10 Best Travel Headphone Amps for 2026 – Expert Reviews & Top Picks

Customer Review: Take a look at the ratings on this device…This unit has the highest, global, ratings of any other in this category. There’s a good reason for that – it sounds incredible!! Unfortunately – Vox Amplification has discontinued this product. Insane, move! Why?!! Now, look at the current price.If you’re complaining about this unit – you’re not using it right! (IMHO)There’s quite a lot of functionality, here. 6 (six), different effects: various, delays, reverb, echo, gain (truly, *awesome*).This, little, “virtual, ‘M#rshall half-stack'” – sounds better than most full-sized amps I’ve used. I’d like to be able to get the electronics from this unit into my, present, practice amp (Line 6 Spider30w). However, I play directly through the clean channel on that amp, and, it even makes that sound fabulous!Interestingly, enough – I discovered that you can achieve various effects through more than just the “FX” button. The manual states that the FX button is simply an effects, “ON/OFF” switch. But, you acquire an additional three, settings, holding down the “POWER ON/OFF” switch, as well (at least, in my unit (AP2-MT), and, cycling through the effects, again, using the EFFECTS switch.As far as portability and construction go, it is built on the light, side, for sure, but it’s not going to fall apart from a couple of drops to the floor, either. (Yes, I’ve tried it!). I also use a 1/4″ female-male, elbow adapter, to employ, another, axis of freedom, should, it accidentally meet with a stronger force! – like – a wall!I did, accidentally, apply too much torque to the unit while it was plugged into my guitar, by stepping on a cable plugged into the headphone socket, and the plastic cover, around, the plug, separated. I Super-glued it, and wrapped a small strip of duct tape around it to prevent that from happening again.You might also consider, wrapping a couple of rubber bands around the unit (latitudinally, and, longitudinally), to ensure, some degree of shock absorption and rebound, after a drop. The construction is quite, poor, however. I opened the unit, to apply some friction on the wheels so that they turned more smoothly, by adding a couple of layers of masking tape on the side of the casing that comes up against the front of the wheels. The plug is connected to the circuit board by two, fragile, hook-up wires, which, were the thinnest possible wires they could have used (probably, 24-26 gauge). With just a little tension on those two wires — they disconnected from the circuit board – like – they were just, dying, to be disconnected – and just, couldn’t get to that state, fast, enough! Luckily, I have some (wanting), soldering skills, so I was able to solder them back into place, covering the solder points with a thermal glue (hot glue).THE INSTRUCTIONS: YES, they ARE there; they’re packed inside (in-between) the folded, cardboard packaging! TAKE THEM OUT AND READ THEM. The instructions are clear, and, obviously not a Chinese interpretation (that, in itself, is a welcomed thing!), with clearly illustrated diagrams.If I had good enough reason – I’d buy another one! Or, maybe, I would buy the ‘Classic Rock’ version…UPDATE: I DID buy another one! This thing sounds so good I wanted to make sure I had a backup. Now, I do. I also bought the High Gain Amplug3. In comparison, the Amplug2 Metal – blows it away. It’s too bad, that unit has a nice sound, as well, just not the same spirit.Now, back to this unit. You won’t believe it – until you hear it for yourself. I mean that. It’s got that, something, that just swells into your gut, and chest. Again, it’s the best guitar amplifier I’ve ever heard. I have not heard a full-size Vox amp, or, full stack, so I can’t compare it to that.I will be using this unit – plugged, through, the CLEAN channel – of any other amp that I use, from now on…. It’s that good. HONESTLY.

Customer Review: Little thing is working so well.Im impressed with the sound this very portable plug in micro amp provides through head phones.I can take it with me and practice anywhere without annoying anyone. This is such a great thing.Its got some wieght to it. I dont know what i was expecting but it weighed more then I thought it would. This weight makes it feel solid and gives it that quality feel.Batteries don’t last quite as long as i had hoped, but i have rechargable ones around and they’ve been working great in this.Plug and play. Not a lot of hoopla. But is so great to practice in peace !

Customer Review: I can’t say enough about how much I love this headphone amp. I didn’t read the description properly so was all excited to use it but didn’t realize I couldn’t use wireless headphones, but once I got them I’ve been using it almost daily. Not only does it keep me from making too much noise when I want to plug in late at night, but I can really hear myself like a studio setup! I just turn down the volume on my bluetooth-connected device playing my Spotify playlist with practice songs and play along. It’s really amazing technology and now I have no excuse not to practice! Works perfectly on my electric guitar and bass. The volume control on the device is really convenient, the battery life is just right. I can get a few hours in continuously without needing to recharge, it connects immediately when I plug in, I can adjust the position while I’m holding my instrument, and it didn’t cost an arm and a leg. It also looks really cool with the wood grain design. AND it has built-in distortion? Just a no-brainer. Love it, love it, love it.

Customer Review: Perfect to be able to practice with headphones or speaker. Inexpensive must have.

