Amps & DACs

Your music meets your mind when you bridge the gap between your portable player and good headphones with our basic portable HeadRoom Total AirHead headphone amp. Unlike what's found behind most mobile source headphone jacks, our AirHead is a true miniature power amplifier especially engineered at HeadRoom to cleanly power headphones. It drives any portable cans with the authority and finesse of quiet power amplification and serves as a buffer between your player and the complex electrical load of the headphones. Hence, it makes your headphones and your player sound better!

Controlling the AirHead amp is easy: just connect the included short 'mini-to-mini' interconnect cable (longer 'mini' cable lengths sold separately) from the audio source of your choice into the back of the amp, then plug your headphones into the amp. The two parallel headphone jacks in the corners let you and a friend plug in simultaneously [only headphones with similar impedances / efficiency ratings will play at similar volumes]. The switch on the left is power On/Off; then the power-on green LED indicator; a rotary dial volume control; the 'clipping/battery low' red LED indicator; and, of course, our world-famous HeadRoom crossfeed On/Off switch.

The AirHead features a low/high 'Gain' switch inside the oval hole of the battery door. As a general rule, most in-ears will use low gain while most headphones will sound best on high gain. The Gain switch allows you to get the very best acoustic performance out of your in-ear or headphone system regardless of its efficiency or impedance ratings.

The AirHead has a unique non-breakable molded rubber battery door. Simply lift the cover from the rear and it releases its soft detent nub revealing the battery compartment. The rubber door also acts as a non-skid 'foot' when the AirHead is attached to the back of a portable player. Along with the mini-mini cable, we also include Velcro hook "dots", called Vel-Coins that you can stick on the Total AirHead's feet and the back of an iPod or other MP3 player and easily mate them back-to-back. 

Power: On the rear left-hand side of the AirHead is jack for an optional (sold separately) AC adaptor power supply for using the amp plugged into household current. Also available is a power supply for 230VAC overseas/international currents: 230 Total AirHead Power Supply. The AirHead is portably powered by four AAA batteries (not included), and will run for 25-40 hours depending on your headphones and volume setting. The HeadRoom Total AirHead amp will not charge rechargeable batteries (rechargeable batteries not recommended for best sound quality).

Dimensions: The HeadRoom AirHead headphone amp measures approximately 3" wide X 4.5" long X .75" thick and weighs about 7.5 ounces with its four [4] AAA batteries inside (batteries not included).

Mono mod to Total AirHead
Posted by DBX from New Orleans, LA on 2011-12-28

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Best way to get true mono
Cons: Not switchable back to stereo

This review is for the HeadRoom factory modification to the Total AirHead ("TAH") that permanently changes the amp from stereo to mono. Sonically, I give the TAH mod five stars because it is the best way I know to get true mono from stereo sources like iPods. I'm deaf in one ear, so I need mono, and simply combining L+R in an adapter worries me. I use my TAH as both a headphone amp and as a preamp between my iPod and the input jack on my car stereo. I give the mod four stars overall, because the mono mode is not switchable. This is not a surprise--the guys at HeadRoom told me it was not switchable, so I'm not complaining. But it would be perfect if the mono mode was switchable. I also have trouble reading the labels embossed on the rubber. Great product at affordable price.

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Pretty good, but loose wires (UPDATE)
Posted by BassHead Man from Chicago on 2011-05-04

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Makes high impedance headphones sound great
Cons: Loose connection wires and noise

Well, first of all, there is a switch inside for low and high power. At first, with the power of suggestive thinking, I assumed the sound was being amplified. But, after listening awhile, I realized the sound was no louder than without the amp. So, I read the manual and DUH, found that there's a low/high power switch. After switching to high power... WOW, OK, that's what I was expecting.

After awhile, though, the connection wires started getting loose and I had to keep fiddling with them to get them to totally connect. It almost seemed like the female connection in the amp was too big for the wires. I bought new ones, but eventually found that some connection wires I had gotten already through another purchase fit the best, but still not snug.

Also, I started getting interference and a buzzing noise. Not sure if this was from the loose wires, or because I ride the commuter train and there's something on board the train interfering. It was annoying enough, that I eventually stopped using the amp and now only used low impedance headphones (I have a Sony Walkman and a 3rd generation iPod).

It's been several months since using the amp, and I'm exploring going back to it and trying to figure out the problems again, or get another amp.

But, if not for the problems above, I can say it makes the sound more full and effortless with all of the headphones I own (about 6 pair, including a higher impedance Denon).

UPDATE 2011-11-26
I got the amp back out and decided to cycle through my headphones again (needed a change of pace from my Sony Xtra Bass; XB500's and XB700's, which don't need a headphone amp at all and if you're a bass-head like me, might be all you need).

Now that they sell those mini-to-mini cables to be used for the newer car stereos, I decided to try and buy a quality-looking Griffin one. It seems to fit more snugly into the jacks and I haven't heard the interference buzzing so far (after several sessions) on the train.

I upped the star rating from 3 to 4. If the unit would have come with a better mini-to-mini wire, it would have started out with a better rating.

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Good
Posted by gddctr from cali on 2011-04-22

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Portable.
Cons: Limited.

Good for travel. Works great.

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