Amplifier Rankings: A Comprehensive Tier List Review

Amplifiers vary widely in quality and features, impacting their value and performance rankings.

### Amplifier Tier List: Ranking the Best and Worst in Audio Equipment
* 🤒 The speaker discusses their current **inability to hear properly** due to illness, making their job **challenging**, and humorously warns viewers to **like and subscribe or face consequences**.
* 🔊 The audio GD NFB1 amp is described as a **powerful but now outdated** amplifier, placed in B-tier due to its **warm sound** but **lower modern standards**.
* 💰 The JDS Labs Adam is highlighted as a **fantastic budget amplifier**, earning a **B-tier rating** for its **clean sound** despite not being the **strongest option**.
* 🔧 The Leer Plus, while featuring both tube and solid-state options, is rated **C-tier** for its **high price and average sound quality**.
* 🎧 The SMSL SH6 and Magni are both praised as S-tier amplifiers, with the SH6 recommended for **cleanliness** and the Magni for **bass response**.
* 💡 The TA22 tube DAC amp impresses with its **unique features and sound quality**, securing an **A-tier ranking for its value**.
* 💵 The Fiio K7 is rated **A-tier** as well, though it lacks the **power of its competitors**, while the Hell Mark II finds a comfortable spot in **B-tier** for its **gamer-friendly features**.
* ⚡ The Topping A90 and A90D are both placed in S-tier for their **excellent performance**, with the A90 being **slightly cheaper** and featuring a **more user-friendly interface**.

that's so many amplifiers, so many hi, so I'm like really sick right now, and I can't really hear anything, uh, which means that my job is like not doable, and uh, that sucks. So let's talk about stuff I've heard in the past, and you know, uh, I hear you guys like tearless, so tier list. Also, you know the drill, like and subscribe, or I will haunt you specifically, Adam, in your dreams. Okay, let's get started. [Music] audio GD nfb1 amp, uh, this is a very big, very powerful, um, not super feature-packed amplifier that had a pretty warm and enjoyable sound. This was way back before things like the 789 came out. This is way back before things like the A90 came out, yeah, and this is back when basically most of the powerful amplifiers were like thousands and thousands of dollars. So when this came out, I actually thought this was pretty heavily set in a tier, like it was really, really good. Nowadays, because of the sound quality, some of the statistics that have come out about it, you know

it's not quite as good as some stuff, so I'm gonna put this pretty firmly in Beach. Here, I still think that you get a lot for what you pay for with this thing. It's still a big amplifier that sounds really good, but in terms of measurements and modern-day features and things like that, it's not quite up to today's standard. JDS Labs Adam budget amplifier: fantastic budget amplifier, not the strongest, but a very, very, very clean sound. This has a lot of followers behind it, and it should. JDS is a great company. I'm going to put this in beat here. Leer Plus: I just reviewed this a little while ago, so it's pretty fresh in my memory. A lot of power. It's not quite as 2B as I would like, but it did have a cool feature where it could be either tube state or solid state as an amplifier. So, features go into it, but the price tag was a little bit high, and I didn't feel like either sound quality from it was

Great, so I'm gonna put this one in seat here. I like the concept here, but I feel like the delivery of the concept could have been just executed just a tiny bit better for it to get higher up in the rankings here. SMSL SH6, another budget amplifier, very good in my opinion. This goes head to head with things like the Magni in this price. I think that they're extremely comparable. Both the Magni and the SH-6 right now, I think, are S-tier. They're fantastic values. They sound really good. I'd say if you value cleanliness, go with the SH-6. If you value a little bit more bass, don't care quite as much about how clean it is, but still very clean, then go something like a Magni. Both are going to be S-tier. I think TA22, I just reviewed this thing, it shocked me. This is a tube DAC amp, and it is honestly surprisingly good. I didn't think I was going to like it nearly as much as I did. It really did.