Customer Review: This is the 4th brand of portable headphone amp that plugs directly from the guitar jack into headphones, and is by far the best sounding one. I tested with an industry standard pair of Sony headphones. It’s a great solution for someone that is looking for a super compact, super simple, inexpensive option to practice electric guitar with headphones that sounds good. The options for clean, overdrive, and distortion, along with the effects give a lot of versatility for the kinds of sounds and songs to play. I most often use a rather complicated setup or more expensive multi-effects units. But I know a lot of people either don’t care about all the options those provide, or just want something simple so they can focus on playing rather than learning how to use more equipment and always adjusting the sound. This is really about as simple as it gets… charge it up, plug it into the guitar, plug in headphones, turn it on, and it’s ready to go without disturbing anyone from the volume. One thing that I was pleasantly surprised by was the tone knob, because it has a wide range to really help sculpt the sound from dark and bassy to bright with treble.I have used this with 4 different guitars and 2 bass guitars. One thing I couldn’t test is how this fits into a stratocaster style guitar with the “football” jack. I think it would fit, but it might be worth looking through other reviews to see if that is mentioned.Since the sound of this will vary based on what kind of guitar you have, especially the pickups, I have made a few observations from each of the 6 instruments I’ve used it with:1. Guitar with medium-hot output 3 single coils. Sounds very clean on clean channel. Overdrive and distortion sound good. Low noise.2. Guitar with hot passive Dimarzio humbucker and low output Guitar Fetish lipstick pickup. Unlike the active EMG pickup in my other guitar, this humbucker was able to get a good clean sound. The lipstick pickup was even better for the softer mellow tones. With distortion, the humbucker was the most aggressive, and the lipstick with overdrive got more of a classic rock vibe.3. Guitar with active EMG 81 pickup. Sounds overdriven on clean channel even with gain at zero. Not possible to get a really clean sound with this headphone amp and guitar combination but that doesn’t surprise me because the output is so hot/high to begin with. Sounds great with distortion setting at max gain.4. Classical nylon string with piezo pickup bridge. This guitar sounds best when going into a preamp meant for acoustics so I wasn’t surprised that the sound was a bit harsh and thin. But still not bad and definitely fine for practice, though people won’t be using a headphone amp with their acoustics. I just tried it because I was curious and the reverb+delay with acoustic has a unique sound.5. Electric bass with humbuckers and active preamp pickup system and round wound strings. Clean sound with gain turned down. I had some annoying noise/hum/hiss with volume of headphone amp at higher settings or with gain control turned up. Overdrive also has background hiss noise but can be tamed with turning the tone knob toward the bass end, and has a nice growl. Cool, heavy sound with distortion setting with medium gain and a minimum amount of flanger effect.6. Fretless bass with passive split pickup. Sounds nice and natural with clean setting and low gain.This comes with a USB cord for charging, but you’ll need something to plug the USB cord into, such as a computer with USB A style ports or a phone charger. The port on the headphone amp is a “micro USB”. I’ve never let the battery run fully out so I don’t know exactly how long it can go between charging but with 4 lights to indicate full power, it was over an hour of using before it dropped down to 3 lights. I really like that the lights are there so it’s super easy to see if there is power remaining.The headphone jack is the 1/8″ 3.5mm size, so depending on your headphones, you may need an adapter for that, and same for the auxiliary input if you want to plug in a mp3 player, phone, or computer output signal to play along with.

