Amps & DACs

Your music will meet your mind when you bridge the gap between your portable player and good headphones with our basic portable headphone amp. Unlike what's behind most headphone jacks, the AirHead is a true miniature power amplifier for headphones; it drives your headphones with the authority and finesse of quality power amplification, and acts as a buffer between your player and the complex load of the headphones. It makes your headphones and your player sound better!

Controlling your Total AirHead is easy: simply connect the included mini-mini cable from the source of your choice, to 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 (headphones with similar impedances/efficiencies will generally play at about the same volume). The switch on the left is the on-off switch, then the power-on LED, volume control, clipping/battery low indicator, and crossfeed switch.

The AirHead also has a Gain switch inside the oval hole of the battery door. Simply use the low volume setting unless your headphones won't reach a reasonable listening level with the main volume control, then switch to the high gain setting. This switch allows you to get the very best performance out of your headphone system regardless of efficiency & impedance ratings.

On the rear left-hand side of the AirHead is a jack for the optionally-available AC adaptor. Also available is a power supply needed for 230vac overseas/international currents: 230 Total AirHead Power Supply.

The AirHead is powered by four AAA batteries (not included), and will run for 25-40 hours depending on your headphones. The amp does not charge your batteries.

The AirHead has a molded rubber battery door. Simply lift the cover from the rear and it releases its soft detent nub to reveal 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.

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 AAA batteries inside.

Average Customer Rating:
(based on 20 reviews)

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Excellent first amp!
by nickman from Canada on 2010-01-11

Pros: Sound quality, crossfeed, construction, value
Cons: Input and output jacks not on same side, loose volume wheel
Would you recommend this product: Yes

This is my first real headphone amplifier. The dark, all-plastic construction is solid and durable. Sound quality is excellent, improvements are clear and apparent. The sound stage is wider, with more bass detail and impact, and more detailed, airy highs. The crossfeed switch gives subtle improvements to the sound stage, but it cures my headache problem. However, the input and output jacks are not on the same side which limits its versatility. The volume wheel is loose and is easily moved, resulting in some sudden volume changes. Overall an excellent amp as your first, but needs some minor improvements.

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nice amp
by Head Guy from Minnesota on 2010-01-21

Pros: compact, battery powered
Cons: none really
Would you recommend this product: Yes

This is a very nice and reasonably priced headphone amp. I was seriously considering building my own with one of the DIY amps out there, but even though I have soldering skills, the work necessary to build and test it would go beyond the price of the Airhead. Much lower risk too as this one is backed by Headroom! I chose the Airhead of the Bithead because I don't need a USB.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

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It DOES make a difference
by donc from chicago on 2010-01-15

Pros: Small, Good battery life, great value
Would you recommend this product: Yes

I purchased this to hook up to Sennheiser 650's and an iPhone. Definitely sounds better with the amp.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

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Rounds Out Live Tunes
by Boda from Cleveland, OH on 2010-01-15

Pros: Softens the bass without muddying sound
Cons: Short Battery Life
Would you recommend this product: Yes

Received as a xmas present and was weary as to what it would bring to my already pricey earbuds, but boy was I pleasantly surprised. I listen to a lot of live audience recordings that can vary in quality. This amp finds a way to level peaks and valleys out and create a balanced sound. I love the volume control on the amp versus the portable device I'm plugging it into. Great value.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?

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The Cunning Agent for Effectively Recording Music
by ampulse from Pittsburgh, PA on 2010-01-15

Pros: very portable, easy setup
Would you recommend this product: Yes

This little guy makes recording music more thorough. Why? In a live concert, there are numerous issues a recordist faces, mainly lots and lost of noise interference. This noise makes for a difficult time hearing the incoming levels. If you can't accurately hear what is being recorded, the music won't jive well in the post-production process. However, The Total Airhead amplifies the incoming sound signal and helps the recordist hear the levels with higher clarity. More clarity = better recording (assuming the recordist knows what he/she is doing). Enough Said.

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My first Amp
by Hells from St. Cloud, MN on 2010-02-04

Pros: Sound quality is outstanding, really drives my headphones well.
Cons: No AAA batteries or AC Adaptor included.
Would you recommend this product: Yes

This is my first amp I've ever bought, having just bought my Grados SR-325i moving up from a pair of Shure E4c and Grados SR-80i was a treat, adding this and the sendstation dock only made it all the better. Bass is finally apparent and has body, soundstage is outstanding, the crossfeed helps bring depth to the music. A definite purchase.