blow me away. It's not super feature-packed, though it is a unique set of features being a tube DAC amp, which is not very common. And not only that, but it's a very good tube DAC amp. And I think it probably could have costed 700 if they wanted to, but it costs 500, which is still a lot to ask for. But I feel like you actually get what you pay for. I'm super happy with this thing. I want to put this in A-tier for sure. Okay, the Fiio K7. This was an update to the Fiio K5, which was a very, very popular single-ended amplifier. And the K7 came out with a balanced version. I think when it comes to competing with something like the DX3 Pro Plus, which we're going to talk about, I think the DX3 Pro Plus is S-tier, so I guess that gives that away. So I think compared to that, this has to be A-tier. It's very good. I do wish it had a little bit more power, and it's not perfect, but it is

pretty good. Hell, Mark II. Um, it's good. It's definitely for gamers. It doesn't have the best sound quality for a 200-ish dollar amplifier, um, or the best features for a 200-ish amplifier, but it does have a microphone input, and that is very valuable for the right people. I think I like this thing quite a bit. It doesn't really blow me away for anything, though, so I think it avoids S and A, and it sits pretty comfortably in B tier. Hyphen ef400. This is their new amplifier. They're coming out with a series of amplifiers. One of them that I've got coming up, I think, is the... I can't remember the model designation right now, but it's the one that's like also a headphone stand. It's got that cool tab volume knob thing. I'm really excited to test that one out. Seems interesting and unique and different from a lot of other stuff. I think that's cool. The ef-400, though, symmetrical design. I liked it a lot. It's

built like a tank, actually, except for the plastic on the face, which, uh, on mine is a little scratched up, but sucks. It's a relatively complete device without too many highlights, but overall pretty solid performance as a whole. It doesn't measure as well as some of the other amplifiers or DAC amps that are in this price category, so that does go a little bit against it. It's not quite as powerful as some of the other DAC amps in this category and price, so I'm going to put this one in C2, even though I like it a lot. But there's this other really, really, really, really good stuff. Okay, DX7 Pro. Everything has to be relative to cost and effectiveness. I like this amplifier a lot, but it doesn't stack up because of how expensive it is. It's good. It's very good. I think everybody should be happy with it for performance. It's like a tier, but I think there's a lot of stuff that's A-tier for cheaper, and that's the downfall, so it's just a little bit kind of expensive.

for what it's trying to be. Even though it's still a very good unit, I like that new rounded oval build that they're doing instead of the more traditional squared-off look, so that's cool. But yeah, I'm gonna put this one in B tier. The singer SA1, solid D, sounds fine. It's very expensive. It's not the most powerful, it's not the most clean, not the most feature-rich. The build is a little bit behind some of its competitors. Yeah, I'm gonna give that one a D. The only F on this list, the HDV820. Man, I was not impressed with this. This is Sennheiser's offering for their high-end headphones, like their HD 800s and their HD 820, of course. And the thing with this, if you're using those headphones, it's fine, but as soon as you need anything that's more demanding or you want something that sounds, I guess, better tonally or is better built or has more features or doesn't cost twenty-four hundred dollars, really, basically.

anything about the amplifier. Uh, there's better options out there. This could not drive heavy planars. It didn't really have a substantial amount of power. And the simple problem with this one, this is subjective of course, for twenty-four hundred dollars. It better sound freaking fantastic, and nothing about the screamed like super great or anything like that. Um, it did have, I would say, it would have like this or that redeeming feature that might make it worth it, but in reality, like, if you're going to spend 2,400 for high-end headphones, that is not at all how I'd recommend doing it. It was just kind of a flop in my opinion. I know there's a lot of people out there who bought it and love it. It's good for you, not for me. Topping A90 and A90D. Let's talk about some S-tier amplifiers. Um, so the A90D sounds better. I like the feature set of the A90 though a little bit more. The D version is a discrete version if you don't know.