Customer Review: The media could not be loaded. I was looking for an extremely portable amp that would be easy to carry in my backpack or luggage. I found the Vox amPlugs and thought those would be perfect since they are extremely small and I could plug them into any portable speaker I wanted, and even use my headphones for silent practice sessions at night. I had settled on getting the AC30 amPlug since it had some nice clean sounds and Vox’s AC30 amp is a classic amp that many classic rock players use, but I primarily play harder rock and metal which use dirtier tones, so I was trying to decide which of Vox’s dirtier amPlug models I wanted in addition to the AC30. However, I had this device, the Valeton Rushead Max, recommended to me, and after listening to a few videos and seeing a great Black Friday deal on it, I decided to go with this. I am very glad I did.The Pros:This is both very well built and extremely versatile. While I still don’t have an AC30 amPlug (the clean sound on this is enough for me for now, though I will likely eventually get one and update this review when I do), I have read that they are somewhat flimsy. This pocket amp has no such issues and is very sturdily built. The sounds on this are also extremely versatile. Like most pocket amps and mini-amps, this has the basic volume, tone, and gain controls. However, the types of amps offered and the effects are where this pocket amp shines. Vox’s amPlugs have only one amp per amPlug, but they give you three different channels (a green, orange, and red, and the sound gets increasingly dirtier the redder the color gets), but from what I have heard on YouTube, the channels on the amPlugs don’t sound very different. On this Valeton pocket amp, they give you three different amps entirely. “CL” gives you a nice clean tone, “OD” gives you a hard rock-style overdrive, and “DIST” gives you heavy metal-style distortion, so you can switch between three of the most popular guitar styles all at, to quote AC/DC, a “Flick of the Switch”. I mostly use the OD and DIST channels, and they both sound awesome. I also love being able to drastically switch sounds so easily, switching between the rock and metal tones I typically use all much quicker than dialing in the tones on my 20W Randall practice amp. Additionally, even mini-amps like the Nux or the Boss Katana only give you three similar options, so Valeton’s pocket amp is on par with most mini-amps while being much smaller and letting you choose which speaker you want to use with it (when at home, I will typically grab the MOKCAO Power+, a speaker dock for the 2nd generation Echo Dots, which sounds surprisingly good for guitar and even rivals my larger 20W Randall practice amp, while on-the-go I will typically grab a little 808 NRG speaker, which doesn’t sound as good but is significantly more portable). Lastly, this little device has a ton of available effects. Vox’s amPlugs give you three different versions of Chorus, Delay, and Reverb, but you can only have one active at a time. Valeton’s pocket amp lets you have Delay, Reverb, or Delay/Reverb active, and then you can add to that Chorus, Tremolo, or Flanger. It doesn’t give you different versions, but you can change how each of them sound by adjusting a knob on the top of the device, ranging from not having any of the effect to having more of the effect.The Cons (or Suggested Improvements):While there aren’t any major negatives about this device, I do have a few suggested improvements. The biggest is that I would add bluetooth. I know this device already has a ton of stuff packed into a small package, but bluetooth typically doesn’t take up much space. Also, many speakers in today’s world only use bluetooth, so adding bluetooth would make this pocket amp work with more speakers as well as eliminating messy cords. If possible, I would also make this pocket amp slightly smaller – when attached to the lower bout on my Les Paul, the top comes very close to contacting the ground when I have the Les Paul sitting on the floor, and I sometimes worry that the amp might get broken. Additionally, making it slightly smaller would increase portability. Lastly, I do somewhat agree with another reviewer on here who mentioned that it is a bit difficult to use for guitars where the input jack is on the lower bout, since you can’t see the buttons. While I have mostly gotten used to controlling the knobs and buttons by feel, I think what would be nice is making the jack on the amp rotatable. Unlike on Vox’s amPlugs, though, which rotate the jack side-to-side, I think it would make more sense to let it rotate front and back, that way those who have input jacks on the front of the guitar can leave it facing downward while those who have it on the side can have the jack on the amp rotated so it is pointing out of the main face of the pocket amp, making it easier to see.Overall, the cons aren’t hugely significant, and the pros make this one of the best pocket amps you can buy, especially if you are interested in versatility. If you know you want an excellent recreation of exactly one of Vox’s amps, then one of the amPlugs might be better for you, but if you want something that will give you a plethora of different sounds on-the-go, then this is the pocket amp for you. The tones, particularly the overdrive and distortion tones, also sound excellent, so you are getting amazing tones (especially if you have a good speaker) in addition to superb versatility. I am blown away how Valeton, a company I never heard of until I found this device, managed to make a significantly better pocket amp than Vox, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of guitar amps. The Rushead Max even lets you just charge the device by plugging a micro-USB phone cord into it, which is much more convenient than using batteries with Vox’s amPlugs (even if you use rechargeable batteries, you still have to take them out and charge them, while the Rushead Max you can just plug in – it claims it only lasts 5 hours, but I think it lasts a bit more than that, since I have gone 2-4 days with hour-ish long practice sessions and I have only had it go down to 1/4 the battery dots left without charging). I still plan to eventually get Vox’s AC30 amPlug, since the AC30 is such a classic amp, and when I do I will update this review to provide a more thorough comparison between the amPlug and this. Until I do, though, I think Valeton has put Vox to shame in the pocket amp department, and I highly and enthusiastically recommend the Valeton Rushead Max!Updated March 14, 2020: As I said in the review, the little 808 speaker I was plugging this Valeton Rushead Max into sounded quite tinny while the MOKCAO Echo Dot base sounded really good. I was researching speakers the last few months to try to find if there was a smaller speaker than the MOKCAO that sounded significantly better than the 808 speaker, and I settled on getting the Vanzom Climber-Z speaker. It is about halfway between the 808 and the MOKCAO speaker in size, and it sounds much more like the MOKCAO speaker, possibly even sounding slightly better than the MOKCAO. Those are the only three speakers I have tried with this and out of those three I would recommend the Vanzom Climber-Z speaker – it is $60 new but there are frequently 20-25% off coupons on it, which brings the cost to less than $50 new. I did listen to a few speakers at Best Buy recently, and though I couldn’t compare the sound directly since I couldn’t bring the Vanzom speaker inside, I thought the Vanzom was clearly better than all of the UE speakers and all of the Sony speakers except for the XB41 (which was much more expensive and larger), and I thought the Charge 4 was only slightly bassier than the Vanzom (though also larger and more expensive) and the Bose Soundlink Revolve was only slightly clearer than the Vanzom (though also considerably more expensive). So, assuming that how music sounds through speakers is a good indication of how a speaker will work with this pocket amp, there are speakers that may sound better than the Vanzom, but for its size and price, I think the Vanzom is the best deal. I would definitely recommend the Vanzom Climber-Z if you want to play this through a portable speaker, or at least a speaker with 2 or more active drivers and 1 or more passive radiators should create a fuller sound which will make playing this through the speaker sound better.Update January 1, 2021: A few months ago I finally got a Vox AC30 AmPlug, and I also replaced my main amp with a Marshall Code 50. First comparing the AC30 AmPlug to the Rushead Max, I found my previous thoughts based on YouTube videos to be pretty accurate. The Rushead Max in general sounds better, is more versatile, is more convenient with a rechargeable battery, and is sturdier. The two plusses I found to the AC30 AmPlug is that the foldable plug does make it slightly more portable when transporting it, and I prefer the slightly crunchy clean tones of the AC30 AmPlug versus the crystal clean, and to me almost bland, clean tone of the Rushead Max. After learning more about amp models, I would guess the Rushead Max’s clean channel is based on a Fender amp, the overdrive channel on the Marshall JCM800, and the distortion channel on the Mesa/Boogie. Therefore, I did compare the Rushead Max’s distortion channel to the JCM800 model on my Marshall Code 50, and I was surprised with how close it came. The Code 50 clearly had more details and intricacies in the JCM800 sound, but it also has a much larger computer and a 12″ speaker. Considering how small the Rushead Max and Vanzom speaker are, the Rushead Max did a good job getting the general tone of the JCM800 down. Secondly, in addition to the new amps, I have more recently tried two smaller speakers with the Rushead Max, in an attempt to make it more portable. The first one I tried was a cheap, off-brand aux speaker, which is essentially just a very small speaker with a male aux jack attached, designed for use with phones to make them louder. It made the Rushead Max a bit heavy, but I found putting a rubber band around the amp/speaker connection and strapping it around a tone or volume knob kept it in place. It sounded better than I would have expected from such a small speaker, but it was still very tinny and muddy and had no bass. Also, playing the overdrive or distortion channel with high volume made it shake, and I’m sure the speaker could easily be broken if played on high volumes on the distortion channel for long periods of time. The second speaker I got even more recently was a JBL Clip 3. I found that the best way to make it portable is to hang the Clip 3 off of one of the top tuners and run a 3-4 foot audio cable from the Rushead Max to the Clip 3. The Clip 3 still lacked the bass of the Vanzom speaker, sounded a bit tinny, and did the weird buzzing thing, but it was a considerable improvement over the phone extension speaker. In comparison to that one, the Clip 3 was significantly clearer, does not shake at higher volumes on the distortion channel like it is going to fall apart, and also has a bit more bass to it. So while if you want the best sound with the Rushead Max I would still recommend a tabletop portable speaker, if you are looking for a super portable way to use the Rushead Max which would allow you to walk freely around the room, I would recommend the JBL Clip 3 hung over a top tuning peg. I did also try connecting an Aluratek Bluetooth 5.0 transmitter/receiver to the Rushead Max so it could wirelessly connect to my Vanzom speaker (which also uses Bluetooth 5.0), but I found the lag, while only being ~0.5 seconds, to be quite noticeable, so I would recommend a wired connection for this pocket amp. Lastly, I have attached a couple more pictures of the Valeton Rushead Max, this time comparing it to the Vox AC30 AmPlug, as well as a video comparing sound samples between the Rushead Max and AC30 AmPlug. The distortion tones were achieved on the Rushead Max by changing channels while the distortion tones were achieved on the AC30 AmPlug by increasing the gain.Updated September 26, 2021:I purchased a Diezel Herbert and an Alexander Jubilee Overdrive pedal a few months ago and was looking for an easy way to listen to them with headphones. Setting the Valeton to the clean mode and plugging into the output sort of worked but didn’t sound the best, so I recently tried out a Boss Pocket GT, a Fender Mustang Micro, and a LEKATO Headphone Amp. The LEKATO was neat with cab sims and made the pedals sound the best when I only used a cab sim, but a clean setting on the Mustang Micro sounded pretty close just a little looser, and the amp models on the Fender were better even than the models on this Valeton headphone amp. I especially liked the Uber model on the Fender, which to my ears sounded fairly similar to the Diezel Herbert (my favorite of the two pedals). The Valeton sounds noticeably fizzier than the Mustang Micro, and the Mustang Micro is more compact and portable than the Valeton without being fragile like the Vox. The Mustang Micro also has more options. Though the Valeton does have a bit finer control over the options available, the knobs aren’t super sensitive and after playing the Mustang Micro I realized the tone knob on the Valeton is slightly weird in that the volume decreases as you turn the tone down. Apparently one can also record with the Mustang Micro. I haven’t tried it yet, but since this is the one I decided to keep out of the three new ones I tried, I definitely will try this at some point. Overall, I would recommend the Mustang Micro slightly more than the Valeton for its better tone, more compact size, and recording ability. However, the Mustang Micro is 3-4 times the price of the Valeton. I think it is worth it myself, but if you are on a budget and especially if you don’t need to record, the Valeton is still the best headphone amp under $50 in my opinion. If you can find an extra $50 for a used Mustang Micro or a new one on sale, then I would recommend the Mustang Micro, though. I also added a couple more comparison pictures.

