Top 10 Best Desktop Headphone Amplifier

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You can trust our selection for Desktop Headphone Amplifier Reviews. Because We have worked hard studying and analyzing 55873 reviews for Desktop Headphone Amplifier and rating them. It was a difficult job to list only ten products for Desktop Headphone Amplifier where thousands of them available online. I hope it will help you to take final decision for Best Desktop Headphone Amplifier.

Best Desktop Headphone Amplifier
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Comparison Chart for Best Desktop Headphone Amplifier

55873 number of user reviews were available online, which we scanned to find the Desktop Headphone Amplifier. Hopefully, our experts suggestions available in this article will help you find your ideal choice.

NoProductScoreAction
1Drop THX AAA ONE Headphone Amplifier - Desktop Amp with Single-Ended RCA Inputs and Preamp Output9.8Check Prize On Amazon
2iFi Zen CAN Signature - Balanced Desktop Headphone Amp and Preamp with 4.4mm Outputs9.6Check Prize On Amazon
3FiiO E10K USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier (Black)9.6Check Prize On Amazon
4Schiit Magni Heresy 100% Op-Amp-Based Headphone Amp and Preamp9.4Check Prize On Amazon
5Douk Audio U3 Mini Class A Headphone Amplifier HiFi Desktop Home Stereo Amp DC5V9.4Check Prize On Amazon
6Monolith Liquid Platinum Headphone Amplifier - Designed by Alex Cavalli - 3.6 Watts Per Channel9.2Check Prize On Amazon
7Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M Stereo Digital to Analogue Converter DAC Preamp9.2Check Prize On Amazon
8EPOS - Sennheiser GSX 1000 Gaming Audio Amplifier / External Sound Card8.4Check Prize On Amazon
9Drop + THX AAA 789 Linear Headphone Amplifier - Desktop Amp with Balanced XLR and Single-Ended RCA Inputs8.4Check Prize On Amazon
10Fostex USA Fostex Desktop Headphone Amplifier with DAC Balanced Output (HP-A4BL)8.4Check Prize On Amazon

Table Of Content:

1. Drop THX AAA ONE Headphone Amplifier – Desktop Amp with Single-Ended RCA Inputs and Preamp Output

  • STREAMLINED ESSENTIALS: We teamed up with THX to build a leaner version of our beloved 789 amplifier.
  • STREAMLINED AMPLIFICATION, ULTRA-LOW DISTORTION: Designed for entry-level listeners and enthusiasts in search of a refined feature set, a single-ended output and an all-new preamp output, which is perfect for connecting to powered speakers.
  • THX AAA TECHNOLOGY — THX’s legendary AAA technology delivers detailed amplification with next to no distortion, as well as three gain stages to drive headphones at all impedance levels.
  • CAREFULLY CALIBRATED GAIN: Select from three carefully calibrated gain stages to drive sensitive IEMs, high-impedance dynamic headphones, and everything in between.
  • PREAMP OUTPUT: Switch to an all-new preamp output and pair the Drop + THX AAA ONE with powered speakers or a power amp for crystal-clear preamplification.

2. iFi Zen CAN Signature – Balanced Desktop Headphone Amp and Preamp with 4.4mm Outputs

  • SUPERIOR ENGINEERING – Extremely low distortion and noise from a circuit design inspired by our flagship headphone amp which uses a dedicated input stage that level matches to your source, allowing the signal to flow freely through the Class A output stage, literally music to your ears.
  • POWER REALIZED – Maximize the performance of your headphones, more than just getting loud, but realizing the full dynamic range of the drivers and experiencing soft vocals as well as heart pounding drums, never missing a beat.
  • IMMERSIVE SOUND – Enhanced with our signature analog signal processing to deliver accurate and more natural bass frequencies through XSpace, and headphone corrections optimized for Sennheiser HD 6XX headphones.
  • THE INS AND OUTS – Features both a balanced 4.
  • ULTIMATE POWER – Every purchase of the ZEN CAN Signature includes the iPower2 power supply.

3. FiiO E10K USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier (Black)

  • LOW NOISE FLOOR — The unit has an optimized low-pass filter and selectable bass boost circuit that are designed for a low noise floor in all states.
  • DAC Chip—The Internal DAC chip is a PCM102 and can handle PCM files up to 24-bit/96 kHz while improving audio quality via a linear filter, reduced delay and internal silence on changing tracks, and no phase shifts.
  • USB CONNECTION — Connects to your laptop via its micro USB connection, which also provides it with power.
  • PORTABLE DESIGN — A sleek, brushed aluminum shell and chassis allow for durable, portable use.
  • Unbelievably low noise floor] Optimized active low-pass and BASS circuit designs ensure lower noise floor in any situation, so your music is truly played back faithfully.

