Review on 🎧 Topping A50s NFCA Desktop Headphone Amplifier Preamplifier - 3500mW Output, Balanced 6.35mm and 4.4mm, HiFi HPA Preamp for Headphones, IEMs, and Decoder (Black) by Denise Rose

The reasonably priced A50 is probably one of the best (if not *most*) headphone amps you can get for the asking price. It sounds great (which means it sounds transparent. It doesn't add anything to the sound of the source) and packs a really decent amount of power that can easily outperform similar amps like Schiit and JDS. The processing quality is also very good. Well. It seems solid and maybe even premium. There is no wheeze, the volume control is smooth, the finish is very well done. It's also quite compact, making it ideal for smaller desks. In fact, he only has 3 mistakes. First, the rear outputs are single-thru, meaning that when the A50 is off, the incoming signal is sent straight to the RCA outputs. There is no preamp function. So if you don't have a source device (DAC) with volume control, you'll need to control it with the software on your computer. The second downside is that the power button is also the only button on the device. Device. So since there's both a low (0dB) and high (9dB) gain option, you'll need to press the power button once (when the unit is on) to toggle between gain modes. To turn off the amp, you need to press and hold the power button a little longer. This can be very dangerous because if you forget to hold down the button and accidentally switch from low to high gain, you could damage your headphones or ears. SO BE CAREFUL! The third disadvantage is the output impedance. at 4.7 ohms for unbalanced (1/4" and 1/4") outputs and 9.4 ohms for balanced outputs, this can change the frequency response of your headphones. This varies from headphone to headphone and the change may or may not be pleasant. For example, the Sennheiser HD6 series can sound a bit warmer and have a bit more bass, especially when balanced. Your mileage may vary. Overall this is a great little amp and I find it highly unlikely that most people (even audiophiles) will need anything more than what the A50 has to offer. Highly recommended.