In this article, we review the Mamoritai Audio Euphony, a new desktop headphone amplifier / pre-amplifier selling for $1,999 USD (or $1,599 on their Kickstarter page)
Disclaimer: the Mamoritai Euphony was sent to us, free of charge, by the brand itself in exchange for our honest opinion.
Mamoritai
Founded in 2023, Mamoritai Audio was completely new to me prior to this review—and I’m pretty sure that most of you will be discovering the brand today, too. But, digging a bit deeper, you’ll find out that behind the company lies Fosi, one of the rising stars in modern chi-fi, with the likes of SMSL, Topping, WiiM, or Eversolo.
A high-end spin-off with a clear ambition: “[…]a testament to craftsmanship and audiophile passion, born from the desire to create a high-end headphone amplifier that matches the giants of the audio industry[…]” – which could be translated as “high-end Fosi” for summary.
The result? A whole new headphone amp/preamp, embedding all of Mamoritai’s experience, both internally – with a full-discrete board – and externally, thanks to its one-of-a-kind CNC’ed aluminum chassis. A compelling proposition on paper, promising excellent sound performance and unique design, that seamlessly fits into your hi-fi setup – whether between your DAC and power amplifier, or as as your main desktop headphone amplifier.
A new reference? Let’s find out!
Euphony – Design and Build Quality
Casing
Bold and glossy, the Mamoritai Euphony may be one of the most divisive-looking amps I reviewed recently.
Crafted from high-grade aluminum and meticulously polished to a radiant shine (their words) every part of the amp exudes a sense of luxury and heft, reminiscent of Burmester’s designs in their pursuit of ultra-high-end status. The same goes for the volume knob, which mirrors the refinement seen across the chassis, further elevated by its mirror-like finish and wave-patterned side panels.
A design that some may find… polarizing, to say the least. But personally… I’m quite fond of it. Compared to the Rose Technics I reviewed recently, the Euphony never gives off that “knock-off” vibe where everything feels overdone. Instead, it stays just under that threshold, presenting itself as a genuinely high-end device, both in appearance and execution.
That impression is further reinforced by its dimensions—310mm long, 236mm wide, and 80mm tall—and its substantial weight of 5.2kg. Compared to brands like SMSL, which prioritize compact and lightweight designs, the Euphony’s form factor feels unapologetically premium. Sure it may not fit every desktop setup but, for those who have the space, this amp will instantly add a touch of luxury to your system.
Thick aluminum panels all over, exquisite volume potentiometer exerting the right level of resistance when rotating, dual 6.35mm headphone outputs and sturdy RCA at the back – all without any visible gaps between the parts. Same goes with the ports that all feel tight and sturdy, never showing any wiggle when I plugged/unplugged my RCA cables.
Clearly, for a first try, I’ve got to say that Mamoritai did a terrific job overall, at least in terms of build quality. On a daily basis, it feels amazing to touch and hold and, if you’re okay with the glossy finish – I am, the sheer density of the amp contributes to the whole ordeal.
Overall, a superb device, waiting for us to check on its I/O. So let’s do that!
Layout
The Mamoritai Euphony offers a very simple I/O, giving you just the bare minimum – it’s a headphone amp overall.
Upfront you get:
- 2x 6.35mm headphone output (no balanced output here)
- a volume knob
And at the back, you have :
- 1x RCA line input, to connect your source
- a full-sized power input
And… that’s it!
that the resistance is perfectly balanced.
Bundle – Inside the box
Considering the price and the type of device, the Mamoritai Euphony bundle is quite simple, but if you’re used to high-end stuff, you won’t be surprised: the higher the price, the dire the bundle.
Out of the box, you’ll find:
- the Mamoritai Euphony
- a fancy power cord with superb connectors at each end
- a set of silver plates, to replace the golden plate up front
Again, no RCA cable, to plug your amplifier or speakers, which appears to be the norm in this price range, the brands usually leaving you the choice.
On that good word, let’s plug it in and see how it works?
Connection
As expected, setting up the Mamoritai Euphony is quite simple. Plug the power supply, plug your analog source (RCA only, no XLR here) and you’ll be good to go.
