Orchard Audio has introduced the Valencia, a headphone power amplifier featuring a fully balanced circuit design. It includes a single balanced headphone jack, ensuring optimal performance. The Valencia operates in class AB mode.
Orchard Audio, established in 2017, specializes in the production of amplifiers, while also offering a streaming device. Leo Ayzenshtat, the creative force behind the brand’s offerings, characterizes the Valencia headphone amplifier as an exceptionally high-performance unit, designed to power even the most challenging headphones while maintaining clarity for highly sensitive models.
The Valencia features a fully balanced topology for its power amplification, ensuring consistency from input to output, with each channel powered by its own independent linear power supply. This design approach effectively reduces noise and distortion by simplifying the circuit path, thereby maintaining the intricate details and subtleties of music, as noted by Orchard Audio. It is important to highlight that the Valencia functions solely as a power amplifier and lacks a built-in volume control, necessitating users to adjust volume levels through their source devices.
As a robust headphone amplifier, the Valencia delivers around 15 watts per channel at a 32-ohm impedance. It boasts a gain of 14 dB and, according to Orchard Audio, achieves an A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio exceeding 134 dB. Additionally, the Valencia can drive high-sensitivity loudspeakers, which should have a sensitivity rating above 95 dB (1 watt). This typically requires the use of horn loudspeakers with an impedance of eight ohms or greater. While the selection of compatible loudspeakers may be somewhat restricted, the primary function of the Valencia remains as a power amplifier tailored for headphones.
The Valencia is available in black anodized or natural aluminum finishes. The modern sandblasted aluminum chassis and the brand’s typical angular shape match other high-end desktop devices or the Orchard Audio PecanPi+ Streamers.
Price: $2,000
