With the contribution of headfiers I'd like to make a permanent and updated list of headphone amps with Balance Control.
The Balance control is a must have feature for the following reasons:
- most of us have a slightly worse hearing in one side (younger the better, just like eyes), image is slightly shifted in comparison to original recording.
- Not every recording is properly balanced, let alone the old ones converted from mono to stereo. The recording equipment up to monitors/headphones or even room used in the pro studio could have had an imbalance in output perception.
- Right/Left drivers have different output due to tolerances in production of each unit (like anything in this world), quality manufacturers could match them up to 0.5db difference, but most of the time is much worst than that.
- Channel imbalance inside the amp, maybe not much of a difference regarding R/L power output, but using a pot the tracking precision is based on volume position which depends on each track recording level and sensivity of each headphone.
Just one of those reasons alone pretend a Balance Control, even more so for amps for traditional speakers which suffer also the reaction of room shape/walls and placement of each speaker respective to listening position.
Instead manufacturers BS told us they remove the Balance Control to have a purest signal path. LOL
They let the signal pass through any kind of component, type of circuit, multiple type of conversions (phono/digital), connectors and jumpers, switchers and relays, even small computers inside... Anything but not a balance control?
It's a desolation to discover that the outcome for now is a little list, I hope to get your contribution to let it grow and push manufacturers to give us THE BALANCE CONTROL!
HEADPHONE AMPLIFIERS WITH BALANCE CONTROL
McIntosh MHA150 € 7.800 / $ 5.000 (DAC ESS9016S, poweramp 2x50Watt 8 Ohm)
Violectric DHA V590 Pro € 3.699 / $$? (DAC AK4490, 256 step)
Violectric DHA V590 € 3.199 / $$? (DAC AK4490)
SPL Phonitor X € 2.399 / $$? (opt. DAC AK4490 Euro 2.799, preamp, ext. remote)
SPL Phonitor XE € 2.099 / $$? (opt. DAC AK4490 Euro 2.799, ext. remote)
RME ADI-2 Pro FS R Black Edition € 1.745 / $$? (DAC AK4493, remote)
RME ADI-2 DAC FS € 990 / $$? (DAC AK4493*, remote) *newer units, old ones AK4490
Nimbus US 4+ € 5.433 / $$?
Luxman P-750u € 4.490 / $ 4.995
Bryston BHA-1 € 3.270 / $$?
Benchmark HPA4 € 3.270 / $ 2.999
Sparkos Labs Aries € 2.999 / $$? (preamp)
Sparkos Labs Aries base € 2.499 / $$?
Lake People Phone-Amp G105 € 389 / $$?
Beresford Capella € 259 / $$?
The following have the BC but it's buried inside menu and not convenient, if a manufacturers want to be included in the upper list they should fix its position with a firmware upgrade (i.e. first of the list pressing "menu").
T+A HA200 € 6.800 / $$? (Balance control inside menu = not convenient; DAC, NO ANALOGUE OUTPUT)
Mytek Brooklyn Bridge € 2.995 / $$? (Balance control inside menu = not convenient, DAC)
Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ € 2.195 / $$? (Balance control inside menu = not convenient, DAC)
Sony TA-ZH1ES € 2.199 / $$? (Balance control inside menu = not convenient, DAC)
Audiolab M-DAC+ € 1.299 / $$? (Balance control inside menu = not convenient, DAC)
NOTES: I'd like to keep the list updated with unit in current production and delete discontinued ones (like Violectric 281).
I'll later add a few features for each unit just for reference, not a features list which is too complicated to maintain.
Price reference is in Euro at the time of update, suggest me the US dollar price so we can keep a list with reference for both Europe and USA at least.
The list started by me searching a solid state device, I've not searched tube amps to avoid nightmares and paranoic years of tube rollin'.
