel premium, but it's perfectly adequate. Having an integrated PSU is very useful.
All of which is to completely ignore the star of the show - the THX AAA-888 chipset, which is absolutely phenomenal. I won't go into the boring specs, suffice to say that this little amp considerably beats the performance of gear ten or one hundred times its price. The bass punch and treble resolution in my SE846 is unlike anything I've heard before, and the Sennheiser HD 6xx absolutely sings.
Get one. Listen to it and forget about everything else. It's that simple.
Images in this review
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Top reviews from other countries
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- Arthur SeniorReviewed in the United States on 27 May 2020
The Most Powerful & Most Affordable Headphone Amp You Can Buy With THX Certification!
This is not just an amp mind you, its THX certified, and can pump 6-whopping watts into 16-OHMS, or 3-whopping watts into 32-OHMS. This is probably the most powerful headphone amp that you can buy for the money, especially having THX. But what is great, even if you have unbalanced headphones, like the V-Moda's, there is a 1/4 unbalanced headphone connection on the front for those. There is also a unbalanced XLR connection on the front as well.Arthur SeniorThe Most Powerful & Most Affordable Headphone Amp You Can Buy With THX Certification!
Reviewed in the United States on 27 May 2020
On the rear of the amp, are both unbalanced left and right channel XLR inputs, as well as unbalanced RCA inputs. It comes with an on/off switch, input selector switch, and low/high gain switch, as well as the volume control. Because I am going with this setup, I'm bypassing my speaker system all together. I'm using a Monoprice RCA premium 22-gauge cable, to literally connect from the output of my Realistic EQ box, directly into the headphone amp.
And its so nice that the V-Moda's come with their own 1/8 to 1/4 adapter, cause I needed that to plug into the new amp. I know I am not the only one who got fooled into thinking the XLR connections were balanced, based off reading the description of the product. But like many of us, we eventually learn the truth. The XLR connections are not balanced. Not that big of a deal per say, they work perfectly fine, and offer convenience of connection if you do have XLR.
When I first tried the amp on low gain, I felt it was too quiet, at all levels up to 50% volume. My V-Moda LP2's are 32 OHM headphones, and I think they just need the full 3-watts, so I flipped the GAIN switch to HIGH POWER! All the sudden my can's woke up, and now when the volume is set to 50%, my cans get real loud! I tested the cans with the typical bass track I always use, Wiz Khalifa On My Level - BASS BOOSTED, and holy molly! I also listened to Jelly Role - Creature, Feel That Bass III, and Post Malone - Go Flex. They all sounded amazing with the amp at 50%.
The bass hits are punchy, and they get down low. This amp seems to like straight up amplification with noise floor reduction. I find that it doesn't seem to mess with the frequencies at all, and if anything, sound is more analytical and amplified. I really like how this amp does its job, I feel like I can hear everything in the tracks, even stuff I never heard before. The amp really brings both the music, and the headphones to life. The THX portion of the amp seems to provide for a very clean sound.
Most of the time, I can keep the volume at the 10 O clock position for general listening. Or if I want to listen to something loud, I push it to 50%. Other then songs, I tested this amp while gaming. If you thought your headphones sounded good before. Well, I am here to tell you, once you plug a pair of can's into this amp, your gaming world will be amazingly enhanced like it was not before. That means you can hear things more, and feel things, with a solid pair of 50mm drivers or better.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with this amp, it does exactly what I need it to do, bring headphones to life, that is what this amp excels at. I am aware that some people got defective boxes in the past, thankfully, mine was not defective. Nor did I have that strange volume issue that someone else had, where only the left channel was heard, until the volume was at 50%, my volume works perfectly fine. Also, some people complained about the POWER LED being super bright, blindingly like a flashlight. Mine is nothing like that, just a dim blue glow, so I think they fixed that.
Now while my volume potentiometer, or POT for short, may work properly in the technical sense, in the physical sense, its practically awful. If you've experienced a smooth moving volume knob before, well this volume knob is kind of rough. Multiple reviews cover on this fact as well, so don't just take my word for it. Because of it, I went on a competitor website and ordered a golden aluminum 25mm volume knob as replacement. With the added weight of a metal knob, should smoothen out the POT movement.
Do I recommend this amp? Absolutely! I used to use those portable Fiio amps, they are not even in the same weight class, as the S.M.S.L desktop amp. But you might want to think about replacing the volume knob is all. Other then that, and the fact its not really a balanced amp, its a perfect little unit. 5 out of 5 stars!
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GmqReviewed in Italy on 2 July 2020
Best buy! Se volete un amplificatore per cuffie l'avete trovato.
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