Wrugste Hi-Fi Headphone Amp and Preamp

I ordered this item to add to my Wrugste USB audio interface to add some power to my harder-to-drive headphones. While the interface was able to power my HD650s, it did not provide the added volume that fully utilized my headphones. This amp solved that issue immediately. This little amp has enough power to drive all my headphones with plenty of energy to spare (especially with High Gain selected). It is a straightforward interface having only a gain switch, volume knob, and headphone jacks (1/8:1/4 in input). The back of the device has RCA and TRS input/outputs in addition to the power input and switch. Using the TRS output to my active monitor worked, but had a slight hiss that became more apparent as the volume was increased. I shifted away from using it to connect to my monitors, but as a headphone amp, this thing is great. I also added my own knob to add some character. Simply put, Pair this amp with a good single-ended DAC and you will have a solid, entry-level, audiophile setup.

This little headphone amp is amazing. It's rated at 1w into a 32-ohm load and has plenty of power do drive most headphones. I set the input level to Lo gain (0db) and tested the amp with my Ananda, Focal Clear, AKG K712 Pro, Sennheiser HD650 and HD800s headphones. The amp drove all of the headphones with power to spare. The sound is clean and neutral with no distortion that I could detect at reasonable volume levels. It compares well with my Burson Audio HA160D and THX AAA 789. I shall not compare it to my Woo Audio WA2 which costs much, much more and is a tube amp. This little amp sounds as good as, if not better than, the old Burson Audio and is nearly as clean as the THX AAA 789. I am impressed. Amazon sells this for $189 and there's a $60 coupon available as of this writing that brings the cost down to $129. A steal at that price.There are balanced and unbalanced inputs and outputs. The headphone outputs are unbalanced only which makes no sense to me. If the amp is truly balanced, why couldn't they have provided a balanced 2.5mm or 4.4mm headphone output. One watt is not a lot of power so I can't really envision using this little amp to drive speakers. It will work if the speakers are efficient, but I don't imagine the result to be especially good. I can recommend it as an unbalanced headphone amp but it's questionable as a speaker amp.Update: After more extensive listening tests with high end headphones (Focal Clear and Sennheiser HD800s), I have come to realize that the sound of this amp, while very good for the price, is somewhat constricted or compressed. By that I mean that the sound isn't as open and robust as my THX AAA 789 amp. The difference is less noticeable with the Sennheiser HD650. That said, I maintain my 5-star rating of this little amp compared to other amps in this price range.

At this price, a headphone amplifier should sound better than this Wrugste amp does. Of course, it looks very nice with its aluminum enclosure and a volume pot that has a bit of resistance like high-end audio equipment. Even though its look aims high, its sound is decidedly mediocre at best. It is capable of driving high ohm headphones but the sonics are compressed and homogenous; there is no life in the music this amp plays. Whether you play it direct from a DAC or at the end of an audio chain such as plugged into a receiver, this amp introduces a low-level hash that compromises the sound. This is more apparent with Classical and Jazz genres where the production values are more about nuance and dynamics than with Rock, Metal, Pop, and Rap. If you want a headphone amp that enables your music to sound as good as it can in cans, and especially if you listen to Jazz and Classical music, look elsewhere.

The amplifier works fantastic with my sennheiser game one headset (which really benefits from an amp). Can have the occasional hiss.

I got it to increase the power of my headphones, the power it provides is good for its size. The sound is neutral and of good quality. The high db also hiss occasionally but it's not a big problem for me. Looking at the prices of equivalent products, it seems like a complete price/performance product. There is no need to pay high prices for the sound system. I think it is an affordable product and ideal for non-professional uses...