Mytek Liberty THX AAA Headphone Amp Review

The Mytek Liberty amplifier features solid construction, with metal paneling and its logo large and in charge on the top. I'm a fan of their design choice for multiple reasons: the precision of the milling process makes for a very sleep presentation on the top of the device, but the design also doubles for effective heat dissipation. The holes also allow for the blue LEDs on the PCB to show through, letting off a nice glow in dimly lit or darker environments. It's interesting to note that the bottom panel also features this milled design, so ensuring that the device is in a well-ventilated area will be important for optimal performance and to prevent overheating.

The front panel features all the control components of the amplifier. From left to right, you'll find:

• -Quarter-inch (unbalanced) headphone jack
• -XLR (balanced) headphone jack
• -3.5mm IEM (high-sensitivity) jack
• -4.4mm (balanced) headphone jack
• -Input selector switch / power switch
• -Gain selector switch
• -Crossfeed selector switch
• -Volume knob

It's also interesting to note that the Liberty amp uses an oversized 60W toroid power transformer, separate low noise power regulators for left and right channels, and a large bank of low impedance power supply electrolytic capacitors. All this to say that Mytek understands the necessity for the complete negation of noise and interference when it comes to the best sound reproduction.

The THX Liberty has a patented feed-forward topology that can output a maximum current of 1 ampere and voltages reaching 25Vp-p. As a result, the Liberty THX AAA™ HPA can drive any pair of headphones available today. With such power capabilities, extensive circuit protection is of the utmost importance and the THX-888 module within this device has this fully covered. Multiple protection circuits are in place to ensure that the output relays are disabled during ‘power up’ until all power supplies reach full voltage and proper stability, and during faulty conditions like overloads and short circuits.

The front face actually has a hexagonal texture on the left and right sides. I didn't notice this small detail until a couple of days after testing the unit. All in all, the front and back of the amplifier are efficiently designed, with all the necessary information clearly marked and easily selectable. My only caveat would be that although the design is functional, it's hardly inspiring. The metal plating shows screws, you can see where the parts are constructed and how they fit together; it's an industrial aesthetic. Look, it's about the performance at the end of the day, but Mytek isn't winning any awards for design here (it's also not fair that it's sitting next to two high-end streamers on my desk: the Matrix Audio Element X and Naim Uniti Atom). But that's okay, because it's about what is on the inside that really counts. And that's where the Liberty amp really shines.

Power. That about sums it up when it comes to the sound. Complete unbridled power. This amplifier is rated to deliver up to 6 watts at <0.1% THD. Typically speaking, the more power you can give your electronics like headphones and speakers generally equates to better performance, and this is especially true with planar magnetic drivers. The larger driver size of the Elite's helps to show off the impressive dynamic range of the Liberty amp, with the lowest lows and highest highs of the music being handled with ease at any volume level. At this power rating, the Liberty amplifier can easily and adequately drive any headphone on the market, which should make it a desired amplifier even more so because of the all-analog circuitry.

To see what the amp can do, I queued up one of my favorites from R.E.M.: The Great Beyond. From the moment of the first note, I knew there was instantly more control of the frequencies. This control was most present in the bass and low end, with the thumping of the bass guitar keeping a steady rhythmic pulse in the intro, like the beating of a heart. This thumping was tight and controlled, the lower frequencies having a weight to them that was a result of the increased power to the driver, allowing it to perform at peak efficiency. I would consider all these conic elements of the Liberty amp to enhance the overall imaging as well - each instrumental or vocal performance is given its own frequency pocket as it is panned in the mix. For instance, you can clearly hear the modulation on the synth in the verses - much more clearly than I've ever heard - as if there is less competing with it (even though it's the same mix obviously). Yes, there is probably an element of increased soundstage and imaging coming from the headphone and cable in this setup, but the control is unmistakable. It truly makes a huge difference.

Graceland is one of those "perfect" albums in my book. "Diamonds in the Soles of Her Shoes" is an amazing a capella arrangement with Ladysmith Black Mambazo in the intro. The extension in the low bass voices is impressive, with the low end fully filling out my headphones for a dynamic and playful choral feature. The other thing about Ladysmith: preciseness. Key and intonation are impeccable. And that's just the first 56 seconds. The bass is plucky when the full band comes in, and the drums are much more impactful to me through the Mytek amp. The horns are punchy and tickle the song just here and there. When Ladysmith Black Mambazo comes back in towards the repeating outro the bass voices slowly take back over as the song fades out. The Mytek gives this song depth and weight - for an album that I usually consider to be mixed well - but on the thin side of dynamics in most setups I've listened to it on. The low frequencies typically reside in the bass and kick only - with a touch from the low voices in Ladysmith. The Mytek helps to spread out this fullness to more of the album as a whole - increasing these dynamics and giving life to the work in a way I've not heard.

This amp is a perfect match for harder rock and heavy punk. Old-school Weezer is nasty, visceral, and that kick is still pulsing in my head as I'm writing this. The way they mixed the drums on this album sound even larger than the guitar tracks, and Weezer loves some distortion. Toms are beefy, and River's voice sits right in that midrange where the Mytek puts the vocals right in the middle of the action without covering them up. It's a great amplifier for rock music and more.

The Liberty amp is clean, has plenty of headroom for my headphones, and low noise floor: everything I could ask for. Keep in mind that the gain and crossfeed settings can affect the overall signature of the device, so you'll have to do some testing to see what sound best for your particular headphone or IEM pairing. Also make note that the wrong settings for your device can result in poor sound, so A/B test to get the best sound for your setup!