they're sort of the same amplifier but handled with a slightly different topology setup. So, the D provides a little bit more power, though both are more powerful than basically any headphone needs. And this is actually something that, uh, because they were so close, I wanted to blind test to make sure I was really telling the difference. And that was actually a video I posted when I reviewed that headphone amplifier. But yeah, I like the D sound a little bit better. It's a little bit stronger in the bass response than the A90 is. But I really like the toggle system on the A90 in terms of, like, the I/O options. Uh, it just, it makes more sense to me. I don't quite love this screen and, like, volume knob selection system that they have on the A90D. So, the interface kind of sucks for me. I'm gonna put both in S tier. Both sound fantastic, but the A90 is a little bit cheaper. It doesn't quite sound as good, but it's still, like, very, very, very close. Um, and I like the I/O better on the A90.

both amps I couldn't recommend more to people. They're just fantastic reference amplifiers for their costs. Topping DX5, C tier. Topping DX3 Pro Plus, S tier. Like I already said, that one I think makes the DX5 pretty irrelevant in my opinion. Like the performance gain for the cost difference is just not worth it. Um, and that Topping DX3 Pro Plus really throws a lot of Topping's lineup kind of, it makes a lot less sense when you consider how good that amplifier is unless you need balance. But if you're just basing it off of power features and sound quality, the DX3 Pro Plus is really amazing. As not to say that there isn't better stuff, but like for 200 bucks, given everything that amplifier can do, its power, its specifications, its measurement capability, its kind of subjective sound quality for most, it's just such a good amplifier. Okay, Fio K9 Pro, expensive. Um, well-built, very big. Pro or con, depending on who wants it. I'm going

to put this in B tier. I think a lot of stuff is going to end up in B tier. There's a lot of stuff that's very, very good but doesn't totally blow me out of the water. The feel, sound quality, like personally, I'd rather run an A90 with the DAC than that VOK9 for about the same cost. Like, I'd rather put a 200 DAC and an A90 together than run that. So, it doesn't quite make the S2 performance. And for features and stuff, it was pretty good but not the most feature-packed DAC amp out there. Dark voice, um, it depends on who you ask. If you're like an objective measurement guy, this is F tier all the way. If you're like a subjective listener to the right person, it's like EST tier all the way. The build is something also like controversial, like it's built heavy in old school, well in terms of like steel and heavy transformers, and it feels like a million bucks. It's got this great

toggle on it, but then like you open it up, like the actual construction, like it's not the best. So, uh, I don't know, uh, D tier for build, I guess, but like B tier for sound if you're a subjective listener and you like that sound, but it's also like D or F tier for sound if you don't like that sound. It's a confusing amplifier. It's gonna go right in the middle. I don't know, th26, the more expensive, slightly better sounding version of the dark voice, um, F for being a ripoff. Okay, it's not a bad Empire though. Yeah, but uh, I'd personally rather own the dark boys. Uh, xa10, uh, cool concept. I like the general build quality of this thing. Uh, the general design is very cool. I think that the color scheme worked really well on this one, although I wish they wouldn't use yellow and red. They would just pick one color perfect. Uh, but yeah, you know, this thing was cool. Uh, didn't sound that great though, and it didn't

have the most amount of power, so I'm gonna kind of go detail on this thing. I think my opinion has gotten worse over time with that device. I think I was kind of lukewarm on it, and now I'm a little less hot on it right now. A full of four. This is good. You got 100 bucks, and you need to that camp. It's a really good option. I'm gonna put it in a tier. It's good. No real problems with it. I think a lot of people are going to be like, Well, why don't you spend a little bit more and get a little bit better? And that's true, but if you only have how much that thing costs, and you can't spend any more, it's a good option. Speaking of more products, Magnus. Magnus is fantastic. 200. It's got good build quality, great sound quality, lots of features. There's just really nothing I dislike about this, and I just only basically like it. And then if you want a fully

