10 Favorite Solid-State Headphone Amplifiers
This list is probably more subject to re-thinking than any I’ve posted so far, so don’t be surprised if I revise it … once or twice.
In most cases, since my primary DACs also have direct headphone outputs (and in the case of my TOTL DACs, they’re the same output as the line-outs), I don’t typically bother using solid-state amplifiers for “listening for pleasure” … which is a definite factor here.
- SPL Phonitor X (XE was indistinguishable to me)
- ECP DSHA3 (or especially DSHA3 F if you’re a Focal Utopia user)
- Benchmark HPA4
- SimAudio MOON Neo 430HA
- Pass Labs HPA-1
- Eddie Current Black Widow (“MK II”)
- HeadAmp GS-X Mk2 (w/ Alps RK50) [Not for brighter cans, though.]
- Schiit Jotunheim
- Drop THX AAA 789
- Schiit Magni 3+
Among the THX AAA amplifiers, excepting the Benchmark, I liked the Drop version the best. I have a soft-spot for the original Ragnarok (both in general, and over the Ragnarok 2, at least for headphone usage). And if we got into more stuff around the Magni 3+ level, I’d take the Heresy version over all of the other <= 0.000X% THD+N inexpensive options …