Naim Audio HeadLine

Effective minimalism

If the magazine What Hi-Fi? handed out awards for the most ascetic design, the HeadLine amplifier from the British Naim Audio would definitely win the main prize. Outwardly, this is a completely simple black-painted metal box with a minimum of identification marks. On the front panel there is only a headphone output and a large volume control. Behind only a connector for power and warning how to turn it off. You will not find any logos or screaming super hi-fi inscriptions here. At the same time, the hull itself is assembled as if it was planned to be sent into space or lowered under water: no visible joints, no fasteners.

Hi-End sound without reservation

As they say, you should not meet by clothes. All the most interesting things are inside HeadLine. This is essentially a high-end amplifier that impresses with its performance (frequency range from 10 to 72000 Hz, headphone impedance from 2 to 8000 ohms, low THD) and can drive almost any man-made headphones. It has a noble, rich and always interesting sound, which constantly pleasantly surprises. Today you turn on modern indie rock on it and marvel at the pressure and elaboration of mids, tomorrow it turns out that it is ideally friendly with orchestral music and is able to place all the violins of the British symphony orchestra in space with clarity up to a metre.

Friendly with any musical genre

In general, with energy, sound space and microdynamics, HeadLine is managed like a real trainer. It is not for nothing that in the reviews of the Western press he receives only five. Even more pleasing, this quality, detail and nobility is consistently observed with a wide variety of headphones and sound sources. Even average smartphones with ears for $150 play well. But the quality of the signal HeadLine is generally uncompromising, turn on the stream with a bitrate of 128 kbps and tears will well up in your eyes.

Pay attention to food

If you like this arrangement, then be sure to note that the Headline itself is often sold without any kind of power supply (it has voltage regulators that reduce the input voltage to the 12 volts it needs). On the one hand, this is good, since a potential owner can choose any power supply, be it Supply, Supercap or NAPSC. On the other hand, this is an additional purchase in the piggy bank. Well, the amplifier itself cannot be turned off without unplugging it from the outlet. The third point is a DIN connector for connecting a sound source. More familiar RCA is optional.