Monday starts with a bang as I discuss the Grace Design m902 Reference Headphone Amplifier. This beauty shines as a headphone amp, but also works great as a pre-amp.

This reference headphone amp is a real chameleon that can be at home as a rackmount piece of studio gear or as an audiophile component.

The m902 sounds very transparent and smooth. Although it has a digital heart, there wasn’t a trace of harshness. As a pre-amp, you couldn’t ask for more. There is a very simple feel to the 902, yet you can start using the menus and realize there is a lot to tweak if you want to go under the hood. The 902 can even talk USB if you’d like to connect with your PC (I only tried it with a PC, but suspect OS X would do just as well.)

Once you use the m902 on a good set of cans, you’ll have a hard time plugging into anything else.

MSRP: $1695
Street Price hovered just below $1600

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