Music Hall OBH-11 Headphone Amplifier

by Music Hall

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000BD4TGM
• Item model number: OBH11
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #62 in Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Audio & Video Accessories > Headphone Accessories > Amps
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

The MUSIC HALL OBH-11 is a miniature audio amplifier, designed specifically to drive a single pair of headphones from a line level source, such as a CD player or tuner. Enjoy your music in privacy, with clean sound and incredible presence, without switching on your main audio system.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice amp, good price, October 15, 2008

By 

Robert Hanson "Rob Hanson" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Music Hall OBH-11 Headphone Amplifier (Electronics)

Headphone amps aren't required for your ipod earphones... however if you're using something over 20 ohms you should definitely consider using a headphone amp.

What i've found with a set of AKG cans at 65ohms was remarkable. I compared the same headphones straight out of a 5th gen ipod, and then again through the headphone amp using a 1/4" -> rca cable from the ipod to the amp. Drums are punchier, mids are clearer and highs are much more fine... it's difficult to explain and it's a bit of a leap of faith to buy audio stuff without hearing the difference first, but it's like removing a cloud of fog from a field. Without the fog, you hear where things are coming from clearly, you can see the source of the noise easily. With the fog you're hearing the noise all around you, it's not clear where things are.

I'm sure there are far better amps out there that provide better tonality and accuracy, this is a discreet amp, and those who seek a blended butter of sound from tube amps should look elsewhere, but I like to listen to rock so a faster amp with sharp attack is what i like, this little guy does the job pretty well.

I didn't consider many alternatives (although I researched quite a few) because of the price point. There are many alternative headphone amps that are very fancy looking, but without hearing one first it's difficult to shell out the big bucks. I also chose this amp because of it's lack of batteries. This amp sits on my desk at work. There's no need to waste batteries.

anyways, i'm happy with this amp, i'd recommend it to anyone willing to drop some coin on some good cans.

happy listening!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding amp for quality headphones, January 21, 2011

By 

Gerhard P. Knapp "gpk" (Forest Grove, OR, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Music Hall OBH-11 Headphone Amplifier (Electronics)

For various reasons, I do much of my listening with headphones connected to a headphone jack either on a Carver Sunfire pre-amp, a Sony C222 CS SACD player or on a mid-size Sony receiver/amp. After trying several mid- to higher-end headphones, I settled for most of my listening (classical: orchestral and choral) on a pair of Denon AH-D5000 (see my review). The Denons appear to be-until further notice--the most versatile, transparent, detailed and pleasing to my (aging) ears. They are also comfortable. Regarding transients, spatial soundstage and punch, I still felt somewhat shortchanged, especially in comparison with my high-end speakers and decided to give a dedicated headphone amp a try. When the OBH-11 arrived, I hooked it up to my Pioneer DV-48AV DVD player and, taking turns, my CD player, with a pair of Monster Cables for a trial run. Hookup was a cinch. The little amp is user-friendly and powerful enough to drive all my headphones--including the Beyer DT 880, rated at 250 '--to staggering levels. In other words: you will rarely have to turn the neat, quiet volume control beyond 10 o'clock, unless you are stone deaf or want to go there. You won't need an additional (expensive) power source as is touted by some esoteric magazines. Initial trial runs with a variety of music were good, though not spectacular. After the manufacturer-suggested breaking-in period of ca. 20 hrs. (I usually put on a CD with plenty of different orchestral and choral dynamics: try Mahler 8 and set the player to auto repeat), the sound changed drastically: voices are crystal clear; the sound stage is three-dimensional; transients, treble and bass come through without effort, the latter with plenty of punch, but dry and sharply defined. Everything sounds musical. Yes, you can hear every edit in the recording, but that's the way it should be. All in all, this is an exciting little amp, well worth the price. Now, I'll have plenty of fun re-listening to my favorite music and re-auditioning my collection of headphones. I know I'm in for a few surprises.

9 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great amplifier, March 2, 2009

By 

A. Gonzalez Arquieta - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Music Hall OBH-11 Headphone Amplifier (Electronics)

I am an advanced amateur. I own a multithousand dollar Mark Levinson set up. However I wanted a good not too expensive amplifier for my Sennheiser headphones. This one turned ut to be very good. I know there are better, more expensive headphone amplifiers out there, but this one was just what I needed and sounds great.