Audiophilepure

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“Another interesting feat was that there was so much detail presented so cleanly and distortion-free that I found myself tending to listen a little louder than usual. This can be both a good and a bad thing, but it’s quite an impressive feat. It also meant that even at my more typical low listening levels, I was treated to tons of dynamics and auditory information that normally might be lost. I listen very quietly typically and it’s a rare trick for any system to be able to stay engaging at these levels, yet be free of absence or harshness when cranked a little higher.

All this is to say that the Headtrip Ref II sounds phenomenal when paired with the right headphones: namely headphones nearly as expensive as itself. When paired with sensitive or efficient headphones, my results as I’ve mentioned were workable, but not particularly useful. In a sense, rather than being a headamp which can drive anything – though technically it can – I think of it as a product designed with cost as no object, and with the singular purpose of sounding exceptional with the most difficult to drive planar magnetic headphones, and perhaps AKG K1000’s if you’re lucky enough to have a pair. In this purpose, the Headtrip is amongst the best I’ve heard, it stacks right up against other monstrously powerful headamps but also brings a level of refinement and sweetness that take it beyond mere technicalities.”