Customer Review: Take a look at the ratings on this device…This unit has the highest, global, ratings of any other in this category. There’s a good reason for that – it sounds incredible!! Unfortunately – Vox Amplification has discontinued this product. Insane, move! Why?!! Now, look at the current price.If you’re complaining about this unit – you’re not using it right! (IMHO)There’s quite a lot of functionality, here. 6 (six), different effects: various, delays, reverb, echo, gain (truly, *awesome*).This, little, “virtual, ‘M#rshall half-stack'” – sounds better than most full-sized amps I’ve used. I’d like to be able to get the electronics from this unit into my, present, practice amp (Line 6 Spider30w). However, I play directly through the clean channel on that amp, and, it even makes that sound fabulous!Interestingly, enough – I discovered that you can achieve various effects through more than just the “FX” button. The manual states that the FX button is simply an effects, “ON/OFF” switch. But, you acquire an additional three, settings, holding down the “POWER ON/OFF” switch, as well (at least, in my unit (AP2-MT), and, cycling through the effects, again, using the EFFECTS switch.As far as portability and construction go, it is built on the light, side, for sure, but it’s not going to fall apart from a couple of drops to the floor, either. (Yes, I’ve tried it!). I also use a 1/4″ female-male, elbow adapter, to employ, another, axis of freedom, should, it accidentally meet with a stronger force! – like – a wall!I did, accidentally, apply too much torque to the unit while it was plugged into my guitar, by stepping on a cable plugged into the headphone socket, and the plastic cover, around, the plug, separated. I Super-glued it, and wrapped a small strip of duct tape around it to prevent that from happening again.You might also consider, wrapping a couple of rubber bands around the unit (latitudinally, and, longitudinally), to ensure, some degree of shock absorption and rebound, after a drop. The construction is quite, poor, however. I opened the unit, to apply some friction on the wheels so that they turned more smoothly, by adding a couple of layers of masking tape on the side of the casing that comes up against the front of the wheels. The plug is connected to the circuit board by two, fragile, hook-up wires, which, were the thinnest possible wires they could have used (probably, 24-26 gauge). With just a little tension on those two wires — they disconnected from the circuit board – like – they were just, dying, to be disconnected – and just, couldn’t get to that state, fast, enough! Luckily, I have some (wanting), soldering skills, so I was able to solder them back into place, covering the solder points with a thermal glue (hot glue).THE INSTRUCTIONS: YES, they ARE there; they’re packed inside (in-between) the folded, cardboard packaging! TAKE THEM OUT AND READ THEM. The instructions are clear, and, obviously not a Chinese interpretation (that, in itself, is a welcomed thing!), with clearly illustrated diagrams.If I had good enough reason – I’d buy another one! Or, maybe, I would buy the ‘Classic Rock’ version…UPDATE: I DID buy another one! This thing sounds so good I wanted to make sure I had a backup. Now, I do. I also bought the High Gain Amplug3. In comparison, the Amplug2 Metal – blows it away. It’s too bad, that unit has a nice sound, as well, just not the same spirit.Now, back to this unit. You won’t believe it – until you hear it for yourself. I mean that. It’s got that, something, that just swells into your gut, and chest. Again, it’s the best guitar amplifier I’ve ever heard. I have not heard a full-size Vox amp, or, full stack, so I can’t compare it to that.I will be using this unit – plugged, through, the CLEAN channel – of any other amp that I use, from now on…. It’s that good. HONESTLY.

Customer Review: Little thing is working so well.Im pressed with the sound this very portable plug in micro amp provides through head phones.I can take it with me and practice anywhere without annoying anyone. This is such a great thing.Its got some wieght to it. I dont know what i was expecting but it weighed more then I thought it would. This weight makes it feel solid and gives it that quality feel.Batteries don’t last quite as long as i had hoped, but i have rechargable ones around and they’ve been working great in this.Plug and play. Not a lot of hoopla. But is so great to practice in peace !

