Top 10 Best Tube Headphone Amps
for June 2023

The Fosi Audio T20 is a great-sounding digital amplifier that's significantly more powerful than many of the portable models we tested. At 50 watts per channel, it packs a serious power punch, and it can easily drive 2 sets of bookshelf speakers or 2 sets of passive floor-standing speakers. It has all the features we look for in a digital amplifier, including Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity for streaming, a built-in headphone jack, and a wireless remote control. The T20's built-in speakers protection circuit ensures your speakers won't get damaged, and its power output is adjustable between 20 and 50 watts per channel, with 0.04% total harmonic distortion. The amp's built-in 6J4 vacuum tubes give it richer, more natural sound quality, and its headphone jack can be switched to output 16-64 ohm headphones. The T20's remote control is well-designed and easy to use, and it has 4 buttons to change volume, input source, and headphone volume. It connects with your audio system via RCA line input and speaker output. The T20 comes with a 1-year warranty and is available on Amazon.

The P1 is our favorite Bluetooth headphone amplifier. It can play Bluetooth and USB audio sources at up to 50 watts per channel, and it supports AptX HD. Its sound quality is warm, balanced, and dynamic, and its warm tube sound is right at home with audiophiles. It plays a wide range of music, including jazz, rock, hip-hop, and classical. Its build quality is topnotch, and it's super easy to use. The P1 supports independent volume control for Bluetooth and USB input, and it has a 3.5mm headphone jack. The P1 is loud enough to fill a small room with music, and it has a 50-foot range. The P1's build quality, sound quality, and ease of use are top-notch, and it's a good fit for anyone looking for a high-quality Bluetooth headphone amplifier.

The Little Dot MKII is an upgrade from the Little Dot MK, which we tested previously, and it's one of the best-sounding portable headphone amps we've seen. It's particularly good for headphones with high sensitivity, and that makes a big difference in digital music. The MKII adds some new features, including a built-in 2.5mm TRS jack, a headphone jack with an independent volume control, a headphone jack with independent level control, a built-in high-pass filter, and a line input for connecting an external audio source. The 2.5mm TRS jack is handy for connecting your smartphone for wireless listening, and it's missing on the MK, which has a built-in 3.5mm headphone jack. The built-in headphone amp offers 50mW of power, which is more than other portable headphone amps, and it's also more powerful than the built-in amps on portable audio devices. The Little Dot MKII was also able to do a better job of taming the harshness and distortion that are common in digital music. There's a switch on the amp's front face that lets you turn on or off the built-in high-pass filter, which eliminates low frequencies. The high-pass filter isn't essential for headphones with low sensitivity, but it's useful for headphones with high sensitivity, especially the higher-end models we tested, such as the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x and ATH-M70x. The high-pass filter also improves the sound quality of compressed digital music. We compared the Little Dot MKII to several other portable headphone amps, including the AudioTechNICA ATH-M50x, the Audio-TechNICA ATH-M50, the Audio-TechNICA ATH-M50x+, and the Audio-TechNICA ATH-M50x. The Little Dot MKII had the best sound quality of all of them, and the ATH-M50x and ATH-M50x+ were comparable. The ATH-M50x+ had slightly better sound quality than the ATH-M50, and the ATH-M50x was similar to the Little Dot MKII. The Audio-TechNICA ATH-M50x+ was the most expensive of the three. In addition to headphone amplification, the Little Dot MKII has line-level input and output ports. You can connect the amp to a digital music player or laptop and use the line input for connecting an external audio source.

The Linsoul XDUOO MT-602 6J1 is a portable tube headphone amplifier with Class-AB output. The integrated circuit uses 6J1 tube for pre-amp and transistors for class-A buffer. The front tube amplifier and rear transistor combine the advantages of two amplifier circuits to achieve the ideal sound effect and make you immersed in the happy atmosphere of music. The built-in 2.4-inch LCD displays the volume level, bias level, input level, output level, and headphone impedance. The XDUOO MT-602 supports two type of headphone output, RCA jack and 1/4-inch TRS jack. The headphone volume level can be controlled by the headphone volume knob. And the 1/4-inch TRS jack supports 1/4-inch headphone output, which are used as headphones or external speakers. The built-in AUX In/Out port and the USB output port allow you to listen to the music from your phone or computer. The AUX In/Out port can be used to connect external audio sources, such as CD player, MP3 player, computer, etc. The USB output port can be used to directly connect the XDUOO MT-602 to the computer, or to connect the XDUOO MT-602 to external amplifier. The built-in tube power supply can be used when the computer is in sleep mode, or when the lighting is off, and the XDUOO MT-602 can provide enough power to support your computer. The built-in tube power supply has great advantages: Long lifespan (more than 20,000 hours); Low power dissipation; Low noise; Low temperature; High reliability; Low maintenance costs; Low distortion; High stability; Low power consumption; Low cost. The tube power supply is easy to install and disassemble, and the maintenance is convenient. The tube power supply is environmentally friendly. The XDUOO MT-602 is the perfect combination of tube and transistors, and the sound quality is unmatched.

