Deep rich bass with a wide open sounstage.Adds no acoustic "signature"to any type of music

that stupid switch,pop when switch is used,that stupid switch,cheap rca jacks,that stupid switch

Why.That's what I'd ask the engineer at grado who thought that stupid switch was good idea.I broke it off the FIRST time it put it in my briefcase,12 hours after I got it.I replaced it with a much better switch from Radio shack that fit perfectly for $1.79.Again,WHY?

With that out of the way on to the review.This amp sounds fantastic it is the most neutral sounding amp I have yet heard.That's a leap I know.But if you listen to most other headphone amps they all seem to add to or subtract something from the music.The tube amps warm the sound and the solid states tighten it up.Maybe it is because it is battery powered but this amp adds no acoustic signature what so ever.If you consider youself an "audiophile" then you are familiar with the never ending quest to reproduce music with the ultimate accuracy.This amp gets damn close.

If possible try this amp with a few different sets of headphones.It does seem to sound best with Grados but drives the higher impedence headphones like the sennheisers as well.I have to thank John H. (whose reveiw is posted below )for emailing me after seeing my reveiw of the Senn HD600 headphones for raising the question of poor volume control using the Grado headphone amp and Senn headphones.USE FRESH BATTERIES.I don't know how I look but I feel goofy.I had low batteries and this caused me to have to crank the volume near max using this combo.

So, for you own slice of audio heaven check out this little marvel of an amp and should you feel the need to pummel the engineer who specified the use of that switch and you wonder if he is somehow distantly related to the guy who designed the cables for the Sennheiser HD600s,just enjoy the wonderful sounds they both make together.

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Creek OBH-11,Acoustic soundlabs MG head DT,Musical fidelty XCANS V2

Battery operated so it's kinda portable, small and light,

Female RCA jacks stick out at the back and so does the on-off switch. So you almost have to do some customization with foam to carry it around in a CD Bag.

This great little portable amp can be used anywhere in the home. Music from CDs actually sound good through the Grado RS-1 headphones. I also used the Grado SR-60 headphones and the some good too.

So good is this combo that I even hook it up to my Panasonic SL-CT470 personal via Straightwire mini-RCA connectors and listen to them at night.

The sound a little warm, very liquid, with great ambience (soundstage). I can even hear the decay on double bass - wow!
Unbelievable is the word. Way better than the Headroom Airhead - of course the Grado is over 3 times the price of the Airhead.

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Headroom Airhead

Clean sound without distortion, superior sound quality, battery-powered

on/off switch, cheap-looking RCA jacks

Likes: It looks like it was custom-made just for me. Even though it didn't look like a million bucks, it was a real sleeper. I was a skeptic at first. After using this with my Grado SR325 & DAK CD4000 headphones, I wondering how I ever got buy without a dedicated headphone amp all these years. The sound is so clean and there's no distortion. There's plenty of power for driving most any set of headphones (unsure for electrostatics). Bass, mids, & highs all come through effortlessly.

Dislikes: If I have the headphones plugged in when I turn it on, I get a really loud pop. I made this mistake only once since I'm afraid it'll damage my headphones. Although it's battery-powered (which I like), I only get about 25 hours of playback time before it's time for two more 9-volt batteries. Unit doesn't look as robust as the Creek OBH-11SE, the Grado still sounds great. (Something that sounds wonderful starts to look good after a while.) The cheap-looking on/off switch makes it difficult to pack away for travel without the fear of breaking it off. RCA jacks on my unit, although gold-plated, look like the cheapest jacks made (lower quality than the Radio Shack bargin basement line).

Summary: Although it's a little pricey and looks a little fragile for serious road use, it's definitely worth the price of admission if you're serious about getting great sound for your headphones. It'll dramatically improve the sound on any set of cans, and is far better than any audio component you get that comes with a built-in headphone jack. This is the next logical step in getting HiFi sound with a great set of headphones and allows them to reach their full potential (like a previous reviewer mentioned).

Pure, clean, highs...liquid midrange...deep and tight bass. More than enough power to leave you deaf within a week...so easy-does-it. It is powered by (two) 9 volt batteries, so there is zero hum from being plugged in. Portable perfection. Sounds like you're on stage with whoever you're listening to.

Huh?

This little amp paired with the Grado RS-1 headphones is audiophile nirvana...better than some set-ups costing 5X as much.

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I thought the RS-1's by themselves couldn't possibly sound any better. Live and learn. I tried the Headroom "Cosmic", and it was way too bright, and light on bass (not to mention, much more expensive than the Grado).

incredible definition

very flimsy power switch

I bought this headphone amp because I was going to be in Switzerland for several months with no stereo so I thought I'd take my Riovolt CD player, Sennheiser 580 headphones and the Grado RA-1 headphone amp over there and that would be an adequate substitute. Well, Sept. 11th delayed my departure for two months now. I'm still in NYC and I have a really great stereo here. But what am I listening to (even as I type this)? You got it. The Grado headphone amp with the Sennheiser 580's. It's simply the cleanest sound I have ever heard. It seems my superb stereo has become the "adequate" substitute for the Grado RA-1.

At first I thought the high end was overemphasized but after much careful listening I have concluded this really isn't the case. There is simply substantially more definition than what I hear through either my amazing ACI Sapphire speakers or my 580's plugged directly into my very high quality receiver's headphone jack. Both the speakers and the headphones played this way provide wonderful rich sound, but a definite level or two below what the RA-1 produces.

So what does the Grado add? Much more information. Perhaps not essential information: I can hear the musicians turning the pages of their music in many of my classical cd's. I can hear the singer lick his lips (really!) as he is about to sing. Essential sounds? Hardly. Missed when not heard through the Grado amp? Nope. But the additional information and clarity does add a whole new dimension to the listening experience. It's like being allowed to sit in the studio during the recording session and being privy to what was happening there.

