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Published on 06/19/11 at 06:56I won't kid anyone here. You're not a high-end studio owner. You aren't looking to spend oodles of cash. You're here because you want a headphone amp and don't have that much to spend. It's not very frilly, but the Behringer MicroAMP HA400 headphone amplifier does everything it says it does. Well.
Sound: It's a headphone amplifier for someone who needs for outputs. It doesn't have unbelievable technology packed inside, but the truth is, it gets loud, and there are four of them. That's really it. There's nothing terribly crippling about it, despite its price and the miasmic stigma that shrouds the name Behringer. There really isn't any more noticeable noise from using it instead of listening directly through my TASCAM US-1641. They're connected with a short Hosa cable and I use Sony MDR-7506's primarily. It's pristine. Due to the market of this product, it doesn't feel irrelevant to say it's also wonderful for desktop speakers and movies and casual music listening, should you be the type.
Quality: SOLID. It's not the heaviest thing in the world, but that's because it's small. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed the heft of the box. It does have quite the sturdy chassis. That being said, the knobs make me question the quality control. Knobs 1,2, and 4 have a very nice balance of resistance to them, but knob 3 is tough. It's absolutely workable without a lot of effort, but compared to the rest, it's easy to be reminded that Behringer's quality control as of the writing of this review is not exactly what one would call top-notch.
Features: It's a no-frills headphone amp without any sort of adjustments besides volume. It works well enough for monitoring. The one thing that I understand due to the low cost but nonetheless bugs me is the lack of a power switch. You have to pull the darn cord in and out everytime. I know, I know. The lower cost units from my experience are the ones that lack power switches. Unfortunately, this seems to be practically illogical, since the members of this amp's market are less likely to own power conditioners with kill switches for their audio equipment. I have to deal with the same thing for my FMR RNC. Annoying, isn't it? Not a deal breaker though; anyone who spends $30 on a headphone amp can't beg for everything.
Overall: It's a wonderful little machine with its quirks that probably vary from box to box. Maybe all your knobs will turn right, maybe they won't. Either way, This machine does exactly what it's advertised for. And truth be told, having a headphone amp not even for multiple monitoring purposes, but for consolidating your headphone and computer speakers (because I know you low-end people have them), this little box is a very liberating tool. 8/10. Just for the dubious quality control in regards to the knobs, and maybe .1 for my low-end pet peeve, the lack of a power switch. Great product. I still fully recommend it if you don't already have a headphone amp.
Sound: It's a headphone amplifier for someone who needs for outputs. It doesn't have unbelievable technology packed inside, but the truth is, it gets loud, and there are four of them. That's really it. There's nothing terribly crippling about it, despite its price and the miasmic stigma that shrouds the name Behringer. There really isn't any more noticeable noise from using it instead of listening directly through my TASCAM US-1641. They're connected with a short Hosa cable and I use Sony MDR-7506's primarily. It's pristine. Due to the market of this product, it doesn't feel irrelevant to say it's also wonderful for desktop speakers and movies and casual music listening, should you be the type.
Quality: SOLID. It's not the heaviest thing in the world, but that's because it's small. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed the heft of the box. It does have quite the sturdy chassis. That being said, the knobs make me question the quality control. Knobs 1,2, and 4 have a very nice balance of resistance to them, but knob 3 is tough. It's absolutely workable without a lot of effort, but compared to the rest, it's easy to be reminded that Behringer's quality control as of the writing of this review is not exactly what one would call top-notch.
Features: It's a no-frills headphone amp without any sort of adjustments besides volume. It works well enough for monitoring. The one thing that I understand due to the low cost but nonetheless bugs me is the lack of a power switch. You have to pull the darn cord in and out everytime. I know, I know. The lower cost units from my experience are the ones that lack power switches. Unfortunately, this seems to be practically illogical, since the members of this amp's market are less likely to own power conditioners with kill switches for their audio equipment. I have to deal with the same thing for my FMR RNC. Annoying, isn't it? Not a deal breaker though; anyone who spends $30 on a headphone amp can't beg for everything.
Overall: It's a wonderful little machine with its quirks that probably vary from box to box. Maybe all your knobs will turn right, maybe they won't. Either way, This machine does exactly what it's advertised for. And truth be told, having a headphone amp not even for multiple monitoring purposes, but for consolidating your headphone and computer speakers (because I know you low-end people have them), this little box is a very liberating tool. 8/10. Just for the dubious quality control in regards to the knobs, and maybe .1 for my low-end pet peeve, the lack of a power switch. Great product. I still fully recommend it if you don't already have a headphone amp.