Amplifier with headphones: Best Headphone Amps of 2023

Best Headphone Amps of 2023 — Audiophile ON

Lists / Top 10’sNews

May 31

Written By Audiophile On

If you already have a good set of audiophile headphones and want to make sure you get every bit of performance out of them, you will want to invest in a good headphone amplifier.

Ensuring your headphones are sufficiently powered is critical to have the best sound quality possible.

Choosing the best amplifier isn’t easy. In the last few years, the portable audiophile market has been inundated with new models offering unique selling points, feature sets, and prices.

This has been a great year for buying amplifiers, with many new models hitting the market monthly. Competition from China has kept established brands on their toes, and the ultimate winner is the consumer, who now has a wider range of options at better prices than in previous years.

Of course, previously models have been great and are still relevant but we wanted to keep it fresh and update our list of the top 10 headphone amps for 2023 because there are some interesting models that you may have missed released over the past year.

Editors Choice – Best AMP 2023

BEST SOUNDING AMP

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What should you look for in a headphone amp?

The sound quality was the main priority when compiling this list of 2023’s best headphone amps. There is no point in having a good set of headphones if you attach them to an inferior amplifier. That said, several other factors came into play when we chose our recommendations.

Features and connectivity were essential during our amp tests. As a result, many of the units listed below have many different features or designs that different buyers might use.

As amplifier technology has advanced, many models integrate extra connectivity options such as balanced outputs and EQ functionality.

Price is another consideration that played a big role, as there was a point where some units didn’t get included because they didn’t do anything notably better than another amp yet cost significantly more cash.

Value for money, I think, is essential to everyone, and at a certain point, the law of diminishing returns kicks in, and it’s hard to recommend specific models.

Finally, build quality and design are worth considering. I don’t just want some monstrosity if something sits on our desk. I don’t need to be all bells and whistles, but a little thought going into the aesthetic goes a long way.

Best Headphone Amplifiers 2023

1. Burson Audio Conductor 3X Reference Amp

Features:

Multiple inputs and output options
Best sound in its class
DSD 512, DXD, PCM 768, MQA (Decoder)
Wireless streaming
Remote Control

Review

The Burson Conductor X3 Reference is a headphone amp for those that want the utmost, class-defining transparency. I became very familiar with it this year, and the more I use it, the more I am blown away by how good it is.

MQA and DSD (DSD512 and 38bit/786khz audio) are ready right out of the box. It is a fully balanced XLR amplifier with two dedicated ESS9038 DAC units (1 per channel). Burson has gone out with the global master timing implemented to reduce jitter and remove artifacts from the audio outputs.

Throw in a nice little remote and some of the best build quality, and you have an amp that is pricey but is a class leader in amplifier technology and refinement for headphones.

The purity of this amp is so high that it is almost a requirement to feed it excellent-quality master files and pair it will as set of high-resolution headphones from our best headphones list to do it justice.

It is a potent headphone amplifier with fantastic hardware and feature sets, making it worth every penny of its +$2000 RRP. Click the link below to find out more about this beauty.

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2. Schiit Magni 3

Features:

Adjustable gain (6db and 17db),
For headphones 16-600 Ohms
Extremely low THD 0. 001% @1V RMS
Compact design with a simple interface
Analog volume control

Review:

I have had my Schiit Magni 3 on my office desk for some time now, and I love it. This little guy is impossible to beat as a total package and with the price considered. The Schiit Magni is simple to operate, has a clean aesthetic, and has excellent build quality.

We love its ability to easily drive a wide range of headphones, and the sound is clear and well-balanced. A stellar little desktop amplifier that doesn’t break the bank. The highlight is the transparency of the sound and the uncolored nature that rivals amplifiers more than twice the price.

Schiit Website

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3. Willsenton R8 – Best Tube Amplifier for Headphones

Features:

Multiple Tube Configurations
Class A Amplification
Drives headphones 16-1000 ohms
Remote Control
Analogue Volume Control

Review:

The Willsenton R8 is not cheap but still feels like outstanding value, but it is one of the tube amps for headphones on the market. It’s one of these products that I cannot fault, and every time I listen, I am blown away by how detailed and full my music sounds. Something so special about tube amplification is when used with a good set of headphones.

The sound is rich and spacious, with that excellent tube amp presence providing slight warm analog tones to the midrange, and at the same time, it allows the low-end space to growl. We also liked the ability to switch the sound to multiple modes depending on the configuration of the tubes, which made it a very versatile headphone to tune with different headphones.