Customer Review: Useable sounds, some configuration sound awesome. Fun to jam with Youtube lessons or any portable music player via Bluetooth. Quite good sounding device for the price.Downside is can’t connect app through Android. Apple app works though.It provides 8 Fender amps, 2 Marshall, Vox, Peavey, Orange, Hi Watt, Friedman some boutique amps and some Metal amps.Amp simulation is not bad, however personally owning a 65 Deluxe Reverb and a 65 Princeton Reverb they did not work hard to make these classic amps shine. Tone wise this device is remarkable, especially high gain setups, however breakup/crunch is always VERY difficult to repro with digital equations, the main reason I’m not a big fan of digital processing in my electric guitar / bass signal path. Big fan of digital processing on acoustic guitar and vocal signal though.High gain amps are well reproduced, as well as some of the tweeds are very exciting, but the black faces could use a bit of polishing. The Bass Brakers are awesome but they’re no longer available.What I prefer about these simulators is that I can discover both classic amps and effects. I discovered great Bass Guitar Amps and Effects a long time ago with a multi effect and I went and got the real amps and pedals.While playing with the Marshall models. I stumbled on Friedman amp (FBE-100) which I found the most exciting sounding amp of all the model collection. So I started looking closely at Friedman gear…Cool gadget, fun and convenient to practice with, sounds great but will stick with the real tube amps for sound though. I don’t imagine myself ever recording with this.

Customer Review: I recently purchased the Fender Mustang Micro Headphone Amplifier, and I must say, it’s a game-changer! As a guitarist, I always had to deal with the hassle of lugging my amps and pedals upstairs whenever I wanted to practice in my room. But thanks to this fantastic device, those days are gone.One of the standout features of the Fender Mustang Micro is its convenience. The compact size makes it incredibly portable, allowing me to plug in my Fender Stratocaster directly and play without disturbing anyone around me. This headphone amplifier truly delivers a remarkable experience, providing a rich and authentic sound that stays true to the iconic Fender tone I love.Setting up the Mustang Micro is a breeze. Just plug in your guitar, put on your headphones, and you’re good to go! The intuitive controls make it easy to adjust the volume, gain, and tone to match your desired sound. Additionally, it offers a selection of different amp models and effects, providing endless possibilities for experimentation and finding your perfect sound.The sound quality produced by this headphone amplifier is simply outstanding. The tones are well-balanced, and the built-in effects add depth and character to my playing. I appreciate how it preserves the nuances of my guitar’s sound, allowing me to fully immerse myself in the music without compromising on clarity.What sets the Fender Mustang Micro apart from other headphone amplifiers is its exceptional battery life. I can practice for hours on end without worrying about running out of power. It’s great to have the freedom to play wherever and whenever inspiration strikes, whether it’s at home, during travel, or even outdoors.In conclusion, the Fender Mustang Micro Headphone Amplifier is an absolute must-have for guitar enthusiasts. Its portability, ease of use, and superb sound quality make it a valuable addition to any guitarist’s toolkit. Say goodbye to the hassle of lugging around heavy amps and pedals and say hello to a new level of convenience and creativity. I highly recommend this product to anyone looking to enhance their practice sessions or simply enjoy playing their guitar with the utmost convenience and exceptional sound.Happy playing!

Customer Review: This is the 4th brand of portable headphone amp that plugs directly from the guitar jack into headphones, and is by far the best sounding one. I tested with an industry standard pair of Sony headphones. It’s a great solution for someone that is looking for a super compact, super simple, inexpensive option to practice electric guitar with headphones that sounds good. The options for clean, overdrive, and distortion, along with the effects give a lot of versatility for the kinds of sounds and songs to play. I most often use a rather complicated setup or more expensive multi-effects units. But I know a lot of people either don’t care about all the options those provide, or just want something simple so they can focus on playing rather than learning how to use more equipment and always adjusting the sound. This is really about as simple as it gets… charge it up, plug it into the guitar, plug in headphones, turn it on, and it’s ready to go without disturbing anyone from the volume. One thing that I was pleasantly surprised by was the tone knob, because it has a wide range to really help sculpt the sound from dark and bassy to bright with treble.I have used this with 4 different guitars and 2 bass guitars. One thing I couldn’t test is how this fits into a stratocaster style guitar with the “football” jack. I think it would fit, but it might be worth looking through other reviews to see if that is mentioned.Since the sound of this will vary based on what kind of guitar you have, especially the pickups, I have made a few observations from each of the 6 instruments I’ve used it with:1. Guitar with medium-hot output 3 single coils. Sounds very clean on clean channel. Overdrive and distortion sound good. Low noise.2. Guitar with hot passive Dimarzio humbucker and low output Guitar Fetish lipstick pickup. Unlike the active EMG pickup in my other guitar, this humbucker was able to get a good clean sound. The lipstick pickup was even better for the softer mellow tones. With distortion, the humbucker was the most aggressive, and the lipstick with overdrive got more of a classic rock vibe.3. Guitar with active EMG 81 pickup. Sounds overdriven on clean channel even with gain at zero. Not possible to get a really clean sound with this headphone amp and guitar combination but that doesn’t surprise me because the output is so hot/high to begin with. Sounds great with distortion setting at max gain.4. Classical nylon string with piezo pickup bridge. This guitar sounds best when going into a preamp meant for acoustics so I wasn’t surprised that the sound was a bit harsh and thin. But still not bad and definitely fine for practice, though people won’t be using a headphone amp with their acoustics. I just tried it because I was curious and the reverb+delay with acoustic has a unique sound.5. Electric bass with humbuckers and active preamp pickup system and round wound strings. Clean sound with gain turned down. I had some annoying noise/hum/hiss with volume of headphone amp at higher settings or with gain control turned up. Overdrive also has background hiss noise but can be tamed with turning the tone knob toward the bass end, and has a nice growl. Cool, heavy sound with distortion setting with medium gain and a minimum amount of flanger effect.6. Fretless bass with passive split pickup. Sounds nice and natural with clean setting and low gain.This comes with a USB cord for charging, but you’ll need something to plug the USB cord into, such as a computer with USB A style ports or a phone charger. The port on the headphone amp is a “micro USB”. I’ve never let the battery run fully out so I don’t know exactly how long it can go between charging but with 4 lights to indicate full power, it was over an hour of using before it dropped down to 3 lights. I really like that the lights are there so it’s super easy to see if there is power remaining.The headphone jack is the 1/8″ 3.5mm size, so depending on your headphones, you may need an adapter for that, and same for the auxiliary input if you want to plug in a mp3 player, phone, or computer output signal to play along with.

