Review on 🎧 Sabaj PHA3 Vacuum Tube Headphone Amplifier: Enhanced Stereo Amp for Immersive HiFi Audio Experience with Low Ground Noise and Headphone Output Protection by Kimberly Dionne

First First Impression: Well packaged in a box that gives the impression that it's worth a lot more than the asking price. The device is slim, solid and feels premium. Only gripes are the lack of a 1/4" jack, which most would prefer to use for a stationary device, and perhaps the lack of gold-plated sockets, which would have made the optics even bigger. Performance: This depends a lot on your input. Driven from the headphone output via the front panel jack it amplifies the input a bit as I was able to adjust my phone's output by toggling back and forth without turning the amp all the way up - BUT - connected via RCA to a component CD player. from the minimum it quickly became loud. I believe it's 6:30-7 on the clock face. Maybe it's too strong? Now for the sound: I switched to NOS GE tubes from the 70's and have been listening to the Sony MDR V600, Audio Technica M40 and Sennheiser HD559. The source was an iPhone and my PC with a stand alone DAC. This amp definitely makes a difference in sonic performance - adding a bit of mid-bass to guitars and male vocals. It also saps the highs a bit (which no doubt helps give the "wow, more bass" impression). It's not as noticeable in, say, Journey or Foreigner, but hearing a bit of Staind and all that bass guitar stuff is a lot more common. There's also a loss of clarity that only comes with good headphones. I will say that while switching to a tube amp sounded like a step up for guitar music, going BACK with good headphones also sounded like a big step up in terms of clarity/quality. Conclusion: 3 stars say average. It definitely looks good and will impress your friends. It's also very cool if you're just into throwback tech. When used to amplify the headphone output of a portable device, all the wiring becomes cumbersome and the power amplification is not worth it. It's better to use the line out of a stationary device to add headphones (or improve the PC's sound card). However, if you're just buying to get "tube sound" or better sound quality, I'd save money and buy something better. The better your source files and headphones, the less impressed you will be.