Looking for a s simple headphones amp to use with a CD player

[DuncanTodd]

Hi,

A friend of mine (I swear it's not me!) has a large CD collection, and due to marital restrictions, he can only listen to them with headphones connected directly to his Onkyo CD player.

He'd sometimes complain some CDs sound terrible, and these usually turn out to be CDs that are mastered with an extra low volume.
Last week he came over and we played a couple such CD on my Stereo, and they sounded just fine.
My non-professional diagnosis is that he cranks the volume on the player to the max (he confirmed he does that), but it lacks headroom which causes the sound to distort/clip etc.

Can anyone please recommend a small and cheap amp, he could buy to place between the CD player and the headphones, that would give him more headroom to crank up the volume? I know nothing about headphones, so unsure this is even possible and what the connection chain would be.

He's looking for something around $50 (not over $75) that he could get from Amazon or AliExpress, as they have relatively low shipping costs. He isn't American, local prices are insane and selection is poor.

His headphones are Sennheiser HD 200 PRO.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Talisman]

The sabaj A10h costs very little more and has outstanding performance. For a few euros I wouldn't take anything else

 

[Dunring]

Which outputs does he have on it? Usually two RCA or a 3.5mm out.

 

[DuncanTodd]

The sabaj A10h costs very little more and has outstanding performance. For a few euros I wouldn't take anything else

Thank you. It looks good and has a great review here as well.

An increase over $75 results in 17% VAT, but it's often possible to get lower value declared from China.

Any thoughts about this model from the same brand?:

Sabaj Audio Official-Sabaj音频官网

Since the establishment of our company, we have been committed to an enterprise integrating audio product design, R&D, production, market operation and service.There are mainly three categories: decoder/headphone amplifier/power amplifier. Our company is composed of a group of members who love...

www.sabaj.com.cn

 

[DuncanTodd]

Which outputs does he have on it? Usually two RCA or a 3.5mm out.

On the Onkyo CD Player? L/R RCA, Optical and coax. TRS on front for headphones:
https://emea.onkyo-av.com/home-audio/cd-players/c-7030-2 L/

He really hates it cause it skips on some CDs that are brand new for no good reason and don't skip on other players. But yeah, funds are not high atm so it's not a top priority.

Any idea how are the Sennheiser HD 200 PRO headphones? Other models get pretty decent reviews here, but this one wasn't tested.

 

[fieldcar]

If you

Optical and coax.

Probably above budget, but If you're looking for an all in one DAC + AMP, the Topping DX3 PRO+ covers a lot of bases with bluetooth(LDAC), usb, optical, and COAX inputs. I personally wouldn't rely on RCA's from a CD player to get the best quality, but I'd use the optical connection instead. The downside is that the DX3 PRO+ does not have RCA inputs, but "buy once, cry once" to cover all bases.

Topping DX3 Pro+ Review (DAC & Headphone Amp)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping DX3 Pro+ DAC and headphone amplifier. It is a replacement for one of my most favorite combo products, the DX3 Pro. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $199. The DX3 Pro+ maintains the gorgeous and high contrast orange LEDs...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Dunring]

If you just want the lowest price for an amp that can power what he has, get this for $13 and a double RCA male to 3.5mm male adapter cable for $4 at the same time and he's in business. The HD200 aren't demanding and it should last a night on a charge. Sounds like low price is the big priority or there's a dozen other things I could recommend to nearly bust the budget.

 

[DuncanTodd]

If you

Probably above budget, but If you're looking for an all in one DAC + AMP, the Topping DX3 PRO+ covers a lot of bases with bluetooth(LDAC), usb, optical, and COAX inputs. I personally wouldn't rely on RCA's from a CD player to get the best quality, but I'd use the optical connection instead. The downside is that the DX3 PRO+ does not have RCA inputs, but "buy once, cry once" to cover all bases.

Topping DX3 Pro+ Review (DAC & Headphone Amp)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping DX3 Pro+ DAC and headphone amplifier. It is a replacement for one of my most favorite combo products, the DX3 Pro. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $199. The DX3 Pro+ maintains the gorgeous and high contrast orange LEDs...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thanks. My friend is quite "lo-tech". He currently doesn't have use for any of the rich features the DX3 PRO has to offer.
Basically he's just looking for something that isn't as limited in gain as the Onkyo built in headphones amplification. It's not even a super common issue. I only figured out the issue recently when he complained about a CD I have myself (exact same edition) and just played recently, and thought it sounded great

If you just want the lowest price for an amp that can power what he has, get this for $13 and a double RCA male to 3.5mm male adapter cable for $4 at the same time and he's in business. The HD200 aren't demanding and it should last a night on a charge. Sounds like low price is the big priority or there's a dozen other things I could recommend to nearly bust the budget.

Thank you.
I thought of such a device too, but if I understand correctly these need to be recharged each time, and can't be plugged directly to an electrical outlet?

 

[DuncanTodd]

delete

 

[mc.god]

Sabaj A10h is absolutely the best choice for price\performance\features but if it's still too pricy I think that Douk U3 can be a good choice for what I read and for his headphones, generally available at amazon.

