ARTHeadAMP4 Eight Output Stereo Headphone Amplifier

I rarely write reviews for Amazon, unless I find a product that is truly worthy of mention (good or bad). I am somewhat of an audiophile. I take my music very seriously and I am VERY picky about sound. Until recently, I was using a portable headphone amp made by Fiio (which I will continue to use with my iPod while on the road). I wanted a good amp that could hook into my Denon 165 watt receiver, that would deliver great sound and would drive my phones well. I did my research and chose this ART HeadAmp4.Quite honestly folks, this amp has been such a great improvement, that I don't know how I got by without it before. This amp is the real deal. It amplifies your headphones in a way that improves the sound stage so much, you will be very pleasantly surprised.I have about twenty pairs of headphones. Some of them have been more difficult to drive than others, and my receiver alone was not giving them the boost needed to get the most out of them. This is no longer an issue. I am now getting so much more out of my headphones....from bass to mids, to overall sound stage........the difference is amazing. My wife is not nearly as critical as I am when it comes to sound. I had her listen to some songs utilizing just my receiver, and then switching to the amp. She was floored at the difference in sound. It's just so much more lush and warm, with the use of the ART.The amp is well constructed; a good portion of it is metal. It allows for the use of eight headphones, and it can easily drive them all at once.........trust me.....I have already tried it. There are eight inputs on the rear of the unit....four small and four standard size inputs. The four knobs on the front of this unit allow you to adjust the amount of amplification on each of the four channels.I keep my knobs at around 5........I don't want to blow my head off, or damage my ears, by moving it much past that level. Others may want more amplification, but this setting is perfect for me. Setup is super simple on this ART unit. Plug the amp into the electrical outlet, and run a decent patch cord from your headphone jack on your receiver, to the input port on the back of the ART. Violla!!!!.........you are ready to listen. Again, I cannot emphasize enough what a difference you will encounter.I listen to several genres of music. My primary choices are some alternative music, blues and blues/rock, downtempo/chillout music, and classical (with emphasis on chamber music). The ART HeadAmp4 wonderfully enhances all of these genres,and I am sure that it is fabulous with others as well. My equipment is a Denon 165 watt receiver, a Polk Audio subwoofer, and two Sony tower speakers. My audio equipment is very good, but certainly not the best. Whatever type of equipment you have, you will benefit from this headphone amp.I do not work for ART or any other electronic entity. I am just a guy who has been enjoying music for over forty years and using headphones since I was 15 years old ( I'm 57 now). I wrote this review, because I wanted to help answer any doubts that some prospective buyers might have. I am sure that you can find better amps if you spend more money. But for just around 60 dollars, this ART unit is a true gem. Honestly.Thanks for checking out my review, and I wish you good listening.

While this item is marketed mostly to musicians, I bought it as a headphone amplifier/splitter for my TV. Cheaper battery-powered headphone amps are available, but the specs and features of the ART HeadAmp4 made the difference for me, the higher price notwithstanding.There are four separate outputs (and four separate volume controls), making the amp a splitter as well. It's powered by a small wall transformer instead of batteries. The case is extruded aluminum, not plastic, and it has rubber feet that won't scratch furniture.Sound is very clear and there is plenty of amplification for any type of headphone.The amplifier will work with any headphone level output. That is, you could use it with any computer, video game, TV, radio, MP3 player or other device with a headphone jack.You do need a cable with a 1/8" (3.5mm) male stereo plug on each end. This is not supplied with the amp, but is available from Amazon or other vendors.My only minor gripe is that there is no power switch, so you have to unplug the wall transformer to turn it off. I plugged the wall transformer into a small switched plug strip which works fine but does add yet another cord to our increasingly tangled TV/audio setup.Overall, we're very pleased with this high quality unit.Update: A few months after we bought this amp, one channel died. Didn't bother to return it as we use only one channel at a time.About a year after purchasing this unit, we bought another for a different location. We really like 'em, as you can see.

My laptops sound card is finally breathing a sigh of relief. I have been using Panasonic full size phones, among others for quite a while. But the Panasonics are my primary phones because they are so comfortable since installing pearstone deluxe velour earpads. Aaah, pure heaven.Back on topic, you cannot imagine the difference with this amp. The sound just opens up, I hear nuances in the sound that weren't so clear before. Now I'm talking about full size phones, which are generally more power hungry. So with the Headamp 4, your laptops sound card can do what it's better at. Putting out clean Hd sound instead of powering your phones. This amp gives you fantastic range and headroom, absolutely no noticeable hiss, noise, or distortion, x 4. Super clean pure sound.I looked at the Rolls HA43 4, but i didn't like the slider volume controls on the top, dust eventually works it's way in, then you're dealing with static. I prefer the precision of the rotary volume controls, and the I preferred the clean look of the headamps front panel, and the inputs on the back. Let's not forget ipods and other mp3 players, which are incapable of driving full size phones, or multiple earbuds, to their full fidelity.To sum up, the Headamp 4 is built like a tank. The construction, except for the 4 plastic knobs, is all heavy gauge black anodized aluminum, it is weighty and substantial, no lightweight junk. The finish is professional with nice graphics. All of the controls and inputs are clearly marked and easily readable. And it sounds fantastic. This is one purchase I'm 100% satisfied with. Highly Recommend. This isn't something you'll use for a little while then toss aside. You will use it.*A side note. 2 weeks ago, this amp was $49.95 one day. The next day, $65.00. What the hell? Was there a tsunami where the Headamp factory is that I didn't hear about? I got lucky when I checked "other buying options" and found a seller with 1 in stock for $45+$5.50 shipping. This is something I've seen a lot on amazon. Wild price fluctuations. This amp is so good, I believe it's still the best you'll find for $65.00.