S.M.S.LSH-9 Headphone Amplifier THX AAA Technology RCA/XLR Input 6.35MM Balanced Headphone Amplifier

Compared to other headphone amps in the same category with AAA tech, XLR inputs, XLR headphone output, and 3 or so watts of output, the SMSL SH-9 is an excellent build, especially with the remote (!!!) and LCD screen. The only thing this is missing is outputs to be used as a preamp, but I did not buy it for preamp use - I wanted the headphone amplification and only that, with high performance. This unit is a top notch performer with clean sound, super channel separation, and plenty of power. I drive a few different headphones with this, but I usually use an Audeze LCD-2 (with Phazor) and this amp is an excellent match. The sound signature is totally neutral and complete at all frequencies, which the LCD-2 needs with it's laid back nature. No extra color needed in the signal - just the pure clean source as desired. My only nitpick is that the volume knob is clicky, but the tech behind the volume adjustments is definitely worth the tradeoff - super accurate and 100% balanced from right to left channels. Highly recommended.

I’ve gone through many headphone amps over the past decades, and this one is the best. I’ve recently compared it to two Topping amps, and it’s superior to both, with wider dynamic range, wider soundstage, and naturalness of sound. It has more than enough power to drive my Focal Stellias. I rarely turn it up past 50 when not in high gain mode.

This amplifier is good enough, it plays clear and doesn't add anything to your headphones sound. I know there is better sound out there, but for this price? I only own a sound card (was $150), a home theater amplifier (was $1100) and this amp (was $250), so cant really compare apples to apples. I own a pair of Sennheiser 660s and they sound great on this amplifier, just wish it had a little more bass and/or options on the amp itself. All in all, they sounded better than the sound card and worse than the home theater amp, so take that as you will.

I was using the Sybasonic DAC/AMP combo for a while with the SHP9500s but lately I've wanted to upgrade my audio equipment to something a more powerful. Did some research and landed on the Focal Elex as my headphones of choice and wanted a DAC/AMP that could handle the new headphones. Settled on the SH-9 and bought it "Used - Like New". Honestly, it was more like open box. Everything intact, no signs of use and even the remote was still packaged.That Amp itself had exceeded my expectations. I'm still a n00b when it comes to all this HiFi gear but I definitely feel like I got what I paid for. Read/Watch some reviews and decide for yourself but I think you'll really be happy with this too especially if this is a step up from other cheaper entry level equipment.

I bought this based on the specs and reviews, but was also impressed with the THX hardware. However, it’s a piece of junk. It runs so hot that I actually burned my hand changing the volume. And it only sounds decent at high volumes. I admit I have a trained ear playing and listening to classical music all of my life, and this definitely showed it was a lower-end product. It definitely did not live up to my expectations.

The design of the volume pot means perfect L-R balance at any setting, just superb!

I love clean sound never heard this clear in my life

I bought this headphone amp, trusting the positive reviews, but to those people—what are you thinking? Have you never used a _nice_ headphone amp before? This one fails on so many counts.A good headphone amp has a volume knob that glides like a bird of prey, and gives you a wide range of listening volumes where it sounds lovely. Instead, this one has a volume system based on switching relays, with 100 stops. Every time you turn the knob, it clicks as some relays presumably select which resistors to include in an 8–part resistor ladder, giving accurate digital volume steps. If the clicking as you make larger adjustments bothers you, you can enable "volume mode" where it will let you adjust and then click the relays, instead of adjusting as you go. It also suggests that this improves the service life. That may be ‘accurate’, but who cares about faithfully scaling to 100 precise volume steps? It only makes sense if you treat it as a fixed gain setting that you will basically never adjust. That kind of defeats the purpose of a headphone amp to me. So, one star to volume control. Misses the point.As for the sound quality, I gave it three stars because it's better than no headphone amp. My first day of listening, reminded me of the pleasure of listening to music, that I had given up for other life priorities for many years. I had ordered this one as I accidentally bought a DAC with no headphone amp, it was ready to go, and because of the positive feedback. I was able to enjoy that day with volume on max and the 10dB gain switch disabled, but the DAC I was using has a fine control for volume. It was passable, but when I A/B test it against another heaphone amp in the same price range, an 'ifi Zen CAN, the Zen CAN produces a much nicer sound across a wider range of volumes. I'm not sure what specific quality it is, but my guess is it boils down to an excessive focus on accuracy measurable by instruments and not ears. Especially on busy sections of music where this is a lot of mid–upper treble, it strains me to listen to the harshness of the sound. Bass seems flat. The sound has no warmth to it.Let's also talk about the remote control, which Amazon suggests I rate. Let's leave aside for a moment why a headphone amp even needs a remote control. The user interface and remote control are also garbage. It's a remote which controls several S.M.S.L. units, which means you have a confusing hidden remote control mode. You have to remember that "B" means the headphone amp. "FN" toggles the 10dB gain (Ow! You just made my ears hurt). The "Input Source" button is appropriately labeled and switches from RCA to dual XLR balanced input. There's a navigation that lets you jump around its clunky menu system and adjust such important features as the screen brightness and how long it will show the display before it dims.The other thing about this headphone amp is that the output is either 6.5mm single–ended, or 4–pin XLR. OK sure, there's a 6.5mm to 3.5mm adapter, so most wired headphones will connect via that. But there's no 4.4mm balanced output, so to use that you'll have to either get a dongle (no unibody XLR to 4.4mm adapters exist yet, it seems), or buy a headphone cable with an XLR connector on it. But if you buy a headphone cable with an XLR connector, you can't use that pair of headphones with anything portable, so you'll have to switch cables if you find you want to listen to your favorite cans on the go.To me, this headphone amp is not fit to be a daily driver. It would be OK if your DAC has a good output volume knob, _but_ that's not particularly common. Most sources have a fixed output, that's all. The remote control, screen, XLR connector and relay–based volume control are all mis–features that detract from the joy of owning a headphone amp.