4. Schiit Magni Heresy 100% Op-Amp-Based Headphone Amp and Preamp

  • Utilizes super high quality parts, including a multiple paralleled output stage with feedforward.

5. Douk Audio U3 Mini Class A Headphone Amplifier HiFi Desktop Home Stereo Amp DC5V

  • Adopting innovative circuit design, DC 5-20V wide input working voltage, the amplifier circuit can always work at a high voltage of 26V, and the background noise index is excellent.
  • Adopting original TI-NE5532 classical op amp and transistor expanding current circuit, using 1300mA large current output transistor working in class A status, with ultra-low distortion, and the sound is warm and delicate, full and mellow.
  • Pluggable op amp socket design, convenient to upgrade different op amps and bring much DIY fun and playability for audiophiles.
  • Mini size with exquisite appearance and most cost-effective, brings big surprise for all audiophiles, easily to drive most headphones in the market, providing larger power, better sound field and details, very suitable for home/office desltop audio system use.
  • With strong drive power, easily to drive most high-impedance headphones such as: HD580/HD600/HD650/K701/K702/Q701/DT880/T70/T90/SR225/SR325/RS1e.

6. Monolith Liquid Platinum Headphone Amplifier – Designed by Alex Cavalli - 3.6 Watts Per Channel

  • LUMINOUS TUBES.
  • SINGLE ENDED and BALANCED INPUTS and OUTPUTS: With multiple inputs and outputs for balanced and single ended operation and easy front panel input selection, the Liquid Platinum is compatible with just about everything.
  • KEEPS ITS COOL.
  • YOU’RE PROTECTED.
  • It also includes a connection delay to the headphones and an active offset detector, just in case an internal fault or source fault applies too much DC voltage to the output, it immediately disconnects your headphones.

7. Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M Stereo Digital to Analogue Converter DAC Preamp

  • AMAZING SOUND CONVERSION.
  • ARTIST APPROVED AUDIO.
  • POWERFUL PROCESSING.
  • EASY CONNECTING.
  • TECH SPECS – Dual ESS ES9028Q2M DACs, Frequency Response 10Hz to 50kHz (±1dB), Max Power Consumption 12W, Signal to Noise Ratio >115dB (A-Weighted), Digital Filter: Selectable (Fast – Slow – Short Delay), Dimensions 2.

8. EPOS - Sennheiser GSX 1000 Gaming Audio Amplifier / External Sound Card

  • Binaural Rendering Engine With 7.
  • Quick Setting Changes – Save Up To 4 Customized Sound Settings On The Led Touch Panel That Allows One-Touch Mode Switch, Also Between Headphone And Speaker Listening And Make Fast Adjustments With A Large Aluminum Volume Ring.
  • Eq Settings – Get Precise Control Of Your Game Audio With A Dedicated Dac Chip And Eq Presets.
  • Sidetone- Sidetone Control Lets You Adjust The Loudness Of Your Own Voice In Your Headset: You Know What You Are Saying, Tune In To Your Teammates.

9. Drop + THX AAA 789 Linear Headphone Amplifier – Desktop Amp with Balanced XLR and Single-Ended RCA Inputs

  • The World’S Most Linear Amplifier — Announced At Ces 2018, The Drop + Thx Achromatic Audio Amplifier (Thx Aaa) 789 Is A Linear Bipolar Amplifier With Feed-Forward Error Correction.
  • Fatigue-Free Listening — Made In Collaboration With Thx Ltd , It Features The Company’S Groundbreaking Thx Aaa And Feed-Forward Topology, Which Reduce Distortion By 20 To 40 Db For Realistic, Fatigue-Free Listening.
  • Thx Aaa Technology — Capable Of Driving Any Headphones, Including High-Impedance, High-Current, And High-Sensitivity Types, The Thx Aaa 789 Amp Transmits The Original Audio In Its Purest Possible Form.
  • Additional Features — Each Channel Of The Thx Aaa 789 Amp Is Equipped With A Low-Bias Class-Ab Main Amplifier And An Auxiliary Error-Correction Amplifier, The Former Providing The Majority Of The Power And The Latter Providing A Realtime Low-Power Error-Correction Signal.

