The HeadRoom Portable Micro Amp has  upsides, but doesn't offer as much value or audio quality.

When it comes to personal entertainment, few experiences are more deliciously self-indulgent than listening to great music on a pair of exceptional headphones connected to a really good headphone amp.

The HeadRoom Portable Micro Amp looks as high tech as the Grado RA1 does retro. Both devices are hand built, but the Micro’s extruded-aluminum enclosure gives it a cyberpunk vibe. The Micro has both analog and digital inputs (optical, coaxial, and USB), a built-in DAC, a three-position gain switch, and an internal Li-ion battery. But we found that the amp wasn’t nearly as powerful when it came to an iPod’s output unless you crank up the gain, and it had a very difficult time driving the Ultrasone cans. Switching gain to High colored the audio, rendering it too bright; and Medium boosted the signal just enough if the source and the amp were running full tilt. This was less of an issue with the Sennheiser phones, and the amp nearly blew our ears out when we plugged in the highly efficient Shures. The problem disappeared when we used a notebook as our source (via USB) and relied on the Micro’s built-in DAC.

Portability’s cool, but if the amp can’t drive your favorite phones, what’s the point?

COMPANY: HeadRoom
CONTACT: www.headphone.com
PRICE: $399
REQUIREMENTS: Headphones, audio player
Built-in DAC. Runs on either Li-ion battery or AC. Rugged construction.
Has difficulty driving professional headphones.