Arcam rHead Class-A Headphone Amplifier

Designed by Arcam’s founder and Class-G design Guru John Dawson, the new Arcam rHead is a discrete true-linear Class-A analogue headphone amplifier, built for the highest possible performance and to outperform competition at anywhere near the affordable price, says the company’s latest press release.

Arcam of Cambridge: The rHead is a discrete true-linear Class-A analogue headphone amplifier, designed for the highest possible performance, outperforming all competition at anywhere near the affordable price. www.arcam.co.uk - www.robfollis.com

This compact, solid analogue product is designed to complement the audio system of any headphone lover. It delivers enough power to drive small speakers, let alone the least-efficient headphones.

Arcam say the the rHead is “ultra-low-distortion, ultra-low-noise and totally musical. Timing is fast and precise, with well-controlled bass and although the output is very wide-band, the extended treble is smooth and flat with no artificial exaggerations. Dynamic headroom is massive and all headphones we know of are handled with ease”.

Key Features 

– Class A design delivers zero crossover distortion for the purest sound.

– Extensively optimised 2 layer fibreglass PCB for cleanest sound and lowest crosstalk

– Multiple low noise power supplies eliminate cross-interference between sections

– Fully direct coupled signal path from the volume control for cleanest bass

– Ultra-linear resistive-ladder analogue volume control, eliminates L/R volume tracking errors

(taken from Arcam’s $6000+ flagship A49 amplifier)

– Precision metal film resistors in the signal path for lowest distortion

– Phono socket and balanced XLR inputs

– 3.5mm and 6.25mm headphone outputs

– Output impedance <0.5Ω eliminates frequency response errors

– Enough power to drive the least-efficient headphones

Other Bullet Points 

– Very high build-quality

– Die cast metal case for mechanically stable structure

– World-class analogue circuitry

– Vibration damped non-slip rubber base

Tech Specs

Frequency response – 10Hz – 20kHz / +/- 0.1dB 20Hz–20 kHz

Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise – 0.001% at 2V output, 32Ω load
Signal-to-noise ratio (A-weighted) – 109dB at 2V output, 32Ω load
Headphone output power
– 2.0W, 16Ω load
– 1.1W, 32Ω load
– 0.13W, 300Ω load
Headphone recommended impedance – 16Ω – 600Ω, 3.5 or 6.35mm plug
Output impedance <0.5Ω
Input levels – 0-4V (RCA) – 0-8V (XLR)
Dimensions – W194 x H44 x D135mm
Weight – 0.71kg
 £399.00 UK inc VAT / US $600 + sales tax
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