Audiobyte SuperHEAD Headphone Amplifier + Preamplifier

SUPERHEAD

Advanced Headphone Amplifier and Line Preamplifier

Twelve years of experience mastering digital audio. A decisive step into the analog domain.

The SuperHEAD is not a machine built to impress through sheer power alone: it is a refined instrument, designed to reveal what has always remained hidden within the music.

A DECADE OF DEVELOPMENT

Since 2012, Audiobyte has been designing digital audio systems created to remove the veil between the recording and the listener. The SuperHUB, the SuperVOX: every product in the Super Series exists to preserve the signal, not to artificially impress.

The SuperHEAD represents the natural evolution of this philosophy: a headphone amplifier developed with the same obsession for signal integrity, conceived by a company that has always believed that the shortest path between two points is also the purest.

“We did not set out to build the most powerful headphone amplifier on the market. We set out to build the most faithful one.”

This is our first dedicated headphone amplifier. It carries twelve years of accumulated knowledge and wears it with discretion, as any truly well-designed instrument should.

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

Refined yet decisive. Revealing, not flattering.

01 — Signal Path

The shortest path. The fewest compromises.

The SuperHEAD was developed around one fundamental principle: simplicity in the signal path.

Every additional component between the source and the listener represents a potential source of coloration, a subtle alteration of the original intent. A shorter and more direct path reduces opportunities for degradation and increases the likelihood that what reaches the listener is exactly what was recorded.

02 — Component Selection

Active devices chosen for the specific task.

The SuperHEAD’s active components were selected according to their technical parameters and complementary characteristics

The goal was not simply to use excellent individual devices, but to identify components capable of working in synergy, each contributing a distinct strength. The result is a circuit capable of achieving performance beyond what any single isolated element could deliver.

03 — Output Stage

Precision through an array, not a single oversized device.

Instead of relying on large and cumbersome power transistors, the SuperHEAD output stage employs a carefully matched array of smaller, high-precision devices engineered to work in perfect synergy.

This approach enables a more linear and controlled output stage, capable of maintaining authority and composure with any type of headphone — from low-impedance planar designs to high-impedance dynamic drivers.

04 — Nuance Above All

Power is a tool. Subtlety is the objective.

High output power figures are easy to achieve and even easier to advertise. The true engineering challenge lies in preserving, at every listening level, the microdynamics, spatial cues, and harmonic textures that transform listening into a genuine experience.

The SuperHEAD was designed precisely for this purpose.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

Machined from high-grade aluminum, the SuperHEAD chassis is CNC-crafted to extremely tight tolerances, engineered to eliminate unwanted resonances and ensure structural rigidity — a physical expression of the precision contained within.

Sandblasted and Anodized Finish

The surface treatment provides a matte finish resistant to fingerprints and marks, soft to the touch yet confident in character.

Available in:

* Matte Black

Formal Consistency with the Super Series

The SuperHEAD shares exactly the same footprint and front panel height as the SuperHUB and SuperVOX, creating a seamless and architecturally unified SuperRACK system.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Audio Performance

* Signal-to-noise ratio (1 W / 32 ohm): > 125 dB

* THD (1 V RMS, line output): -118 dB

* Maximum output (100 ohm, 1% THD): 17 V RMS

* Bandwidth at gain 1: DC – 800 kHz (-3 dB)

* Maximum attenuation: -90 dB

* Gain range: 0 – 20 dB (adjustable in 0.5 dB steps)

THD vs Load and Output Power — Balanced Output

Load / 0.1 W / 0.25 W / 0.5 W / 1 W / 2.5 W / 5 W

16 ohm: -115 / -113 / -110 / -106 / -103 / -100 dB

32 ohm: -117 / -114 / -113 / -110 / -103 / -100 dB

50 ohm: -117 / -116 / -112 / -108 / -100 / -92 dB

82 ohm: -113 / -113 / -109 / -104 / -94 dB

100 ohm: -112 / -112 / -108 / -102 / -92 dB

Connectivity

Line Inputs

* Balanced XLR

* Unbalanced RCA

Line Outputs

* Balanced XLR

* Unbalanced RCA

Headphone Outputs

* 4-pin balanced XLR

* 4.4 mm balanced

* 6.3 mm single-ended

User Interface

* IPS capacitive touchscreen display

* Precision rotary encoder + touchscreen control

Power and Mechanics

* Internal linear power supply

* Power consumption: 40 VA

* Solid aluminum chassis, CNC-machined, micro-sandblasted, anodized

* Available finishes: matte black / matte silver

* Dimensions (W × D × H, including feet): 300 × 290 × 60 mm

* Net weight: 5.5 kg

Specifications subject to change without notice. All measurements refer to the final production version.