TRIAL: Better sound from your computer for a bargain – ProCaster AMP-H1 DA converter/headphone amplifier

The ProCaster AMP-H1 is a compact and affordable DAC, preamplifier, and headphone amplifier priced at €79,99, designed to replace your computer's audio output with a separate USB sound card. The device does not require any separate drivers or power supply, but instead receives both its signal and power from the USB-C connection.

In use, the AMP-H1 connects seamlessly to your computer and is ready to use right away. No separate installation is required, the device appears in the operating system as a regular USB audio device. All the user has to do is select it as the audio output and adjust the volume either from the computer or the device's own control.

The sound can be output from either the 3,5 mm headphone jack or the stereo RCA output, for example to active speakers or a separate amplifier. The RCA line output worked well in our test, and the device can drive active speakers without any problems. The fact that the same small device has both a headphone output and a line output adds to the practicality.

16- and 24-bit PCM audio is supported at sampling rates of 44,1, 48 and 96 kHz. The product information also mentions 24-bit / 192 kHz native resolution, but what exactly this refers to remains a bit unclear, as the actual specified format support extends to 96 kHz.

The stated power of the headphone output is 280 milliwatts into a 16 ohm load, 220 milliwatts into 32 ohms, 140 milliwatts into 64 ohms, and 30 milliwatts into 300 ohms. In practice, this indicates that the device is primarily intended for conventional low- and medium-impedance headphones. Based on testing, it works best with low-impedance headphones, for example 32 ohm models.

As the impedance of the headphones increases, the power reserve decreases significantly. With headphones of about 150 ohms, the sound pressure level was already modest. In practice, the AMP-H1 is best suited for headphones of up to about 100–120 ohms, unless the headphones are particularly sensitive. For headphones that are difficult to drive, a separate, more powerful headphone amplifier is a better solution.