Усилители для наушников — Concert Fidelity Charisma XHP-5

The Charisma XHP-5 is a battery-powered headphone amplifier that Concert Fidelity lists as its studio reference model within the Charisma XHP family, placed between the XHP-4 desktop reference and the larger XHP-7 audiophile reference. Concert Fidelity was set up in 1987 by Masataka Tsuda, who still designs and assembles every unit himself at a workshop in Nagano prefecture, and the XHP-5 is made in Japan. Pricing is not published - the company refers buyers to its distribution partners.

Key specs that matter

A single pair of RCA jacks accepts a line-level signal, and the input impedance is 20 kohm. Two headphone sockets sit on the unit - a 1/4 inch TRS jack for single-ended cans and a four-pin XLR for balanced cables. Concert Fidelity publishes the XLR pin assignment as pin 1 left positive, pin 2 left negative, pin 3 right positive and pin 4 right negative. The recommended headphone load runs from 12 ohm to 600 ohm. The output stage works in Class AB with a BTL topology. Power comes from an internal 12 V nickel-metal hydride pack rated at 2,500 mAh rather than from the mains. The case measures 132 mm wide, 95 mm high and 136 mm deep, and it weighs 1.6 kg net.

Engineering and use context

In a BTL, or bridge-tied load, layout each earpiece is driven by two amplifier halves working in opposite polarity, one on each wire of the driver. That is why the four-pin balanced socket exists - it keeps the positive and negative leg of every channel separate all the way to the headphone. Running the circuit from a rechargeable battery removes the mains transformer and rectifier from the box, which explains the small footprint, and it lets the amplifier sit on a desk or mixing console with no power cord attached while in use. The brand describes its general design approach as stripping circuits down to the minimum number of parts and shortening the signal path, a principle Tsuda applies across both valve and transistor products.

Pairing

With only one RCA input and therefore no source selector, the XHP-5 expects a single source with its own output level, such as a DAC or CD player feeding it directly. The recommended impedance span suits most dynamic headphones, and owners of models with detachable cables can fit a four-pin XLR lead to use the bridged output.

Alternatives

The Charisma XHP-7 is the mains-powered sibling with four RCA inputs, one XLR input and two independent headphone amplifiers in a 450 mm wide chassis.