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so little,but so powerfull
by plonter from israel on 2010-01-28

Pros: small and compact,powerfull sound,a lot of functions
Cons: can't think of
Would you recommend this product: Yes

I gave this one 5 stars like all the rest of the headroom gear i own.
when I was a fresh starter (noob) on the whole HI-FI thing I didn't even think that certain headphones can sound really great and other not so.
headphone amp?? "what is this foolishness"..I thought to mylsef. "I will never spend my precious money on this...this is not speakers,it is only headphones and they do not need an amp!"
boy! I was ssssooo wrong. one day,when reading the reviews on headroom site over and over again,I couldn't help myself and decided to get me a total airhead just to see what all this fussing about. I remember the first time I was hooking my new airhead to my PK1 earphones...and I was really impressed by the improvement in sound, it was night and day difference. anyway,this is how I got hooked into headphones and I bought a few more headphones and headphone amps since than.
although I got another,more upscale amps now, I still think the total airhead can give a fair fight to a lot of full size amps out there, and for
redicioulus price for such a great audio device.

it is small,compact, and delivering powerfull and smooth sound.
it is also got a lot of very important functions like: crossfeed,high/low gain,clipping indicator.
it is also very durable and well built (like all headroom stuff), it can work on batteries and electricity (with the supplied wall wart). headroom even got a special little bags for the airhead for carring it around when traveling.
talking about sound,when comparing it to my other desktop amps it comes very close. even driving my rather demanding (300 ohm) HD650 nicely.
very recommendable little unit. really a luxury for a portable unit,and can be used for home also. this is a great amp to start with if you are a little short with cash (like i did) and don't sure if you want to shell out all the way for a more serious amp.

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I've seen the light
by Sideslip from NYC on 2010-01-28

Would you recommend this product: Yes

Thanks a lot you bastards.

Curious, I asked for and received your AirHead amp for Christmas; to be used with Etymotics' 4Ps and an iTouch. I was thoroughly happy with the Ety's, and doubted there'd be a marked improvement with the AirHead. I was content with the portability, with the quality of the sound, and okay, yes, I was a little smug for being so clever. I planned to use the AirHead at home chiefly, and most of the time would go AirHead-less. This was my plan.

The AirHead put an end to that. The improvement in sound was stunning. The scales fell from my eyes and, in a very literal way, the angels sang. The added dimension in both the higher and lower registers is palpable; bass has punch without being intrusive, voices seem sweeter in certain recordings than I remember, and there is a presence that wasn't there before (is this soundstage?). It was like going from over-the-ear headphones (Sony 7506s) to the Etys. So much sound from so little equipment, and equipment so little.

So now what? Am I going to lug around the Airhead and attendant wires (I also received the SendStation Line-out Mini USB to take advantage of the better fidelity from the iTouch's synch port) and buy batteries for the bugger?

Oh yes.

I am.

The slight compromise to portability is easily trumped by the improvement in the quality of the sound.

So, thanks a lot you bastards. Really, thanks a lot. The AirHead is the best thing to happen to my listening experience since sliced bread (well, you know what I mean).


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a must for anyone with an i-pod(or other mp3 player)
by thebman from canada on 2010-01-25

Pros: the sound and the size
Cons: none at all
Would you recommend this product: Yes

really improves the sound of my i-pod,more depth and better bottom end.

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Very affordable amp
by dg767 from Keller, TX on 2010-01-19

Pros: good sound and size
Cons: switches not labeled
Would you recommend this product: Yes

I've not had much time to really evaluate the sound, but it does seem to work well. The amp is rather small, but it would be helpful if the switches were labeled.

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Total AirHead Review
by VinnieVidi from NYC on 2010-01-17

Pros: Clean Sound, Solid Construction
Cons: Short Battery Life
Would you recommend this product: Yes

I purchased the Total AirHead as an amp to go along with my travel set-up: a MacBook Pro, Pro-Ject DAC, and Sennheiser IE7. The sound from the TAH is noticeably better than when I plug straight into the MBP's headphone jack. By better I mean that the highs are not as harsh and the usual background hissing is no longer a problem.