Power and features aside, if you have the cash, the Willsenton R8 is an excellent purchase that is hard to top.

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4. Sony TA-Zh2ES Signature Series Amp

Features:

Fantastic Build Quality
Excellent output support with Balanced/unbalanced options
DSD Supported
Class A amplification
Analog volume control

Review:

Sony just keeps pulling ahead of the traditional mainstream companies in the audio space through innovation and quality, and the TA-Zh2ES is just another example. With this amplifier, it’s about being simple and well-executed. That’s where its strengths lie. It’s powerful and extremely transparent and pairs wonderfully with Sony’s flagship headphones, the MDR-1ZR.

The sound is energetic and very lively. The soundstage is incredible and class-leading. It’s so spacious and clear that I recommend listening to some live recordings or concert tracks to absorb the full effect.

It does lend itself well to music with many high emphases on its top-leaning sound, so lovers of bass-heavy music might be represented better with other amps on this list. The Sony does good accurate bass, but there is no coloration to give an artificial bump to the low end.

Sony Website

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5. Auris Audio Nirvana

Features:

Top of line end game DAC & Amp combo
Reference level amplification
Looks stunning
Multiple sets of configurations
Large display and control

Review:

Ok, the Auris Audio Nirvana is the most expensive headphone amp on our list of the best models, is not cheap. Nothing from Auris is, but this kit will make headphones and speakers sing to the best of their ability.

I have only managed to spend a few months with a Nirvana but believe me when I say it’s one of these products that I wish I could justify owning.

The Nirvana amplifier is one of the best-sounding products I have ever had when paired with my Audeze LCD-5 or Focal Utopia. The sound is devoid of distortion, and the space given when paired with good headphones is second to none. As you would expect, it supports tracks up to 384khz and provides upsampling when needed.

I particularly like how it auto-switched the PCM and DSD signal, a very nice touch I have not seen before. I would only like a more intuitive interface out of the box.

Auris Audio Nirvana Website

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6. Sennheiser HDV820

Features:

DAC Chip – ESS 9028PRO SABRE DAC
Balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA inputs; Outputs: XLR3, XLR4, 6. 3mm (1/4-inch), dual 4.4mm Pentaconn (balanced) and stereo XLR analog pass-thru
Formats: PCM up to 32-bit / 384 kHz; DSD up to DSD256 / 12.3 MHz

Review:

This is Sennheiser’s highest-performing reference-grade headphone amplifier with integrated DAC. They went all out to produce something to compliment Sennheiser Headphones and create a truly cohesive listening experience for their customers.

When were paired it with our own HD820 and HD800s we never felt they were wanting more power even though both are considered to be hungry units. That allowed us to actualize the true potential lying within the headphones.

It adds no coloration at all and is one of the most transparent and clean-sounding headphone amps you can buy.

Sennheiser HDV820 Amp Website

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7. Topping DX7 Pro

Features:

By far the best price-to-performance ratio on this list
Outstanding performance similar to amp/DAC units up to $2000
Excellent connectivity options
Jaw-dropping sound

Review:

This is a real wake-up call to the mainstream brands because the topping matches their performance while costing half the price. The design might be boring, but the DX7 Pro is very well-made, small, and immensely powerful.

It’s feature-packed with awesome stuff like Bluetooth 5.0 (LDAC/AAC/SBC/APTX/APX LL/APX HD). ESS DAC ES9038PRO chip with optical, Coaxial, and AES inputs supporting 24bit 192khz.

This is our winner of DAC/Amp of the year in 2023 in the desktop category.

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8. Monolith Liquid spark – by Cavalli

Features:

Review:

The Monolith is an outstanding headphone amplifier designed by one of the world’s leading manufacturers. He has resisted getting all crazy with gadgets and add-ons; they have managed to keep the price down.

It’s quite a subtle design and hardly stands out when sitting on a desk, but the level of smoothness from this little amp is incredible.

You get tons of detail and extreme transparency for not much money spent, which we like.

The only thing we would want to see on a future version of the monolith would be the inclusion of a balanced output in a standard jack point option, given that these headphones are becoming more common over the past few years.

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9. Fosi BT20A

Features:

A lot of value for money
An excellent introduction to tube amps
Well-made and long-lasting

Review:

The Fosi T20 takes the Bravo Audio Ocean’s place as our pick for the best budget tube amplifier for headphones.