Customer Review: The media could not be loaded. I was looking for an extremely portable amp that would be easy to carry in my backpack or luggage. I found the Vox amPlugs and thought those would be perfect since they are extremely small and I could plug them into any portable speaker I wanted, and even use my headphones for silent practice sessions at night. I had settled on getting the AC30 amPlug since it had some nice clean sounds and Vox’s AC30 amp is a classic amp that many classic rock players use, but I primarily play harder rock and metal which use dirtier tones, so I was trying to decide which of Vox’s dirtier amPlug models I wanted in addition to the AC30. However, I had this device, the Valeton Rushead Max, recommended to me, and after listening to a few videos and seeing a great Black Friday deal on it, I decided to go with this. I am very glad I did.The Pros:This is both very well built and extremely versatile. While I still don’t have an AC30 amPlug (the clean sound on this is enough for me for now, though I will likely eventually get one and update this review when I do), I have read that they are somewhat flimsy. This pocket amp has no such issues and is very sturdily built. The sounds on this are also extremely versatile. Like most pocket amps and mini-amps, this has the basic volume, tone, and gain controls. However, the types of amps offered and the effects are where this pocket amp shines. Vox’s amPlugs have only one amp per amPlug, but they give you three different channels (a green, orange, and red, and the sound gets increasingly dirtier the redder the color gets), but from what I have heard on YouTube, the channels on the amPlugs don’t sound very different. On this Valeton pocket amp, they give you three different amps entirely. “CL” gives you a nice clean tone, “OD” gives you a hard rock-style overdrive, and “DIST” gives you heavy metal-style distortion, so you can switch between three of the most popular guitar styles all at, to quote AC/DC, a “Flick of the Switch”. I mostly use the OD and DIST channels, and they both sound awesome. I also love being able to drastically switch sounds so easily, switching between the rock and metal tones I typically use all much quicker than dialing in the tones on my 20W Randall practice amp. Additionally, even mini-amps like the Nux or the Boss Katana only give you three similar options, so Valeton’s pocket amp is on par with most mini-amps while being much smaller and letting you choose which speaker you want to use with it (when at home, I will typically grab the MOKCAO Power+, a speaker dock for the 2nd generation Echo Dots, which sounds surprisingly good for guitar and even rivals my larger 20W Randall practice amp, while on-the-go I will typically grab a little 808 NRG speaker, which doesn’t sound as good but is significantly more portable). Lastly, this little device has a ton of available effects. Vox’s amPlugs give you three different versions of Chorus, Delay, and Reverb, but you can only have one active at a time. Valeton’s pocket amp lets you have Delay, Reverb, or Delay/Reverb active, and then you can add to that Chorus, Tremolo, or Flanger. It doesn’t give you different versions, but you can change how each of them sound by adjusting a knob on the top of the device, ranging from not having any of the effect to having more of the effect.The Cons (or Suggested Improvements):While there aren’t any major negatives about this device, I do have a few suggested improvements. The biggest is that I would add bluetooth. I know this device already has a ton of stuff packed into a small package, but bluetooth typically doesn’t take up much space. Also, many speakers in today’s world only use bluetooth, so adding bluetooth would make this pocket amp work with more speakers as well as eliminating messy cords. If possible, I would also make this pocket amp slightly smaller – when attached to the lower bout on my Les Paul, the top comes very close to contacting the ground when I have the Les Paul sitting on the floor, and I sometimes worry that the amp might get broken. Additionally, making it slightly smaller would increase portability. Lastly, I do somewhat agree with another reviewer on here who mentioned that it is a bit difficult to use for guitars where the input jack is on the lower bout, since you can’t see the buttons. While I have mostly gotten used to controlling the knobs and buttons by feel, I think what would be nice is making the jack on the amp rotatable. Unlike on Vox’s amPlugs, though, which rotate the jack side-to-side, I think it would make more sense to let it rotate front and back, that way those who have input jacks on the front of the guitar can leave it facing downward while those who have it on the side can have the jack on the amp rotated so it is pointing out of the main face of the pocket amp, making it easier to see.Overall, the cons aren’t hugely significant, and the pros make this one of the best pocket amps you can buy, especially if you are interested in versatility. If you know you want an excellent recreation of exactly one of Vox’s amps, then one of the amPlugs might be better for you, but if you want something that will give you a plethora of different sounds on-the-go, then this is the pocket amp for you. The tones, particularly the overdrive and distortion tones, also sound excellent, so you are getting amazing tones (especially if you have a good speaker) in addition to superb versatility. I am blown away how Valeton, a company I never heard of until I found this device, managed to make a significantly better pocket amp than Vox, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of guitar amps. The Rushead Max even lets you just charge the device by plugging a micro-USB phone cord into it, which is much more convenient than using batteries with Vox’s amPlugs (even if you use rechargeable batteries, you still have to take them out and charge them, while the Rushead Max you can just plug in – it claims it only lasts 5 hours, but I think it lasts a bit more than that, since I have gone 2-4 days with hour-ish long practice sessions and I have only had it go down to 1/4 the battery dots left without charging). I still plan to eventually get Vox’s AC30 amPlug, since the AC30 is such a classic amp, and when I do I will update this review to provide a more thorough comparison between the amPlug and this. Until I do, though, I think Valeton has put Vox to shame in the pocket amp department, and I highly and enthusiastically recommend the Valeton Rushead Max!Updated March 14, 2020: As I said in the review, the little 808 speaker I was plugging this Valeton Rushead Max into sounded quite tinny while the MOKCAO Echo Dot base sounded really good. I was researching speakers the last few months to try to find if there was a smaller speaker than the MOKCAO that sounded significantly better than the 808 speaker, and I settled on getting the Vanzom Climber-Z speaker. It is about halfway between the 808 and the MOKCAO speaker in size, and it sounds much more like the MOKCAO speaker, possibly even sounding slightly better than the MOKCAO. Those are the only three speakers I have tried with this and out of those three I would recommend the Vanzom Climber-Z speaker – it is $60 new but there are frequently 20-25% off coupons on it, which brings the cost to less than $50 new. I did listen to a few speakers at Best Buy recently, and though I couldn’t compare the sound directly since I couldn’t bring the Vanzom speaker inside, I thought the Vanzom was clearly better than all of the UE speakers and all of the Sony speakers except for the XB41 (which was much more expensive and larger), and I thought the Charge 4 was only slightly bassier than the Vanzom (though also larger and more expensive) and the Bose Soundlink Revolve was only slightly clearer than the Vanzom (though also considerably more expensive). So, assuming that how music sounds through speakers is a good indication of how a speaker will work with this pocket amp, there are speakers that may sound better than the Vanzom, but for its size and price, I think the Vanzom is the best deal. I would definitely recommend the Vanzom Climber-Z if you want to play this through a portable speaker, or at least a speaker with 2 or more active drivers and 1 or more passive radiators should create a fuller sound which will make playing this through the speaker sound better.Update January 1, 2021: A few months ago I finally got a Vox AC30 AmPlug, and I also replaced my main amp with a Marshall Code 50. First comparing the AC30 AmPlug to the Rushead Max, I found my previous thoughts based on YouTube videos to be pretty accurate. The Rushead Max in general sounds better, is more versatile, is more convenient with a rechargeable battery, and is sturdier. The two plusses I found to the AC30 AmPlug is that the foldable plug does make it slightly more portable when transporting it, and I prefer the slightly crunchy clean tones of the AC30 AmPlug versus the crystal clean, and to me almost bland, clean tone of the Rushead Max. After learning more about amp models, I would guess the Rushead Max’s clean channel is based on a Fender amp, the overdrive channel on the Marshall JCM800, and the distortion channel on the Mesa/Boogie. Therefore, I did compare the Rushead Max’s distortion channel to the JCM800 model on my Marshall Code 50, and I was surprised with how close it came. The Code 50 clearly had more details and intricacies in the JCM800 sound, but it also has a much larger computer and a 12″ speaker. Considering how small the Rushead Max and Vanzom speaker are, the Rushead Max did a good job getting the general tone of the JCM800 down. Secondly, in addition to the new amps, I have more recently tried two smaller speakers with the Rushead Max, in an attempt to make it more portable. The first one I tried was a cheap, off-brand aux speaker, which is essentially just a very small speaker with a male aux jack attached, designed for use with phones to make them louder. It made the Rushead Max a bit heavy, but I found putting a rubber band around the amp/speaker connection and strapping it around a tone or volume knob kept it in place. It sounded better than I would have expected from such a small speaker, but it was still very tinny and muddy and had no bass. Also, playing the overdrive or distortion channel with high volume made it shake, and I’m sure the speaker could easily be broken if played on high volumes on the distortion channel for long periods of time. The second speaker I got even more recently was a JBL Clip 3. I found that the best way to make it portable is to hang the Clip 3 off of one of the top tuners and run a 3-4 foot audio cable from the Rushead Max to the Clip 3. The Clip 3 still lacked the bass of the Vanzom speaker, sounded a bit tinny, and did the weird buzzing thing, but it was a considerable improvement over the phone extension speaker. In comparison to that one, the Clip 3 was significantly clearer, does not shake at higher volumes on the distortion channel like it is going to fall apart, and also has a bit more bass to it. So while if you want the best sound with the Rushead Max I would still recommend a tabletop portable speaker, if you are looking for a super portable way to use the Rushead Max which would allow you to walk freely around the room, I would recommend the JBL Clip 3 hung over a top tuning peg. I did also try connecting an Aluratek Bluetooth 5.0 transmitter/receiver to the Rushead Max so it could wirelessly connect to my Vanzom speaker (which also uses Bluetooth 5.0), but I found the lag, while only being ~0.5 seconds, to be quite noticeable, so I would recommend a wired connection for this pocket amp. Lastly, I have attached a couple more pictures of the Valeton Rushead Max, this time comparing it to the Vox AC30 AmPlug, as well as a video comparing sound samples between the Rushead Max and AC30 AmPlug. The distortion tones were achieved on the Rushead Max by changing channels while the distortion tones were achieved on the AC30 AmPlug by increasing the gain.Updated September 26, 2021:I purchased a Diezel Herbert and an Alexander Jubilee Overdrive pedal a few months ago and was looking for an easy way to listen to them with headphones. Setting the Valeton to the clean mode and plugging into the output sort of worked but didn’t sound the best, so I recently tried out a Boss Pocket GT, a Fender Mustang Micro, and a LEKATO Headphone Amp. The LEKATO was neat with cab sims and made the pedals sound the best when I only used a cab sim, but a clean setting on the Mustang Micro sounded pretty close just a little looser, and the amp models on the Fender were better even than the models on this Valeton headphone amp. I especially liked the Uber model on the Fender, which to my ears sounded fairly similar to the Diezel Herbert (my favorite of the two pedals). The Valeton sounds noticeably fizzier than the Mustang Micro, and the Mustang Micro is more compact and portable than the Valeton without being fragile like the Vox. The Mustang Micro also has more options. Though the Valeton does have a bit finer control over the options available, the knobs aren’t super sensitive and after playing the Mustang Micro I realized the tone knob on the Valeton is slightly weird in that the volume decreases as you turn the tone down. Apparently one can also record with the Mustang Micro. I haven’t tried it yet, but since this is the one I decided to keep out of the three new ones I tried, I definitely will try this at some point. Overall, I would recommend the Mustang Micro slightly more than the Valeton for its better tone, more compact size, and recording ability. However, the Mustang Micro is 3-4 times the price of the Valeton. I think it is worth it myself, but if you are on a budget and especially if you don’t need to record, the Valeton is still the best headphone amp under $50 in my opinion. If you can find an extra $50 for a used Mustang Micro or a new one on sale, then I would recommend the Mustang Micro, though. I also added a couple more comparison pictures.

