By Raghav Somani, Founder and CEO, Headphone Zone Wanna pump up your music? Not getting the required volume level? An amplifier is what you need. In simple words, an Amplifier multiplies the amplitude of your sound. It makes your output louder. Raghav Somani, Founder and CEO, Headphone Zone talks about the numerous technologies with which amps are made. Basically, they consist of a transistor circuit that multitudes the audio and makes it louder with a circuit to control it. To increase your output manifold, you also need the quality to make it louder. That's where a DAC comes into play. A Digital to Analog Converter can be used to access music from your source and convert it without loss and make it sound as it should be. The DAC in your mobiles is not sufficient to produce the original quality of the music. Impedance and Amplification: You must have come across the term impedance quite often. Impedance, when referring to headphones, is the resistance to current that flows as audio signal. Most In-ears and Over-ears have impedance in the range of 15 to 32 ohms. These headphones will definitely be able to play your music to the proper volume levels. So when does your headphone require an Amp? Headphones having impedance levels above 35 ohms, cannot be driven by your source directly, as they may not be able to provide sufficient power. From 35 ohms to 300 ohms, headphones have high impedance levels to protect them from damage when plugged into a high power source. Impedance levels are also kept high at par to provide better power response to high quality materials used in the driver. What Amplifier do you need? Most Headphone amplifiers are able to drive headphones up to 100 ohms and above. Do check the impedance of your headphone while getting an Amp. Also check the compatibility of the jack that your headphone has and how you can connect it to the Amp. Most Audio companies make Headphone Amplifiers bundled with DACs or they make a single device that consists of both. The DAC accepts music from your Source like your laptop or mobile and converts it to the best rate possible, which the Amplifier then multiplies to required volume level. You can control your volume level mostly with the control knob or crossfader provided on the amp. Check the compatibility of your Amp with the DAC and also with your headphones. Get the perfect power companion for your headphone. From cables to accesories, check your requirement list. The best DACAmp combo that money can buy are Chord Mojo, Audeze Deckard, Oppo HA2-SE and Chord Hugo. If you're looking for amplifiers, the best are Schiit Magni 2, Schiit Valhalla, Schiit Ragnarok.
