The higher the quality of the headphones, the more they require an adequate supply. And there, the headphone amplifiers can bring a lot of improvements. They provide a more powerful tone, which does good to the ears in many ways.
Why is a headphone DAC needed?
Most devices do not properly amplify the sound for headphones, especially for simple devices — smartphones, tablets, or other portable devices.
The software player opens the music file and transfers it to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), which converts the streaming digital signal to an analog one. But this signal is too weak to swing the membrane of the headphones or speakers. Therefore, they use a special device that amplifies the analog signal – an amplifier.
What benefits will I get?
The purchase of a headphone amplifier is a few audio problems.
Firstly, they allow you to get more power at the output, but this does not mean that they simply amplify the sound and add distortion, not at all. Sound can be cleared because the limitations of the built-in amplifier are bypassed.
Secondly, since modern devices allow you to give sound as it is, and not just in analog form, external amplifiers acquire their processors for processing it (DACs) and, as a result, give a completely different sound, it not only has a larger margin in volume but also perceived completely differently.
Depending on your budget and perceptions of beauty, you can achieve very good headphone sound, and spend less on it than even a separate player costs, in which the sound characteristics will be the same or even worse.
