EARMEN TR-AMP PORTABLE DAC/HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER

REVIEW
Simon Lucas
Jun 30, 2021

Incorporating the TR-Amp into a full-size system is a slightly more qualified success. Certainly it allows the Sony smartphone to sound considerably bigger and better-realised then when it’s wirelessly connected via a Bluetooth DAC such as AudioQuest’s Beetle. But it rather undermines the point of linking a smartphone to a full-on amplifier in the first place: the smartphone needs hard-wiring to the TR-Amp, and consequently a complete lack of convenience is revealed the moment you wish to (for instance) skip a track.

The TR-Amp has a functionality sweet-spot, and it’s not as part of a full-on audio system any more than it is as an aid to your truly portable listening. No, where the EarMan makes perfect sense is as part of a desktop system. If you want to listen to headphones while sitting in front of a computer – ideally a computer holding some nice fat high-resolution audio files – it’s nigh-on perfect.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Type: Solid-state digital-to-analogue converter and headphone amp
DAC resolution/supported digital formats: All PCM from 44.1KS/s to 384KS/s with word lengths up to 32‑bit, DSD128 and DSD256 via DoP
Distortion (THD + Noise): < 0.005%
Inputs: USB-C (data); USB-C (charging)
Outputs: 6.3mm stereo; 3.5mm stereo
Dimensions (hwd, mm): 30 × 66 × 129
Weight (g): 240
Price: £269