It has done a great job of introducing people to tube amps. It’s not the most transparent, and you won’t experience the warmth of a far pricier tube amp, but for what it is, it’s damm charming. Plus, you can again play with the tubes and do some upgrades to make the T20 sing.

It looks great on the desk, adds a little oomph if your headphones are struggling can be picked up very cheap year-round.

Buy on Amazon

10. Drop THX AAA One

Features:

Review:

I have a love-hate relationship with Monolith. Some of their products are simply outstanding, and many others fail to make an impact. Thankfully the THX AAA falls into the former camp.

It’s a classy, understated bit of kit that is beautifully made, and simple to operate. It uses a high-end DAC unit and Class A amplification to produce an extremely crisp sound. There is nothing detectable in the coloration of the sound, and it’s mighty.

Best portable headphone amp 2023

Originally we were going to write a full article on the best portable stand-alone amps, but now in 2023, you should be looking at a full-size DAP instead of running a brick amplifier off your smartphone.

I have a list of the best DAC’s for audiophiles in 2023, and in it, I touch on a few recommendations for running DAC and amp sections out with your phone’s internal architecture.

These options significantly improve sound quality, but they are not too intrusive to carry around daily. So while I suggest you go and read the full article, I will include a mini list of the best portable amplifiers for use with your smartphone below.

1. Dragonfly Cobalt by AudioQuest

The Dragonfly cobalt is an excellent little DAC and Amp unit with a design similar to a USB stick. It has support for 24-bit files and has a Sabre DAC unit inside giving off a very clean and detailed sound.

The amp unit is more than enough to support most portable headphones and IEM and the price is very good. This used to be the DAC and Amplifier we recommended for use with a smartphone but it has been superseded by the Nextdrive Spectra X which has virtually indistinguishable sound and a better design due to the integrated USB cable.

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2. Fiio Q7

It really is a revelation when you consider the extremely high level of technical performance and price when compared to high-end DAPs from the likes of Astell and Kern.

It has a fantastic build quality and is well connected, but most impressive. It is powerful enough to replace most desktop amps, thus greatly expanding its versatility with many high-end audiophile headphones.

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3. iFi Hip DAC

The ifi Hip DAC is a portable amplifier and DAC combo that punches well above its diminutive size. Its relativley simple in operation but has very high quality hardware on the inside that helps create its distinct sound.

I like the design and especially the volume pot located on the top. It has power to drive most full size headphones and supports high resolution file formats such as MQA and DSD.

Buy on Amazon

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Audiophile On

Audiophile On is dedicated to bringing reviews of high-end portable audio products with an easy-to-understand format. If you want better-sounding headphones, earphones, amps, and DACs we are sure to have something to suit your tastes and price points.

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Choosing a headphone amplifier!

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The first triodes were born a little over a hundred years ago, the first speakers a little less. As a matter of fact, from about the same time, the search for the most successful combinations of amplifiers and speakers began, or rather, the search for compromises that would mutually compensate for the existing design flaws. While the amplifiers were low-power, it was necessary to design highly sensitive acoustics, from which, in fact, the popularity of horn acoustic design arose at one time.

The development of semiconductor elements has led to the ability to significantly increase the power of amplifiers, and in speakers not to focus on sensitivity, but to expand the frequency response and increase the sound pressure. This battle of the “whale with the elephant” continues to this day, but something else is surprising – chronologically, headphones were born before the speakers, but for a long time no one was engaged in the task of selecting specialized amplifying equipment for them.

At 19In 1955, Peter Walker and David Williamson developed, and 2 years later launched into production, perhaps the most famous electrostatic speakers to date, the Quad ESL. A couple more years passed and at an exhibition in Tokyo, the Japanese company Stax introduced the world’s first electrostatic headphones, the SR-1. Since electrostats require hundreds of volts to work (and thousands for large speakers), the headphones were equipped with their own amplifier, perhaps one of the first such specialized devices. However, it was still far from universal recognition.

In the year of the final unification of Germany and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the German company Sennheiser introduced its most ultimatum audio system for individual music listening. The model bore the symbolic name Orpheus and consisted of HE90 headphones and a HEV90 tube amplifier. A total of 300 kits were made, and the retail value of this miracle of German engineering was almost 20 thousand marks. Despite the fact that this product could not be called mass-produced, it was after its appearance that headphone amplifiers fell like a cornucopia, at first purely for home use, and recently for mobile devices. Which one to choose?

