An Examination of Headphone Amplifier Performance Specifications
Do Specifications Lie? Do Our Ears Lie? Where does the Truth Lie?
Recording Engineers and Audiophiles often distrust audio measurements and specifications. It is not uncommon to hear claims that a product measures poorly but sounds good. Occasionally we also hear claims that a product measures well but sounds bad.
This whitepaper documents significant differences between three headphone amplifiers that have nearly identical published specifications.
All three products have a high-quality headphone output with very low output impedance, high drive capability, low distortion, and a flat frequency response. The published specifications strongly suggest that it should be impossible to hear any difference between these products. Nevertheless, in our informal listening tests, we had the distinct impression that there were significant sonic differences between these products when listening to music.
We replicated the manufacturers' tests and found that the published specifications were accurate and correct. All three manufacturers followed standard measurement procedures and provided accurate specifications.
This paper shows some additional measurements which expose significant differences that do not appear in traditional published specifications:
Also in Audio Application Notes
How Loud is the Distortion from Your Power Amplifier?
Would you put a Washing Machine in your Listening Room?
If the answer is no, you may be surprised to discover that the distortion produced by your power amplifier may be louder than the noise produced by a major appliance.
Don't believe me? Take a look at Stereophile's test reports:
We selected 7 power amplifiers from Stereophile's top list of recommended amplifiers.
We took Stereophile's "THD+N vs. Power" plots for each, and replotted the data in a format that shows the loudness of the THD+N at the listening position.
The results are shocking!
Amplifier THD+N is louder than expected!
The distortion from your amplifier may be louder than a washing machine on the spin cycle, or it may be totally silent. How does yours perform? The answer is hidden in Stereophile's THD+N plots.
This application note reveals the hidden truth:
"The Distortion from your Power Amplifier may be Louder than a Washing Machine!"
I know, it sounds crazy, but this is what the measurements show!
Interpolator Overload Distortion
Most digital playback devices include digital interpolators. These interpolators increase the sample rate of the incoming audio to improve the performance of the playback system. Interpolators are essential in oversampled sigma-delta D/A converters, and in sample rate converters. In general, interpolators have vastly improved the performance of audio D/A converters by eliminating the need for analog brick wall filters. Nevertheless, digital interpolators have brick wall digital filters that can produce unique distortion signatures when they are overloaded.
10% Distortion
An interpolator that performs wonderfully when tested with standard test tones, may overload severely when playing the inter-sample musical peaks that are captured on a typical CD. In our tests, we observed THD+N levels exceeding 10% while interpolator overloads were occurring. The highest levels were produced by devices that included ASRC sample rate converters.
Audiophile Snake Oil
The Audiophile Wild West
Audiophiles live in the wild west. $495 will buy an "audiophile fuse" to replace the $1 generic fuse that came in your audio amplifier. $10,000 will buy a set of "audiophile speaker cables" to replace the $20 wires you purchased at the local hardware store. We are told that these $10,000 cables can be improved if we add a set of $300 "cable elevators" to dampen vibrations. You didn't even know that you needed elevators! And let's not forget to budget at least $200 for each of the "isolation platforms" we will need under our electronic components. Furthermore, it seems that any so-called "audiophile power cord" that costs less than $100, does not belong in a high-end system. And, if cost is no object, there are premium versions of each that can be purchased by the most discerning customers. A top-of-the line power cord could run $5000. One magazine claims that "the majority of listeners were able to hear the difference between a $5 power cable and a $5,000 power cord". Can you hear the difference? If not, are you really an audiophile?