10. Fostex USA Fostex Desktop Headphone Amplifier with DAC Balanced Output (HP-A4BL)

  • Equipped with 4-pin XLR balanced output; 1/4-inch unbalanced output
  • Newly developed audio-grade capacitors; highly precise crystal with low phase noise
  • Playback 24bit/192kHz PCM and 11.2MHz DSD audio; high performance DAC (Barrbrown PCM1792A)
  • Asynchronous transfer up to 192kHz/24bit compatible with USB Audio 2.0
  • HI/LO gain selection (10dB) for wider selection of headphones; digital filter selecting roll-off characteristics and cut-off frequencies.

How To Choose The Best Desktop Headphone Amplifier

Does the thought of finding a great Desktop Headphone Amplifier stress you out? Has your mind been juggling between choices when it comes to buying Desktop Headphone Amplifier in general, specifically regarding which model to choose?
If that’s the case, know that you’re not alone. Many people find it tough to buy the perfect Desktop Headphone Amplifier for themselves. We understand the stress associated with the buying process!

Since you’re here, you are obviously curious about Desktop Headphone Amplifier. You’ve been bombarded with information, so you need to find a reputable source with credible options before you make any decisions on which product would be best for your needs.

There are many sources that’ll provide you with that information- buying guides or ratings websites, word-of-mouth testimonials from friends or family members, online forums where users share their personal experiences, product reviews specifically found all over the internet and YouTube channels. Only thorough research will ensure that you get the right product.

But that’s not always easy, right? That's why we've taken time to compile a list of the best Desktop Headphone Amplifier in today's market, on your behalf, so that there will be no more worries for you.

How did we come up with the list, you ask? How did we create this buying guide?

  • First, our algorithms collected as much information available about these products from trusted sources.
  • We employed both Artificial Intelligence and large data volume to validate all collected information.
  • Then our AI ranked them on their quality-to-price ratio using industry-standard criteria that let us pick the best Desktop Headphone Amplifier currently on the market!
The products aren’t chosen randomly. We consider several criteria before assembling a list. Some of the criteria are discussed below-

  1. Brand Value: What happens when you go for a not-so-reputable brand just because the price seems cheap? Well, the chance of getting a short-lasting product goes higher. That’s because the renowned brands have a reputation to maintain, others don’t.


Top Desktop Headphone Amplifier brands try to offer some unique features that make them stand out in the crowd. Thus hopefully, you’ll find one ideal product or another in our list.

  1. Features: You don’t need heaps of features, but useful ones. We look at the features that matter and choose the top Desktop Headphone Amplifier based on that.
  2. Specifications: Numbers always help you measure the quality of a product in a quantitative way. We try to find products of higher specifications, but with the right balance.
  3. Customer Ratings: The hundreds of customers using the Desktop Headphone Amplifier before you won’t say wrong, would they? Better ratings mean better service experienced by a good number of people.
  4. Customer Reviews: Like ratings, customer reviews give you actual and trustworthy information, coming from real-world consumers about the Desktop Headphone Amplifier they used.
  5. Seller Rank: Now, this is interesting! You don’t just need a good Desktop Headphone Amplifier, you need a product that is trendy and growing in sales. It serves two objectives. Firstly, the growing number of users indicates the product is good. Secondly, the manufacturers will hopefully provide better quality and after-sales service because of that growing number.
  6. Value For The Money: They say you get what you pay for. Cheap isn’t always good. But that doesn’t mean splashing tons of money on a flashy but underserving product is good either. We try to measure how much value for the money you can get from your Desktop Headphone Amplifier before putting them on the list.
  7. Durability: Durability and reliability go hand to hand. A robust and durable Desktop Headphone Amplifier will serve you for months and years to come.
  8. Availability: Products come and go, new products take the place of the old ones. Probably some new features were added, some necessary modifications were done. What’s the point of using a supposedly good Desktop Headphone Amplifier if that’s no longer continued by the manufacturer? We try to feature products that are up-to-date and sold by at least one reliable seller, if not several.
  9. Negative Ratings: Yes, we take that into consideration too! When we pick the top rated Desktop Headphone Amplifier on the market, the products that got mostly negative ratings get filtered and discarded.
These are the criteria we have chosen our Desktop Headphone Amplifier on. Does our process stop there? Heck, no! The most important thing that you should know about us is, we're always updating our website to provide timely and relevant information.

Since reader satisfaction is our utmost priority, we have a final layer of filtration. And that is you, the reader! If you find any Desktop Headphone Amplifier featured here Incorrect, irrelevant, not up to the mark, or simply outdated, please let us know. Your feedback is always welcome and we’ll try to promptly correct our list as per your reasonable suggestion.

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