If we are talking about an amplifier for working with a smartphone, then there are two main criteria – switching and energy consumption. Accordingly, if you are an iPhone follower, then you need a device with the ability to connect to the Lightning connector, but if you prefer Android, then USB Type C is the de facto standard there. As for the battery, everything is simple – the larger it is, the longer you can listen to your favorite music, and in some cases, recharge your phone from it.

You can discuss the advisability of using one or another digital-to-analog converter and amplifier for a long time, but in the end everything depends much more on a particular specific implementation, and not on the marking and characteristics of the components. Regarding the volume control, of course, the classic “twist” is much more convenient in field conditions, but sooner or later it can “rustle”, so the choice is yours. And finally, using an external amplifier to amplify the signal from the standard headphone output on a smartphone is at least ridiculous.

The positioning of the home headphone amplifier has undergone significant changes in recent years. Now this is not only and not so much a handy tool for building tight, high-resistance specimens, but a way to get high-quality sound that can, if necessary, replace a traditional stereo system. The best examples of this class of technology, in addition to the amplifier as such, most often on a discrete element base (and sometimes with lamps) and operating in class A mode, in addition to options for different load impedances, also provide digital-to-analog conversion, pre-amplifier functions, and sometimes streaming. In addition, various proprietary binaural signal processing schemes can be used to eliminate the well-known “in-the-head” sound effect.

When choosing one or another model, I would strongly advise you to be guided by the issue of compatibility with the most attractive headphones for you, and it is much easier to bring them to the store for listening than speakers.

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Central component: choosing an integrated amplifier

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Headphone amplifier – essence, meaning and the whole truth

A stereo or home theater system is still not the most common “beast” in our country, especially in the era of small and inexpensive wireless speakers. But almost everyone has their own headphones. Sooner or later, many music lovers begin to listen more deeply to the music or the sound of the film, paying attention to the smallest details. And a portable device (smartphone or laptop), of course, has great limitations, learning about which, everyone will encounter such a category of electronics as a headphone amplifier.

Moreover, there is even a whole caste of music lovers who fundamentally prefer high-end headphones to any acoustic systems. And there is a certain logic in this – the almost complete minimization of extraneous sound, whether it is the tramp of neighbors or the noise of the metropolis road outside the window. And your music will not interfere with anyone – a child is sleeping or just someone in the family is busy with something else. But this is not the main thing – the sound with a good headphone amplifier will not differ so much from the sound of a stereo system, but with its own unique specifics. So what to equip your corner of the egoist with? You will find all the details with background in this article.

Pictured is a classic example of using a headphone amplifier with a DAC (Klipsch Heritage Headphone Amp) in conjunction with a laptop and high-end headphones (Klipsch Heritage HP-3)

Directly into the ears. Time of the first amplifiers

Listening to music through headphones arose and developed almost simultaneously and in parallel with listening through speakers. Also, for a very long time in the Hi-Fi industry, almost no one thought about how to make the sound through headphones as high quality as possible. Amplifiers, stereo receivers or other sound-reproducing equipment *+ had a jack on the front panels that plugged headphones. Where, in fact, the sound signal appeared in this headphone jack, no one (or almost no one) from music lovers thought.

The signal to this connector came from the output of the same power amplifiers that worked on the speakers – when the headphone cable plug was inserted into this jack, the speakers were disconnected from the amplifier output using a simple mechanical disconnector. Of course, the power level given off by the amplifier would be too high in this case – one awkward movement with the volume control and the music lover risked being left not only without headphones, but also without ears. Therefore, the signal level from the amplifier output was lowered using the so-called resistive divider before being fed to the headphone jack. It was a simple decision, but the sound quality (if we talk about serious listening to music) was not the best effect. However, as long as headphones were perceived as an auxiliary way to listen to music, and their sound quality was not too high, it was quite acceptable.

Pictured is a classic tube amplifier for acoustics. Modern analogue, model TAGA Harmony TTA-1000

Special amplification for headphones

With the growth of the sound quality of headphones and their popularity among music lovers, the task arose of creating special amplifiers for them. In addition to low power, safe for hearing, such amplifiers had to be designed to work with a relatively high-impedance load, which is usually headphones. And, finally, the nature of the sound of these amplifiers had to take into account the direct (and not from a distance of a couple of meters) sound hitting the ears of a music lover – noise and distortion were unacceptable here.