balanced system. You can kit it out with a modus and have like a 400 DAC amp balance stack that is killer, and I don't think anybody who would buy this would regret it. So [Music] a tier t a z h one, yes, I think it's a model designation. Um, the name is completion. This is a terrible name. This would be an S tier amplifier if it had the power. It does not have the power. Um, this was barely able to drive Sony's headphones, which are very efficient anyways, things like the zh. Um, I'm sorry, the ZR1 z1r, you know what I'm talking about. Um, but as soon as it comes to like anything above that, uh, it just simply does not have the power. It needs more power to be worth it in my opinion. Um, I would love for this to be more powerful because personally speaking, I could with how good it did sound. If it sounded like that with more power and just kept everything else, I would probably buy that amplifier and just use

that as a reference point. Um, it was that good, but that power is a real problem, especially when you're paying that much for an amplifier. You probably have a lot of headphones, and it just couldn't power big planars at all, like not even remotely close. So when you get into things like your Abyss headphones, some of your Autosies, even some of your Hyphenins, it's just completely shut the bed. I really wanted to love this thing. It just needs more. Sony, give it some more power. Give it the juice. Okay, I have reviewed a lot more amplifiers than this, and I have heard even more, but there's a lot of them that are kind of blending together and don't really stand out as being amazing or anything like that, or really unique, or really worth talking about. Um, there's a couple of exceptions. There's some Woo amplifiers that I've tried, there's a lot of weapon fires that I've tried but haven't reviewed, there's also electrostatic energizers. I don't

know if those count in this sort of thing, so there's a lot of stuff I left out, uh, but um, this is already a massive list of stuff, uh, and yeah, that's kind of how I'd put the rankings. All right, so if you could do me a favor, answer one question for me in the comments. If you could pick an S tier and an F tier, what would it be like? Give me your best and give me your worst. I want to know how you'd place it. Again, Adam, if you don't like the video, dude, I swear to God. Okay, thanks for watching. Goodbye.

Headphone Amplifier Tier List!

Joshua Valour

The audio GD nfb1 amp was a powerful and warm-sounding amplifier that set a high standard in its time, but now ranks in B-tier due to modern competition.

JDS Labs Adam is a fantastic budget amplifier with a clean sound, also placed in B-tier.

The SMSL SH6 and Magni are both exceptional budget amplifiers, offering great value and sound quality, and are ranked in S-tier.

Unique Tube DAC Amp and Amplifier Reviews

The tube DAC amp stands out with its unique features and excellent performance, priced at $500.

The Fiio K7 offers a balanced version of the popular K5 amplifier, providing good performance but lacking power compared to the S-tier DX3 Pro Plus.

The Hell Mark II is gamer-focused with a valuable microphone input, landing it in B tier, while the Hyphen EF400, despite its solid performance, measures lower than competitors and is placed in C tier.

The DX7 Pro offers great performance but is expensive, making it less appealing compared to A-tier options.

The reviewer appreciates the new rounded oval design of a unit, placing it in B tier.

The Singer SA1 is rated D for its high price, lack of power, and features.

The HDV820 from Sennheiser receives an F for its poor performance and high cost, while the Topping A90 and A90D are both placed in S tier for their powerful output and excellent sound quality.

The Topping DX5 is rated C tier, while the DX3 Pro Plus is S tier, making the DX5 seem irrelevant.

The DX3 Pro Plus offers exceptional power, features, and sound quality for its $200 price.

The Fio K9 Pro is well-built and expensive, landing in B tier, while the Dark Voice amplifier has a controversial build and sound, placing it in D tier for build and B tier for sound, depending on the listener's preference.

The speaker has become less appealing over time, now rated a 4.

It offers a good option for those on a budget with its $100 price.

The Magnus, priced at $200, stands out with its excellent build and sound quality, while the ZH1 amplifier falls short on power, making it less effective for driving higher-demand headphones.

The amplifier's power is inadequate for larger planar headphones, struggling to drive models like Abyss and Autosies.

The reviewer has tried and reviewed numerous amplifiers, with a few exceptions standing out as unique.

The video ends with a request for viewers to share their own S tier and F tier amplifier picks in the comments.