How Do I Know if My Headphones Need a Headphone Amp?
The headphone itself is the most important part of a personal audio system.
The headphone amp is second on the list.
So if you're deciding whether to buy a top-shelf headphone or a headphone amp first - the headphone is the most important part of the equation! We recommend distributing your spending so the headphones come first, followed by a headphone amp.
Whew. Now that's out of the way. When deciding whether to acquire a good headphone amp, it's important to consider how much a pair of headphones can benefit from an amp.
If you'd like to learn more about the basics of headphone amplifiers and if you might need one, check out GoldenSound's video on the Headphone Show!
See our selection of premium headphone amplifiers 
If you spent more than $200 on your headphones, you probably want to consider an amp. An entry-level headphone amp like a Topping L50 Desktop Headphone Amplifier will help you get your money’s worth from your headphones and is an affordable gateway to the benefits of headphone amplification. However, if you want something a little more personalized and less focused on simple utility, you can browse our full line of headphone amps to find the best one for your needs.
What Does a headphone amplifier Do?
You may know about a headphone "impedance rating". Impedance is the combined resistance and reactivity the headphones present to the amp as an electrical load.
High-impedance headphones, like the Sennheiser HD 600, usually need more voltage to get up to a solid listening level, so they can benefit from a headphone amp especially with portable players that have limited voltage available from their internal batteries.
But very low-impedance headphones like the Hifiman Susvara or Moondrop Para lower the damping factor between the amp and headphones and actually require more current, which is less commonly abundant on most small-format headphone amplifiers. So there's a chance that low-impedance headphones may not be loud enough—and might even incur clipping (distortion) from a portable device, thus for these headphones the user experience can be significantly improved by adding a headphone amp.
The size and dimensions of your headphone may provide some basic clues as to whether an amp is warranted. Most earbud and in ear headphones are typically very efficient and less likely to benefit strongly from an amp. However, many larger over ear headphones will become clearer and better sounding with an amp. A few select audiophile models may even require a headphone amp to reach listenable volume levels and sonic performance, especially if connected to portable devices.
With a portable device, use a “line output” when available to connect to a headphone amp. If no line-out is available, use the headphone jack to send the signal over to the headphone amp.
WHEN NOT TO USE AN AMP!
Most in ear headphones or earphones are typically highly efficient so they work well with smartphones or other portable devices without requiring an amp.
You do not need a headphone amp when using noise-cancelling headphones, as they essentially already have a built-in headphone amp inside. It prevents an external headphone amp from adding any significant audio benefit.