The photo shows an example of the simplest headphone amplifier as a separate independent device. Modern model Pro-Ject Head Box S2

Headphone amplifiers have gone through all the same stages of development as classic Hi-Fi amplifiers. There are tube, transistor and hybrid designs on the market today, operating in various amplification classes in push-pull or single-cycle circuits. You can read more about the types of amplifiers in this article: https://www.overton.ru/publications/articles/usiliteli-i-hi-fi-komponenty/hi-fi-usilitel-kak-eto-rab…

Headphone and amplifier matching

Perhaps the only specific headphone amplifier at present, which has practically no analogues in the class of acoustic amplifiers, are tube designs without the use of output transformers. As we already know, in traditional amplifiers, a transformer is needed to match the relatively high resistance of the output tube (hundreds of ohms) with low speaker impedance (4 – 8 ohms). For headphones whose resistance can be 100 ohms or more, there is no need for such a transformer, especially when using certain circuit solutions. This greatly simplified the creation of tube headphone amplifiers, which led to many similar home-made transformerless designs.

In general, the task of matching the amplifier with headphones, the impedance of which, depending on the specific model, can be in very wide limits – from tens to hundreds of ohms, is not such a simple engineering task. While low-impedance headphones need more current and less voltage from an amplifier, high-impedance headphones need a high supply voltage with a relatively modest current consumption. Incidentally, this is due to the fact that headphones for portable equipment usually have a small impedance. The built-in battery of a smartphone or a portable player is simply not able to provide the amplifier with a large supply voltage, and therefore there is nowhere to take a significant voltage at the output.

For this reason, high-end headphone amplifiers usually have special switches that can be used to optimize their performance with headphones with different impedances. Devices without such a switch usually have a recommended headphone impedance range, which should be taken into account. And often the different quality (or character) of the sound of the same amplifier when working with two pairs of headphones depends precisely on the differences in their impedance. And, of course, as in the case of acoustics, the higher the sensitivity of the headphones, the less input power they need to get a truly balanced and rich sound.

Pictured is Klipsch’s high-end DAC headphone amp, Heritage Headphone Amp, where we can see the headphone adaptability

The uniqueness of headphones and the secrets of amplifiers

The way we hear music through headphones is very different from listening through speakers. The sound from a pair of speakers, spaced apart in space relative to each other and the listener according to the rules of the classic triangle, forms a stereo image in the room, which is located in front of us. The uniformity of this picture (the absence of a dip in the middle) arises from the fact that the sound of a pair of speakers is partially mixed with each other (of course, the quality of the sound stage is affected by the system itself and the skill of the sound engineer). In this case, the sound from the right speaker enters the left ear with a slight delay, and vice versa. Then psychoacoustics is included in the work and our brain completes that very sound stage.

In the case of using headphones, each ear receives a signal from only one stereo channel, isolated from the other. This is how the “sound inside the head” effect arises, because of which many music lovers dislike listening to music in headphones (and vice versa). To combat this effect, amplifier circuits sometimes use partial mixing of signals between stereo channels or their different processor processing. However, in most cases, when using really high-quality headphones and an amplifier, this effect simply ceases to be noticed very quickly.

The photo shows the rich inner world of high-end headphone amps (Klipsch Heritage Headphone Amp model)

Warning – high voltage! About “electrostats”

There is also a very special type of headphones on the market that needs specific amplification. These are electrostatic models, the sound in which is created by a thin metallized membrane vibrating in an electric field. To operate such an emitter, in addition to the input signal, you need a high polarizing voltage of several hundred volts. It is this voltage that the amplifier for the electrostats should create, in addition to supplying the actual musical signal to them. Due to the different characteristics of electrostatic headphones, they are often already equipped with an appropriate amplifier.

Audio for the egoist

Improving the sound quality of headphones and amplifiers for them has led to a significant increase in the popularity of listening to music in this way. Often, music lovers do not put classic stereo systems at home at all, limiting themselves to a pair of high-end headphones. The industry, of course, took into account this circumstance, a variety of devices received their built-in headphone amplifiers – from DACs to turntables. The quality level of such integrated circuits is constantly growing and often they can compete with individual devices of a fairly high class. However, a separate headphone amplifier is the most flexible solution, allowing you to listen to high quality music from a variety of sources without having to place a pair of speakers in the room.

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Choosing a headphone amplifier!

Headphone amplifier – essence, meaning and the whole truth

Directly into the ears. Time of the first amplifiers

Special amplification for headphones

Headphone and amplifier matching

The uniqueness of headphones and the secrets of amplifiers

Warning – high voltage! About “electrostats”

Audio for the egoist