Top 5 Headphone Amplifiers under $200 (2015)
Published:We hate to break it to you, but those multi-hundred dollar headphones you just bought are NOT giving you the best possible sonic experience by themselves right now! In order to get the most out of your expensive, audiophile cans, you NEED a dedicated headphone amplifier to account for the weaknesses inherent in whatever source you are plugging your headphones into. We present you with our five favorite amps that won’t break the bank.
1) Cayin C5 Portable HIFI Audio Headphone Amplifier
- Rated output power: 800mW + 800mW (32 ohm load)
- Japanese original ALPS volume potentiometer, durable and reliable, to ensure quality
- Size: 136mm x 63mm x 15mm; Weight: ~185g
- Can be used as a mobile power source to charge other mobile devices
- Aluminum shell effectively shields interference
2) Creative Sound Blaster E5 High-Resolution Headphone Amplifier with Bluetooth
- A DAC with 120dB signal to noise ratio (SNR) that supports up to 24-bit/192kHz can deliver bit-perfect, true-to-original audio reproduction
- Audiophile Grade, Best-in-class headphone amplifier enables you to power all the headphones in the market with clarity and details
- Portable Digital Connectivity with Mobile Devices allows you to stream high quality, lossless audio digitally from your mobile devices while on-the-go
- The fully customizable SBX Pro Studio suite of technologies gives you unprecedented audio realism when playing back compressed audio; turn off when listening to lossless audio so that you can enjoy bit-perfect audio
- Features built-in NFC technology for one-touch, fuss-free Bluetooth pairing. Simply tap and connect your Bluetooth device and enjoy high quality wireless digital audio streaming
3) ART HeadAmp6 Pro 6 Channel Professional Headphone Amplifier With EQ
- Delivers six independent high-power headphone outputs, each with bass and treble controls with dual function pan/mix control per channel
- Stereo aux input for each channel and multiple monitoring settings per channel
- Precision eight-segment LED bar graph per channel
- Available via Amazon Prime (Prime Day is TOMORROW)
- Parallel main outputs for multiple unit use. Each channel also offers an extensive feature set and routing capabilities that make the HeadAmp6 Pro the ultimate headphone monitoring and distribution system
4) AUNE B-1 Class A Portable Phone/Headphone Amp
- Powerful Class A headphone amp and compatible with most phones
- Adjustable gain and current output control
- Beautifully built with a great appearance
- Can be used with any laptop and most other electronic devices
- Smooth and direct tonal response featuring high quality components
5) HIFIMAN EF2A USB Headphone Amplifier
- Warmth, power, resolution and the golden glow of tubes
- Simple chassis with an aluminum faceplate and an acrylic top plate with vacuum tubes on top, great design
- Sports both a stereo analog input and a USB B-type input
- Provides USB input and features 16 bit 44.1 kHz performance
- An affordable alternative in a tube-driven headphone amplifier
