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When you’re a hardcore audiophile or aspiring podcaster, you’ll eventually learn that you can do more than purchase a pair of good quality headphones to enhance your listening experience. You can get yourself a portable headphone amplifier, which is the second most important part of a personal audio system.
Headphone amplifiers are designed to turn up the signal level so you hear audio that is louder, more detailed, and incredibly realistic. So if you’re serious about listening to music or monitoring your audio for editing, consider going for one of the best headphone amplifiers on the market today. We’ve listed eight of them below to help you in your search.
When choosing a good headphone amp, it’s crucial to understand how these portable devices can help your headphones reach that “performance ceiling” — assuming your headphones are of good quality and can benefit from an amp to give you better sound quality.
The FiiO Q5 is a popular and portable solid-state headphone amplifier that doubles as a DSD-capable DAC. It’s Bluetooth-enabled and designed to deliver more accurate-sounding audio whenever, wherever. Aside from being feature-packed, it’s super compact, lightweight, and also offers wired connection to smartphones, tablets, and computers.
The only downside is that it’s a little too expensive for beginners, but you may still want to consider it as a worthy upgrade later on.
The FiiO A3 portable headphone amp is optimized for use with a wide range of headphones, earphones, and other in-ear audio monitoring devices for your high-fidelity listening needs. Despite being priced affordably for beginners and listeners on a budget, it boasts of premium build quality and construction with an all-aluminum alloy body and chassis that shields against electromagnetic interference, and up to 16 hours of battery life.
The black Fiio A5 is a highly-capable headphone amplifier that is reminiscent of the brand’s successful E12 series. Both old and new generations of audiophiles would love the tried-and-tested combination of opamps (Muse02 + LME49600), matched with improved performance that results in higher signal-to-noise ratio and more balanced, better-sounding audio for your personal or professional listening needs.
The iFi AUDIO Nano iDSD Black Label is a pocket-sized USB DAC headphone amplifier that you can use with your handheld iOS or Android devices anytime and anywhere you need high-quality sound for your pair of headphones. A notable feature is its support for MQA format, which is a special audio technology developed by Meridian founder Bob Stuart to make hi-res audio streaming a reality — whether you’re streaming online or playing on your gaming console.
The FiiO X5 III is another popular choice among more serious music lovers. It’s an amplifier that features not one but two high-end, 32-bit AKM AK4490EN DACs (one per channel) that support all PCM and DSD formats. With new generation technologies built into it, you get only silky smooth sound that finely reproduces the music that you intend to listen to. You also get an intuitive touchscreen color display and an on-screen QWERTY keyboard!
IFI’s “flagship” Audio Pro ICAN offers studio-grade features, including user-selectable individual solid-state and tube amplification sections and a variety of line-level inputs and versatile outputs. It also boasts of a unique 6-deck volume potentiometer, custom made by ALPS Japan, that offers true balanced volume control.
It’s the most expensive piece of equipment on this list and is definitely not as lightweight and compact as the others, but all that extra hardware ensures premium audio quality even for your high-end headphones.
If you prefer a no-fuss, uncomplicated setup, the Rolls HV6 offers just that. This affordable headphone volume control doesn’t need a power supply and is capable of adjusting volume levels as long as it connects your headphone to your audio source. It has a variety of standard inputs (1/4″ TRS & Stereo XLR) and outputs (1/4″ TRS & 3.5mm), plus it measures just three inches long and is super lightweight, so it can easily be stored in your pocket and whipped out whenever you need it.
Next is the highly popular HP4 from Presonus. This unique headphone amplifier doubles as a distribution device that accommodates up to four headphones. It has four distinct outputs on the front, each offering signal control with a dedicated volume knob and up to 150mW of amplification. At the back of the device, you also get left and right inputs plus left and right monitor outputs, further increasing its versatility for studio use.
Like the PreSonus, the Rolls HA43 accommodates four headphone channels and offers slider volume controls for each. If you’re not too particular about specifications, like its frequency response and signal-to-noise ratio, and simply want an amp for multiple headphones, this is a much more affordable and lightweight option. Simply connect it to a continuous power source via an AC adapter and your main audio source via the 1/4″ TRS input, and you’re good to go!
The Behringer MA400 is a super compact, lightweight, and affordable personal monitoring headphone amplifier that you can bring anywhere. It has a versatile monitor input (1/4″ TRS or 1/4″ TS), two output connectors (1/4″ and 1/8″ TRS), and XLR connectors for your mic input and mic thru. Due to its small size, you can easily store it in your gear bag (or pocket!) for some pro-level audio monitoring on stage or inside the studio.
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