Learn about the new product Mini headphone amp

What is an box power amplifier？

Headphone amplifier is the abbreviation of headphone power amplifier. The head amp box is a power amplifier specially designed for headphones, mainly used to promote high-impedance headphones in the middle and high end

The role of amp

Amplify the audio signal: Increase the output power to propel the amp box. The earphone itself is driven by current. The output power of the general audio source player is limited and cannot provide enough output power, so the headphone amplifier is required for driving. When listening to music, high volume does not mean high thrust. Sometimes your large headphones hear a large volume under the direct drive of a certain mp3, but the sound is very bad. This is distortion, so you need an amp amplification of the signal power is performed to drive the project headbox.

Improvement of sound quality: The sound quality of mobile phones is determined by the internal dac and operational amplifier circuit, but at present, except for a few hifi power ampli that use better quality decoding and amplifying chips, the integrated circuits of most mobile phones are very cheap; at this time, portable amp switch box are naturally a good choice. The design circuit of the amp itself is different, which will lead to small changes to the original signal, and the sound from the amp will cause changes in the sense of hearing, so the amp also has the effect of adjusting the sound and sense of hearing.

Avoid interference: The internal lines of the mobile phone are complex, and it is easy to have signal interference when various lines are placed in a small space. However, due to the shielding isolation of the metal casing, the signal interference of the portable amp will be much smaller than that of the mobile phone.

The impedance of ordinary headphones is generally 16-32 ohms. In order to obtain better low-frequency response, high-end hifi fever headphones are often designed with high-density coils and long strokes. At this time, the impedance of the headphones will be as high as 200-600 ohms. Listening or power amplifiers are designed with low-impedance output. When encountering such high-impedance headphones, the output power will be doubled and the frequency response curve will be destroyed, because the final power tube at this time does not work in the linear region. A headphone amplifier can accommodate these high impedance headphones. At the same time, the headphone amplifier can modify the sound quality and tone on the basis of improving the output power to form a personality. .

Classification of amps

According to the classification of matching headphones, one is for high-impedance, low-sensitivity headphones, which are difficult to drive with ordinary devices. If the existing audio source, such as portable audio-visual equipment cannot be pushed, then it is necessary to purchase a headphone amplifier to push the equipment or further improve the sound quality. The other is for low-impedance, high-sensitivity earphones. Such earphones are mainly used in low-impedance devices such as walkmans. Although they do not need amps to promote, they can also be used to improve the output sound quality of the audio source, so as to achieve greater to play the effect of headphones.

According to the volume of amps, there are two types of amps: Desktop amps and portable amps. Desktop amps are generally larger and suitable for use at home. The portable headphone amp is small in size, can be matched with portable devices, and has a large volume.

Amp selection

In daily life, we choose amps mainly based on the following three points: Audio signal, compatibility, size and battery life.

Audio signal: At the beginning, the headphone jack of all smartphones was a 3.5mm round hole (analog output), and then there were mobile phones (digital output) with a charging port and a headphone port. Currently, these types of mobile phones mainly include all models after iphone 7. , letv, nut pro, xiaomi mi 6, etc. Since the analog signal output by the 3.5mm earphone has already been amplified inside the mobile phone, then the sound signal of the amp is connected to the second amplification. Although it can feel that the volume has increased, the noise has also increased. For the source the sound is instead a degradation. Therefore, if you want to improve the sound quality, the portable amp must be connected to an audio source device with digital signal output, so that both the sound quality and the audio signal can be improved.

Compatibility: As mentioned above, lightning and type-c cables have good compatibility with portable amps. For other mobile phones with 3.5mm audio interface, it is necessary to consider whether they support otg function. Only mobile phones that support otg function can work with amp compatible. So make sure your phone is compatible with the amp you choose before you buy it, or you'll be embarrassed to buy it back.

Size and battery life: For daily use with mobile phones, it is necessary to choose an amp that is relatively small and easy to carry with the sound. And with its own battery, generally speaking, the battery life of the amp will be between 5-10 hours. In addition, the sound characteristics of each amp are different. It is best to compare the environment under audition conditions to choose the most suitable equipment for you.