Customer Review: Wired earbuds are my preferred listening mode for just about everything from music to work, to just watching videos.I just picked up some new high impedance IEMs and threw this in the cart on a whim.Holy cow! It felt like I was on a magic carpet singing “a whole new world” duo with Aladdin himself. Total game changer.The gain switch is awesome for lower listening volumes, really gives the sound some punch behind it, but for higher (LOUD) listening volumes, the gain boost can ‘muddy-up’ the sound a bit if you’re listening to bass-heavy music.Super clean sound at high volumes with the gain switch off, though. I cranked this unit for 3+ hours right out of the box before I even charged it. It’s got a solid feel to it and I like how the volume knob is just a bit tight, so you can’t just accidentally crank on it, volume changes need to be deliberate.The only thing I wish this had was bluetooth, because you otherwise need a janky usb.c-to-trrs adapter or a bluetooth adapter to plug into the input, paired to your phone. (Bt adapter dongle is under $20)I suppose there’s probably some higher end DAC units that have bluetooth, but this thing is so awesome for the price, it’s worth adding a cheapo BT dongle if you want to use it wirelessly with your phone.I had been using a cheapo bluetooth single-earbud for use with my phone, but it’s really only good for podcasts & audio books, the sound quality is ok at best, and I refuse to spend three figures on BT earbuds just to listen to music.This package ended up being about $60-something for IEMs, this DAC (amp), and a $12 BT dongle, and I’m absolutely stoked about it.Top notch sound, this killer amp that seems like it will run all day, and a cheapo BT dongle with similar battery life. It’s a do-it-all set up for work or play.

