Headphone Amplifiers@kemela

New headphones not sounding that great? Just like speakers, sound quality is only as good as the signal and power you send to them. Enjoy your headphones/earbuds to the max in a headphone/earbud based system by using the right headphone amplifier or DAC with capable headphone output.

Why you might need a Headphone Amplifer

The provision of a headphone socket in a receiver, integrated amplifier or preamplifier does not ensure compatibility with all types of headphones. In many commodity receivers, a resistor attenuated tap of the main amplifier drives the headphone socket with a higher output impedance than the headphones resulting in limited power output, higher noise levels, weak bass and a rolled off treble.

Higher level High Fidelity integrated amplifiers may have a dedicated headphone amplifier which will better drive a range of headphone and earbud types (except electrostatic headphones). Manaufacturers have to decide how much of the cost of the product goes into a dedicated headphone amplifier that many users would not use.

With the growth of personal listening, manufacturers have produced more high-end earbuds and headphones that have potentially very high sound quality. The investment needed in the headphone amplifier and DAC to hear the potential sound quality available is likely to exceed the cost of the headphones.

Headphone Amplifers with DACs and vice versa

As the DAC inside a laptop is not likely to be engineered for High Fidelity sound, it's likely that both headphone amplication and a DAC will be required. If it's a work station or home audio situation, the best result from headphones will be achieved with a headphone amplifier that includes a high quality DAC. For portable situations using earbuds or low impendance earphones, a transportable DAC with a decent headphone output will give great results especially if the transportable device has a well-designed long-lasting power feed.

We carry some very high-end DACs and pro-audio headphone amplifiers for serious headphone users. In digital only systems, as the headphone amplifier has a volume control, power amplifiers and speakers or powered speakers can be used without the need for a preamplifier.

Check your Headphone's Impedance

Low impedance headphones (under 20-30 Ω) are easier to drive compared to higher impedance headphones (that can get as high as 600 Ω) which will need much more power. The reason higher impedance headphones are harder to drive is simply because a voicecoil with fewer turns of fine wire is lightweight with lower inertia therefore permitting a faster response and the ability to reproduce higher frequencies and transients. Low impendance headphones have more turns of thicker wire lowering resistance and making them more efficient but higher mass and inertia limits the high frequency response.

Proof is in the listening

Bring your current cans along for a demo. We currently do not offer headphones for sale.