MyZIC Headphone Amplifier (Black)

A good preamp overall. It doesn't really add any character or attenuate any noise. It is very light, not sturdy. I like that the volume wheel turns the unit off if you lower it all the way. If you're able to spend more money, however, there are way better headphone preamps out there including the Audeze Deckard or the Burson Audio's  Burson Audio - Soloist SL - Headphone Amplifier . The difference is substantial to make upgrading worthwhile

I don't have much experience with headphone amps, so can't make any comparisons here. However, I have this paired with the micromega mydac and the sound is great. I listen to high-res digital files and watch HBO on my computer. I have sennheiser momentum headphones. I like that the amp has analog out so you can run the output from your computer to another amp and regular speakers, which I do to take advantage of the DAC.

I first read about this headphone amp on CNET, but found absolutely no other reviews in the US. It is made in France, and does not yet seem to be widely distributed or reviewed in the US yet. My net reaction to this headphone amp, having compared it with a Schiit Asgaard 2 and in pro-ject headbox, is that it is very very good. I think of the Asgaard as a muscle car and the myzic as a well tuned sports car. They are both very good, but the Myzic works a bit better for my purposes.I'm using it to drive hifiman 400 headphones. The volume is way more than adequate. I don't think I get anywhere near to half its output for nice sound. Imaging and clarity are first rate. It also has a very very low noise floor. This makes it especially good for listening to vinyl, since phono amplfifier stages are much much more sensitive to noise. The Asgaard, for instance, while great for most inputs, created some minor noise floor with the phono input on my rega brio r amp. Its nothing you would notice while listening to music, but you would hear it whenver there was silence.Aside from sounding excellent, the ergonomics are great too. Its very small. That means its very discrete. It won't be the compoent that guests first notice in your set up. This makes placement much easier than for the Asgaard, which is a real show piece. It runs fairly cool. There is no need to reach behind for an on off switch, since plugging the headphone in turns it on (although you can still put it into standbuy by turning the power dial all the way to the left.). It also has a pair of pass through outputs if you desire.I'm surprised at how good this is for the money. I can't attest to longevity yet, but I doubt I'll be looking to upgrade headphone amps any time soon.The only negative for me is that you canot tell visualy how loud it is set to, without listening to it. The volume dial has a somewhat unique design, and does not have calibration marks on it. On the other hand, once you have the level you like dialed in, you can just leave it there. Unplugging the phones turns it off, and plugging them back in turns it back on at the same level.