Douk Audio U3

https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...-the-douk-audio-u3-headphone-amplifier.31767/

 

[staticV3]

@DuncanTodd the Sabaj A10h costs $76 on Hifi-Express. They can ship from various countries:

 

[Zek]

these need to be recharged each time, and can't be plugged directly to an electrical outlet?

Each head-amp must be connected to a power outlet.

 

[DuncanTodd]

Sabaj A10h is absolutely the best choice for price\performance\features but if it's still too pricy I think that Douk U3 can be a good choice for what I read and for his headphones, generally available at amazon.

Douk Audio U3

https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...-the-douk-audio-u3-headphone-amplifier.31767/

Thank you, I will check it out.

https://www.amazon.com/Neoteck-Headphone-Amplifier-Computers-Controller/dp/B07G953GHH/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1NJWF5T1QERKT&keywords=headphone%2Bamp&qid=1689970482&refinements=p_36%3A1253504011&rnid=386442011&s=electronics&sprefix=headphone%2Bamp%2Caps%2C162&sr=1-9&th=1

Thank you. Doesn't seem to be available to his country. But I'll search elsewhere.

Each head-amp must be connected to a power outlet.

Thanks. Not entirely sure what this means. He wants something that can just be plugged to an outlet. The portable ones appear to me like they need to be recharged every time. I don't really have much experience with such devices though.

@DuncanTodd the Sabaj A10h costs $76 on Hifi-Express. They can ship from various countries:
View attachment 300616

Great price. Certainly what I would buy if I needed one. This is just $1 over the import limit before 17% VAT kicks in, but they may be flexible about value declaration.

From what I see this comes with a DC to AC transformer (Sorry if I'm not using the right terms). These support 100-240v iirc so that should be fine. Not seeing a plug option, but I believe that should be a generic chord

 

[Rayman30]

I have a Alex Cavali Monolith Liquid spark, if you want for cheap. I actually really like it, but I have no use for it

 

[Zek]

From what I see this comes with a DC to AC transformer

This is AC to DC power adapter with suitable plug (US, UK, EU).

 

[Zek]

Not entirely sure what this means.

Every headphone amplifier must have some kind of power source.
It can be a built-in rechargeable battery or a classic power supply that connects to the mains.

 

[mc.god]

Every headphone amplifier must have some kind of power source.
It can be a built-in rechargeable battery or a classic power supply that connects to the mains.

I think he is referring to the fact that some battery powered amps doesn't work when plugged for recharging, so you have to alternate plug for charge-unplug for use, being aware of the charge status. It can be understandably annoying for someone who simply wants to turn on his cd player and listen to music without other concernings.
Excuse me in case my undestanding is wrong.

 

[DuncanTodd]

I have a Alex Cavali Monolith Liquid spark, if you want for cheap. I actually really like it, but I have no use for it

Thanks for your offer. I assume you're in the US, shipping cost to the EU will unfortunately kill any savings

I think he is referring to the fact that some battery powered amps doesn't work when plugged for recharging, so you have to alternate plug for charge-unplug for use, being aware of the charge status. It can be understandably annoying for someone who simply wants to turn on his cd player and listen to music without other concernings.
Excuse me in case my undestanding is wrong.

Yes, exactly.
It might be possible to permanently plug it to an outlet with a phone charger, but I'm unsure how good that is for rechargeable batteries life.

Mentioned this one earlier on:

Sabaj Audio Official-Sabaj音频官网

Since the establishment of our company, we have been committed to an enterprise integrating audio product design, R&D, production, market operation and service.There are mainly three categories: decoder/headphone amplifier/power amplifier. Our company is composed of a group of members who love...

www.sabaj.com.cn

Sadly, not reviewed here yet, and I'm not knowledgeable enough to determine from provided specs if it would do the trick. Going by features it seems to comply with my friend's basic needs and quite cheap as well.

 

[mc.god]

Sabaj PHA2 is an old model being around for many years, I was curious about it since it implements the tpa6120a2 chip, a relly good amp module, the same used in sabaj a10h and topping L30 just to say, but somewhat dubious about implementation since it mormally requires a good voltage supply of at least +-12v and here we have a 5v power supply. I'm not techincally skilled to analyze it based on the pcb images so it's just me making assumptions. Not many info/reviews, maybe worth a try if he can return it easily in case he doesn't like.

 

[DuncanTodd]

Sabaj PHA2 is an old model being around for many years, I was curious about it since it implements the tpa6120a2 chip, a relly good amp module, the same used in sabaj a10h and topping L30 just to say, but somewhat dubious about implementation since it mormally requires a good voltage supply of at least +-12v and here we have a 5v power supply. I'm not techincally skilled to analyze it based on the pcb images so it's just me making assumptions. Not many info/reviews, maybe worth a try if he can return it easily in case he doesn't like.

Thanks for your input.
I've recommended my friend to get the A10h. Hopefully he won't cheapen out haha.