I suppose I would love to be able to get this definition from my speakers and other electronics but I really have never heard it from ANY sound system other than the little Grado. A friend of mine has a $155,000 stereo system with the Genesis 1 speakers as its heart. Even that system, which puts me front row center, does not provide the definition that the Grado RA-1 produces so seemingly effortlessly. No page turning on the same discs, no lip licking. My friend doesn't miss these sounds either on his amazing system but the fact that they are not there in that level of stereo system should tell you just how superb the Grado headphone amp is.

The amp is recommended primarily for Grado headphones. I don't know why. I still have to crank it down with my Sennheisers. It does just fine with these high impedance phones.

Nice solid block of wood. Runs on batteries.

Can't be plugged in an AC outlet. Volume control,on/off switch, RCA input jacks, and screws to hold the battery door are cheap and plastic!

I decided to order one of these after reading the reviews off this site for my Grado SR 80 headphones. Got this baby home and put in a fresh set of rechargeable batteries for a listen. "What the hell" I hear no difference? Thought it might be the batteries, so I bought some new non-rechargeable ones. No difference!!! Tried hooking it up different ways and to different CD players. Truthfuly the only thing I noticed was that you could turn up the volume about two more dbs. Pluging this into the RCA output jacks rather then into the volume jack or headphone jack eliminates hiss or noise totally. All the hiss you hear is from a bad recorded CD. This AMP did nothing as for sound quality for my Grados. It actually made my cheap Jensen Headphones sound alittle clearer. The only thing it did for my Grados was help break them in more. One day I was listening to some Techo with deep bass and I heard a loud pop in the right ear "This AMP blew my phones!?!?!" This amp never cleaned up those highs in the SR80s that hurt your ears, nor does bass get any tighter or cleaner. This AMP doesn't even widden the sound stage "that out your head experience". Little background sounds in music still stay little and aren't anymore detailed...same as without the AMP!
I Do like Grado's headphones and will now have to buy another pair because of this. For $340 dollars I don't want to convince myself that the sound improved: it should just present itself good or bad! My friends could't tell between A/B test at the same volume levels!
I think this AMP was made for Grado's high end phones $200 and up! Listen to this AMP with your own headphones before you by it! I couldn't cause the AMP wasn't in stock and had to special order it.
Its a double standard, you don't hear hiss in headphone jacks much, but with the AMP you hear how cheap your reciever picks up noise and hiss. Move the AMP to CD player or Phono directly and you hear only the source. Since the headphone jack doesn't amplify as much hiss and noise that much I say keep your money and plug into the headphone jack!
This AMP only tells you how good or bad your commponets are and does't improve the headphones or sound quality out of them.

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Basic headphone output jack

Quiet, dynamic and clean

None

The RA-1 is a good value and a fine headphone amplifier. The battery power supply endows the amplifier with low noise levels and absolutely no hum whatsoever! The 9 volt cells last about 30 hours for me and this is the only inconvenience in using this product. I use it with Grado SR225's but it also seems to work well with the higher impedance 'phones I have tried (300 ohm). The sound quality is far better than the headphone jacks provided on most equipment and it is portable, although it must be handled with care. I didn't find it available at a substantial discount, but I believe it is a good value even at its' list price. Try it, and see how much better your headphone listening can be.

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Several Headroom amplifiers

I am absolutely impressed with this little amp. I have used it to drive Grado SR-60's, Grado RS-1's, and Sennheiser HD-600. You have probably read that the RA-1/RS-1 combo is magic, and it is. But, to be honest, I prefer the sound of the RA-1/HD-600 combo (it is sublime magic) -- the music is crisp, bass-rich, detailed, and expansive.

So, if you've been discouraged about using the RA-1 to drive Senns, do not be. Together they sound beautiful, 300 ohm and all.

A bit of advice...rechargeable 9 volts will save you lots of cash over the long run.

Minimalist,beautifully machined and functional design.
Portability.

Must use good h/phones and good source.Volume pot could have been better quality.

Listening thru my Senheiser HD600's this amp is nearly as good as my Stax Lambda Signature electrostatic headphones,which have a tube amp,and are six times the price.

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Audio Alchemy v.1 Headphone Amp,Sennheiser HE60/HEV70 electrostatics,Stax Lambda Signature electrostatics.

Awesome dynamic highs and lows with my Grado SR-80 phones. I listen through an Optimus CD3400 discman, and lie in bed listening to full-bodied sound of the phones through this headphone amp. Listening directly through the discman without this amp is no longer an option. The headphones sounded good before I bought this amp. Now they sound unbelievable. And I can take them from room to room with me.

Uses 2 9-volt batteries. No ac adapter available. It is portable, but bulky when used with a discman on a plane, train, etc. There is an ear splitting loud thump when you turn the unit on or off. The chrome flip switch looks cheesy and operates in a cheesy fashion. It protrudes enough to make you feel as if you bumped it the wrong way it would snap off. The volume control is not comfortable to use. The instructions or owner's manual are nowhere to be found.

How did I live all these years without a headphone amp! My audio friend and a non-audio friend heard my system, and bought both the Grado phones and amp.

Why spend upwards of $300 for a headphone amp? Listen to this one and you will agree. A must for anyone who listens to dynamic headphones, especially Grado SR-80's.

I haven't listened to the others, but I don't feel the need to either. I am very satisfied.

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Listening through the headphone jack of my NAD 3020 integrated amp sounds inadequate in comparison. I now listen to this amp through a conrad johnson PV10A tube preamp. Smooth, full, dynamic sound, with a gut pounding bottom end. Very lifelike. Details, details, details...