This is a solid little DAC with a terrific sound. It has plenty of power to drive even demanding headphones, and it has a USB port for connecting to a computer. The remote control makes it easy to turn this into a great portable DAC, and since it primarily uses vacuum tubes, it has a warm, mellow, relaxed sound that lends itself well to jazz, classical, and vocal music. The 6N3 tube is easy to install, and there are also options to upgrade or replace the tube. The sound quality is excellent, and for $150, it's one of the best DACs we've tested. The remote is also a nice touch, and we'd recommend using it to turn the DAC on and off, rather than leaving it on all the time, as it's pretty loud. The TT-1 also works as a DAC, and the sound quality is excellent, but it's not quite as quiet as the DT-1. The remote is easy to use, and it's nice to have separate line-level outputs for headphones and speakers. The optional remote battery is easy to install, and it lasts a long time. The 6N3 tube has its own power supply, so it's quieter than some other DACs, and it never gets hot.

The VP130's sound quality is outstanding, and it's one of the best-sounding phono stages we've heard. Its warm, natural sound has a touch of warmth that better suits many vinyl lovers. Its gain is adjustable, and with the volume control set to full volume, the preamp is very quiet. The VP130's output impedance is 8 ohms, so it's ideal for most headphones and speakers. Unfortunately, the VP130 lacks an attenuator, so you can't control the volume with headphones. The VP130 is also not compatible with Bluetooth devices, and it isn't USB-powered, which is unusual for this price range. But at this price, the VP130 is a bargain of a lifetime.

The Little Bear B4-X is one of the most portable tube headphone amps we've tested, and it's worth the wait. Its small size and unique design make it very portable, so you can listen to it anywhere you go. The B4-X is capable of producing a balanced sound, which is superior to the B4's single-ended sound, and it handles a wide range of headphones. In our tests, the B4-X drove a wide range of headphones, from inexpensive earbuds to expensive ones from Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, and V-Moda. It produced a warm, full sound that rivals high-end models from high-end brands. The B4-X is versatile, too: It comes with detachable cables, and it comes with 3.5mm and 2.5mm adapters, so you can use it with a variety of headphones. The B4-X is simple to use: It has a simple on/off switch, and it comes with 2 different cables, so you don't need to know how to wire headphones. The B4-X also has 2 input ports, so you can use it with multiple headphones.

The LOXJIE P20 is a high-end tube headphone amplifier, and it's built like a tank. It's heavy, with a fairly thick, heavy aluminum chassis, and it features a massive heat sink and an all-metal, all-glass front panel. The headphone output is balanced, and it comes with a balanced cable, an unbalanced cable, and a standard 3.5mm stereo cable. The amplifier's front panel is large and chunky, and it features a big, easy-to-read display and buttons for volume, input selection, mute, and standby. Also on the front panel are a pair of LEDs that indicate whether the amplifier is powered on, whether the outputs are muted, and the active input. The LOXJIE P20 includes everything you need to power your headphones, including a line-level input, a 3.5mm stereo input, a balanced line input, a balanced headphone output, and a 3.5mm stereo output. The amplifier's sound is clean and clear, with fairly detailed, well-controlled bass and treble. The PH20's sound is neutral, though bass lovers may be disappointed by its relatively light bass response. Also, while the PH20's power output is 20W into 8 ohms, its volume control only goes up to 10W, and we found that the output disappeared above 10W. The amplifier's standby mode is automatic, and it powers off after 30 seconds of inactivity. The PH20's manual features several pages of technical specifications, but it's written in a fairly technical language, so it's best for headphone enthusiasts.

The TA-26 is a headphone amplifier that boasts an impressive number of features for a sub-$150 amplifier. It offers two line outputs, one each on RCA and XLR. It has a built-in DAC, so it's capable of driving headphones with impedances up to 600 ohms. It also supports up to 4.4V of input power, which is more than enough for most headphone amplifiers. The TA-26's preamp tubes are powered by a 9-volt battery, which is housed in the amp's chassis. The TA-26's preamp tubes are capable of delivering detailed, musical sound, and while they're not as efficient as solid-state preamps, they sound every bit as good. The TA-26 has a surprisingly rich, full-bodied sound, and it's a pleasure to listen to. Overall, the TA-26 is a very good-sounding headphone amplifier, and it's the best sounding headphone amplifier in its price range.

The INFI Audio Tube Amplifier HiFi Stereo Receiver Integrated Amp with Bluetooth Hybrid Amp for Home 2.0Ch Theater System is a surprisingly good-sounding amp for the price. It's small and portable, and it's powerful enough to handle a pair of bookshelf speakers, a small bookshelf speaker system, or a 2.0-channel pair of bookshelf speakers, or a subwoofer. The headphone jack is loud enough to hear yourself when people are around, and it's also nice enough that you won't feel like you're wearing earbuds when you wear ear buds. It's also very easy to set up, and it plays a wide range of audio formats, including MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, and ALAC. It also has Bluetooth, and it's compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The INFI Audio Tube Amplifier HiFi Stereo Receiver Integrated Amp with Bluetooth Hybrid Amp for Home 2.0Ch Theater System is better suited to small rooms or rooms that aren't too crowded, because it has a small footprint and it's fairly loud. The INFI Audio Tube Amplifier HiFi Stereo Receiver Integrated Amp with Bluetooth Hybrid Amp for Home 2.0Ch Theater System also has fairly good bass and treble controls, and it's fairly easy to use.