My only gripes with the Total AirHead are as follows. First, it runs on 4 AAA batteries that don't seem to last a very long time. I would imagine that it would have been more economical just to buy both the US and EU wall plugs. The second thing is the cross-feed feature -- I really don't know if it is working or not. Maybe it is and the problem is with me and not the amp... I don't know.

All in all, it's a great portable amp and a pretty good value. It's light, solid and is capable of a more refined sound than many of the other portable amps I've tried in the past.

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A great purchase
by Trout from Atlanta GA on 2010-01-17

Pros: Really improves the sound of my headphones
Cons: none
Would you recommend this product: Yes

I am using this when listening to my iPod. The sound improvement was not that noticeble on the standard earbuds. More noticible on my Untimate Ears in ear phones. But the sound difference when using my Sennheiser HD 565 Ovations was amazing. The iPod could not drive the Senns at a good volume. The Total AirHead really improved the volume and especially the bass. With gain setting on low I get all the performance needed to make the phones and music sound great. Just a hugh improvement. If you use full size cans to listen to your iPod you should try this amp.

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Hearing Much More Detail
by Amateur Audiophile from Charlotte, NC on 2010-01-16

Pros: Enhances sound and Crossfeed feature
Cons: Wish it was smaller
Would you recommend this product: Yes

I was amazed at the detail I had been missing before adding this amp. It is especially nice when listening to music that is heavily left/right oriented thanks to the Crossfeed feature.

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great little amp
by larrdog from norwalk calif. on 2010-01-16

Pros: portable and easy to move from place to place
Cons: none
Would you recommend this product: Yes

is very small but well built packs a big sound has two headphones outputs but dose not lose power when both are used

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GOOD AMP/POWER
by Philzie from Venice, FL on 2010-01-16

Cons: WISH IT TURNED OFF AUTOMATICALLY WHEN NOT BEING USED
Would you recommend this product: Yes

I like and use. I have 3 of your amps (and Xcans). I have 4 senn's. New bose $99 in-ears are pretty good value(suprising for Bose).

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I honestly I could not hear any difference
by PB from Grand Rapids Mi on 2010-01-16

Pros: none that I can think of
Cons: Too bulky to travel with
Would you recommend this product: No

I have some of the best ear-pods made today. My westone's are incredible. Perhaps I am not using the amp properly, but it is sitting in a drawer, because I found it made no positive difference.

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Cool but not needed now
by MusicLover114 from New York City on 2010-01-16

Pros: lite compace
Would you recommend this product: Yes

Did use this for a while, but with new i pod, I did not need them, Passed it on to a friend in need and he loves it.

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total airhead review
by kazfish from LA, CA on 2010-01-15

Pros: nicely designed, nice increase in sound quality with my 555s, uses AAAs
Cons: a bit expensive
Would you recommend this product: Yes

Really found what headroom said was true...adding an amp to the senn 555's really made them come alive. Makes me wonder what a higher end can with better amp would sound like!

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Works great on low gain
by Manimattor from Tustin on 2010-01-15

Pros: Excellent sound and portability
Cons: Picks up alot of interference from iphone
Would you recommend this product: Yes

This amp works great on portable players/ laptops that don't have the juice to power higher ohms..

High gain using the optional power adapter seems to introduce quite a bit of noise.
It's rather difficult to use the airhead with an iPhone. It picks up noise from the cell even if the iPhone is switched to airplane mode wifi off Bluetooth off etc..once again the noise is not so prominant on the low gain setting..

This is a great introduction to headphone amps and it intrigues me as to what else headroom has to offer..

Tested on a MacBook pro and iPhone with beyer dynamic dt770 pros grado sr80s and ultrasone hfi 450s

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A must have w/headphones and i pod
by Glen from Aspen CO on 2010-01-11

Pros: great price
Cons: Looks
Would you recommend this product: Yes

This product changed my life. I purchased this with a pair of ATH-ESW9A Headphones and I have a great sounding portable system for my i pod. The only problem with i pods are the sound. With a Total Bite Head or Air Head you can change your life to. I recomened this for any one that uses a i pod. Sound Quality is where it is at and a i pod by its self can't run what you need to here quality. Wake Up America and by a AMP for your i pod. NOW!!

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