Teac HA-P50-B Portable Headphone Amplifier, Black

I bought this device hoping to get better sound than the onboard DAC on Windows mobile devices and to drive my Sony XBA-A3 headphone which sometimes require a bit more power than what the headphone port provide. It's also to be used with my iDevices so I can playback HD music in 24/96, FLAC, etc.First thing! Be sure to go to the Teac product page to download the latest firmware and install instruction and update the Firmware to the latest release. My unit have the initial launch version Firmware and it was not recognized properly by Windows device out of the box. But after Firmware update, it's plug and play with no additional driver needed.Although I said that I got this unit for Windows mobile devices but I also tried it on a couple PCs.First is a 4 years old Gateway FX6840. While a pretty good gaming PC back in it's days. It did not have enough slot to add a soundcard nor does it have digital output on the Mobo audio out. Compared to using the onboard headphone port. Using the Teac via USB connection provides dramatically improved dynamic range, much more details in the mid and highs, a tighter bass and broadened sound stage.2nd is a 6 months old custom built gaming PC using an ASUS Z97-A mobo. There is a quite noticeable improvement compared to the onboard headphone out. I then tried using the optical digital output on the Mobo into the Teac (thus bypassing the Teac DAC) and going thru USB connection (using the Teac DAC). While the improvement is not nearly as dramatic as on the Gateway or the Z97-A headphone out. There is still a noticeable improvement on the dynamic range and details. But since I still have some slots left, I can probably achieve the same result by buying a ~$100 soundcard.3rd up is my 1 1/2 year old Gigabyte P-34G Laptop. I did not try the optical out from the spdif but just compare the laptop headphone out vs USB to Teac. I would say the improvements are a bit more noticeable than that of the ASUS Z97-A PC,Last Windows devices is a not quite 6 months old Acer Aspire Switch 10 table PC running Win8. I would say the improvement was once again noticeable similar to those from the laptop.From these results. I would say that if you're using onboard sound from Windows devices. You'll definitely see a noticeable to dramatic improvement depending on how old your device is.Now onto Apple devices.First. Connection is very easy. Just connect the Apple lightning or 30pin to USB cable to the unit and it works.Second. Since Apple use fairly good Cirrus Logic DAC on most of the newer i devices. The sound quality improvements will be fairly minor. But the main reason to use this unit with an Apple device is that iTune currently does not support playback of HD music files like 24/96, FLAC, etc. You can do it through 3rd party apps and even then, they are usually down-sample to 16/44.1 to playback through the audio jack. However, by using the Teac HR Player app (available in app store and product support page). It allows direct playback of HD music files from iDevices without down-sampling.Another pro for this unit is that while it can be charged through the MicroUSB port. It can also be charged through the separate USB to miniplug cable (which is recommended). It charge the battery directly without going thru the main circuit board thus eliminating any electronic noise that maybe carried through the 5V DC path. (unlike the Fiio E11K, E12 which sometimes have minor hiss while being charge).Overall, I'm happy with the product

I have own a pair of Custom IEMs 64 Audio A12 and a pair of cans HiFiMan HE-400i. The TEAC HA-P50 pairs well with my CIEMs but lacking a lot with my HE-400i. When pair with my HE400i At high gain setting volume all the way up I can hear just enough and it distorts with volume all the way up. I have to bring down the volume to about 90-95% to cut down the distortion, therefore I lose more sound output. On the other hand, when I pair the HE-400i with my iFiman iDSD BL Dac/Amp the headphones just come to life. At High gain setting I can't pass 3/4 of the volume knob. But I had to return my iDSD because of connection issue. If you don't have power hungry headphones like the HE-400i, you'll be just fine with the TEAC-HA-P50 and it's cheap. It fairly priced for what it can do.

The TEAC is just cool! I love the way it looks, and it provides terrific sound and plenty of power (especially for my 64 ohm Sennheiser HD280 pros).The build-quality is second to none (although I did have to tighten one of the Torx-head screws on the side brace); it just feels solid. It really is a pleasure to adjust volume knob, which is really the only thing you'll be messing with much. The layout is logical, and intuitive, but it's also quite simple (as with most portable DAC/Amps). Not a lot to fiddle with.The sound is crisp and clear. Nice detail. There is minimal electrical pop when turning on/off, and hiss is not audible (to me) until/unless the volume is turned up excessively. If I were to listen to music at such a volume, it would simply be painful. Keep in mind, these observations are made with my Senn 280's which are my closed-back travel headphones. They have a relatively low impedance (for phones plugged into a portable amp), so jacking the volume level up with these plugged in is more likely to reveal the "hiss" than if a higher impedance headphone were used. Also, the two-position gain switch will help alleviate this issue for all you ear-abusers!I have yet to have any battery issues with the TEAC, and I've used it quite a bit on long flights without recharging. For those that will be using this with a phone; it appears to charge itself from the phone battery, which obviously could be a problem (if I had to choose, I'd want the amp to lose power over the phone!). Also, TEAC makes very clear that the HA-P50 is designed for Apple products (this is stated clearly on the box, in the booklet, etc.). Use with an Android product is a little fiddly, but it does work. I have relatively little experience with this aspect, however, as I use my TEAC with a FiiO DAP. I suspect these "issues" can be sorted out; FWIW, when I have plugged in my phone (Google Pixel XL) with Neutron Player app playing lossless files, the TEAC performs flawlessly, providing the detailed and powerful sound I've become accustomed to.There are a lot of options out there for portable DAC/Amps. The TEAC offers great sound in a cool-looking and well-built/designed package. It is approximately the size of a standard cell phone (although it's thicker). Thus, it fairly seamlessly "pairs up" with cell phones, and will also do OK with DAPS, with the included silicone bands. One tip; if you have DAP or phone with buttons on the face, consider cutting one of the included bands in half length-wise to create two skinny bands. I had to do this for my FiiO player. The skinnier straps stay in place very well at the outer edges of the player, and don't get in the way of the buttons.I really like my TEAC, and recommend it without hesitation.Happy listening!

A very sad story About me. No I don’t want your sympathy I just want you to understand my situation. A few months ago I became stone Deaf. I can’t hear you at all in fact I can’t hear any body. I am 79 years of age and I love to watch sports on TV But it is boring when you can’t hear. So I went to Amazon for help. You always help me. I bought 3 Teac HA-P50-B Portable Headphone Amplifier, Black. They all don’t work. I took them Best Buy and they don’t work there either. Don’t sent me more unless you check it out first.Or can you find something that really works.I am hoping for a miracle from you guys.

This product uses an app, which means your music *MUST* reside on your device to get the full benefit of this product. IF you use iTunes Match, iTunes Music, Spotify, Slacker, Youtube Red or any other music service you are NOT getting full use of this product. There are much better products which are much cheaper out there and which work no matter where your music resides. Do yourself a favor and do some in-depth research and try sampling a few devices before buying any DAC/Amp

Excellent! Hooked it up to a chromecast audio via optical cable and am getting high resolution 24/96 audio playback directly ftom the internet and my home server. This dac really bring the best out of my HD598 headphones. Also hooked it up to my pc as an external sound card to cspture & record streaming music from the net in near perfect sound quality. Highly recommended purchase.