Customer Review: This IEM product works as advertised. The boost in dB is great and the sound imaging is what I noticed most. It is great to be able to identify the location of specific instruments and voices and their relative position in the soundstage. Great product especially to my pocketbook!

Customer Review: Bought a used guitar and the seller used this amp to demo it.I immediately wanted one especially at the incredibly small price!It arrived overnight and I’ve been playing it all day after charging it. Love it! Really loud depite its tiny size! The tone is very good and the overdrive is raunchy! So much more convenient for practice, fun playing and of course taking to picnicks, camping or playing on the street! Built in wifi for use as a wifi speaker and ez to add complete wireless playing for any electric guitar.

Customer Review: The amp came in perfect, working condition on time. The box was a little beat up, but no damage, not even any scratches were done to the amp itself, considering it was well-protected by a bunch of styrofoam.The amp is SUPER loud and picks up noise extremely well. I have the volume set at only 2 but even then the whole house can hear me playing lol. This amp is great for beginners, those on a budget, or those who just play as a hobby rather than professionally. The noise it produces sounds clean and clear, really high-quality for a lower-end amp, and the controls give you plenty of variety when it comes to customizing the sound you want your guitar to make – I was able to create a super gritty, distorted sound with my guitar without having to buy a distortion pedal.The cord and picks are a wonderful bonus too, especially since it would’ve been more expensive to buy them separately. This was 100% worth my money, and I’m glad I invested in this particular amp! Fender always makes good stuff.

Customer Review: Bought a used guitar and the seller used this amp to demo it.I immediately wanted one especially at the incredibly small price!It arrived overnight and I’ve been playing it all day after charging it. Love it! Really loud depite its tiny size! The tone is very good and the overdrive is raunchy! So much more convenient for practice, fun playing and of course taking to picnicks, camping or playing on the street! Built in wifi for use as a wifi speaker and ez to add complete wireless playing for any electric guitar.

Customer Review: The amp came in perfect, working condition on time. The box was a little beat up, but no damage, not even any scratches were done to the amp itself, considering it was well-protected by a bunch of styrofoam.The amp is SUPER loud and picks up noise extremely well. I have the volume set at only 2 but even then the whole house can hear me playing lol. This amp is great for beginners, those on a budget, or those who just play as a hobby rather than professionally. The noise it produces sounds clean and clear, really high-quality for a lower-end amp, and the controls give you plenty of variety when it comes to customizing the sound you want your guitar to make – I was able to create a super gritty, distorted sound with my guitar without having to buy a distortion pedal.The cord and picks are a wonderful bonus too, especially since it would’ve been more expensive to buy them separately. This was 100% worth my money, and I’m glad I invested in this particular amp! Fender always makes good stuff.

Customer Review: I picked the Spark Go up on sale recently and I’m really glad I did. I already owned the Spark Mini and knew the quality that was built in so I didn’t even think twice. Both are bedroom amps playing different guitar setups (a Strat on the Mini and an Epi SG on the Go). Others have said it and it bears repeating that it plays much bigger than it looks. The tone a bit deeper than the Mini with more bass present (the Mini carries more mid-range by the default settings in my opinion). For the money, this is a high value and high-quality small amp that holds its own. It also takes pedals well as I have a Boss SY-1 and a EHXtortion in front of it. If you are on the fence about purchasing the Spark Go, I say ‘Go for It’! Note that I don’t talk about the app because I don’t really use it, I’m fine with the default presets.

Customer Review: I have a Positive Grid Spark 2 but I wanted to see how the Spark GO was. I wasn’t disappointed at all. The overall build quality is AMAZING! It feels well built and sturdy. Not heavy.. not light… Just perfect. For such a small footprint is quite loud. Perfect for practicing. Battery lasts a long time and it connects perfectly with the App. It’s just a super mini version of the Spark 2. You won’t be disappointed with this little powerhouse!