Even the most wet-behind-the-ears music lover can tell you: headphones plugged directly into a smart phone or portable music player simply won’t cut the mustard in the sound department. And now the technology exists which means no one should ever have to do that again! The time has never been better for hi-fi lovers to grab their cans off their stand, and put them through their paces in the real world. The same rules apply in the portable-amp realm as they do in the stationary, the higher end the headphone, the higher end the amp in conjunction needs to be. Well, in order to make the most out of it all, of course!
We mean it when we say, the options have never been broader.No matter what your budget, there is a portable, pocket-sized headphone amp that will make your on-the-road listening experience an absolute joy. Here are just a few examples that we love the look and sound of – and we know that you will too!
That sweet little nugget of high fidelity goodness is the FiiO E11k Kilimanjaro 2 Portable Headphone Amplifier/DAC. It hasn’t been out very long, but it’s already proven an enormous hit amongst our customers. Its tiny size and it’s very tiny price tag is what grabs their attention, but it’s the surprising loud and and full-bodied sound that makes them leave with one of their own. With more power, an all aluminium body and an expensive looking finish, the Kilimanjaro both feels and acts double its price. The built in DAC enhances while the advanced pre and power amps take care of the rest beautifully. And it’s extremely road-friendly too: the nuilt-in rechargeable 1400 mAH battery provides approximately 16 hours of operation on a four-hour charge via mini USB port. That’s probably more than your player and phone’s batteries combined!
You know that feeling when you love something so much you simply have to have it all to yourself? That’s how we felt when we first experienced the Lehmann Audio Traveller. So we took it for ourselves! And when we say ‘took’ we mean made it an exclusive product to us, of course. This is the first portable by the amplification specialists Lehmann, who condensed their decades of experience in the field into something small, yet mighty! This is a versatile piece of kit that plays nicely with all sources and players. It can even be used as a pre-amp for active speakers! It boasts up to 20 hours of battery life, and sounds absolutely divine. It’s products like this one that make you realise that pocket-sized hi-fi is more than just a pipe dream. It’s here!
And here we have the product that has whipped us – and the rest of the hi-fi world – into a crazy portable hi-f0 frenzy! The long awaited Oppo HA-2 hit our shelves just a few weeks ago. But it was causing a sensation long before we got the chance to unbox it and have a listen for ourselves! Oppo as an amplifier-manufacturer began a single product ago with the phenomenally successful HA-1 separate headphone amplifier (a real favourite among several of the Audio Affair crew). Not only does it look good (and sound as good as it looks) it boasts a few other nifty features, such as OPPO VOOC rapid charging with 3000mAh lithium battery built-in. This incredibly advanced battery supports power bank functionality. This means you can charge your mobile device from the HA-2 itself, a true companion for music on the go.
See? Told you. Hi-fi is no longer a game that can only be played on the inside. Now, the world is your hi-fi oyster: the gym, the train, the park… or even your desk. The above are so good you won’t need to invest in a desktop headphone amp anymore. And if that isn’t a testament to how far we’ve come, I don’t know what is!