Усилители для наушников — Schiit Audio MAGNI

The Magni is the entry-level desktop headphone amplifier from Schiit Audio, the California company founded in 2010 by Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat, whose first product was the Asgard headphone amplifier. The Magni name has run through several generations, each raising output and lowering distortion at a similar low price, and this version brings three gain settings and 2.5W of output to a compact chassis made in the United States.

Key specs that matter

Maximum output is 2,500mW per channel into 32 ohms, 1,500mW into 50 ohms, 415mW into 300 ohms and 220mW into 600 ohms. Gain is switchable between 0.3x, 1x and 5x (about -10dB, 0dB and +14dB). THD is below 0.0003% at 1V RMS into 300 ohms, signal-to-noise ratio is 122dB, and crosstalk stays below -80dB from 20Hz to 20kHz. The chassis is a small aluminium box with a front volume control, a 6.35mm headphone socket and rear RCA inputs.

Engineering and use context

The three gain settings solve a practical problem of desktop headphone amplifiers. Sensitive in-ear monitors need very little voltage, so on a single high-gain setting the usable volume range sits at the very start of the potentiometer's travel, where channel balance is least accurate. The 0.3x negative-gain setting moves normal listening levels further round the volume control, while the 5x setting supplies the voltage needed by high-impedance dynamic headphones and the current needed by low-sensitivity planar-magnetic models. The low noise floor matters most with very sensitive earphones, where inexpensive amplifiers often show their limits, and the output figures across impedances cover almost every headphone type, from low-impedance planar-magnetic models to 600-ohm studio designs. The amplifier runs from an external wall-wart transformer, keeping mains wiring out of the small chassis. Its footprint matches Schiit's compact Modi DACs, so the two stack neatly on a desk.

Pairing

The Magni needs a line-level source, most often a small DAC such as Schiit's Modi, a streamer or a computer audio interface. Its rear preamp outputs, active when no headphones are plugged in, can also feed powered desktop speakers, turning the amplifier into a small control centre for a desk system. It suits headphones from sensitive IEMs to power-hungry planar-magnetic designs because of its gain range.

Alternatives

Schiit Audio's own Asgard is a larger Class A headphone amplifier for listeners who want more output and a bigger chassis.