From there, you get two options :
- the Euphony can deliver a variable-level signal through its RCA output, allowing you to drive a set of powered speakers like my LS50 Wireless, or a set of power amplifiers like the Fosi Amp V3 (review incoming)
- or you can connect your headphones through the headphone outputs, and use it as your classic headphone amp
Bonus point, you can even use both outputs at the same time, the amp delivering sound through all of its output at any time. Minus point, both headphone’s output are connected to the same line, and you don’t get any balanced output!
Everyday Use
As a dedicated desktop solution, the Mamoritai Euphony was almost perfect.
In my personal setup, I linked the RCA outputs to my KEF LS50 Wireless, and chose the old-but-lovely Audeze LCD-3 as my main headphone, plugged through the 6.35mm output. I also did some test with a set of two Fosi audio V3 and my new set of speakers – the Waterfall Iguescu XT.
For the source, I plugged my old but faithful Auralic Vega as a DAC and the FiiO SR11 as a Roon endpoint. Alternatively, I hooked up the SMSL DO400, my usual go-to for anyone seeking an affordable-yet-amazingly-versatile DAC/Amp.
From there, all I had to do was adjust the output level from the mighty volume wheel, and… that’s it. On that note, controlling the volume has been a seamless experience daily, regardless of the headphones used and, personally, I found the wheel’s resistance perfectly balanced.
Kudos to the team
Specifications
Discrete circuitry
If visually keen to my eyes, I’m more interested in the Mamoritai Euphony’s inner beauty, and circuitry. Advertised as a “testament to the craftsmanship and audiophile passion”, the brand packed the Amp with all of the best chips they could grab, and master.
To do so, Euphony comes with a discrete circuitry, fully balanced – even if no balanced input/output was provided – filled with hand-picked capacitors and resistances through and through:
- 2x Nichicon 4700μF/50V Caps high-grade capacitors, chosen for their stability and endurance, ensuring significantly reduced power supply noise and a reliable energy reserve,
- 3x Hitachi 2SB649A + 3x 2SD660 BJT, that can handle extreme power output with excellent ability, offering high-gain level, with a low distortion,
- 2x JRC Muses02 Dual Op-Amp, offering exceptionally low noise and distortion levels, ensuring pristine audio clarity, on paper
The cherry on top? A massive Noratel Dual 18V Toroidal transformer, rated up to 30W – more than enough for an headphone amp – providing clean and stable power with minimal noise, especially when paired with the Takamisawa RY12W-K relay.
Numbers? SNR was measured at 107dB per channel, crosstalk -97dB, SINAD 103dB, and output power can reach up to 2000mW@32ohms. Surprisingly, the output impedance remained a bit high (10 ohms) meaning that – theoretically – the amp might be better suited for big cans rather than IEMs.
Good, but not amazing numbers, so we’ll have to see how that translates once fitted with a good headphone. Which is what we’ll do… just after I give you the full technical sheets.
Technical Data
- Model: Mamoritai Euphony
- Type: Pre-amplifier + headphone amplifier
- Outputs : RCA, 2x Jack 6.35mm
- Input: RCA
- Frequency response: 10Hz-80kHz
- SNR: > 107dB
- SINAD: > 103dB
- THD: <0.0002%
- Crosstalk: >95dB
- Output Power: 2000mW@32ohms / 200mW@300ohms
- Output Impedance: 10 ohms
- Input Impedance: 10k ohms
- Size: 310 x 236 x 80 mm
- Weight: 5200g
- Price : $1999
Sound performance
For this review, I picked my old Audeze LCD-X and Audeze LCD-3, the all-new Shanling HW600, the mighty Beyerdynamic DT900 Pro X, and a set of Fosi V3 Amp + Waterfall Iguescu.
As for the source, music was streamed directly from my computer with Apple Music (Hi-Res), my own Plex library (Hi-Res), and Spotify (Lo-Res) to the FiiO M17, or a FiiO SR11 + Auralic Vega.
Overall signature
So, behind those visual flairs, how’s that fancy amp performing? Most of the time very well, even if it clearly aims a specific set of headphones.
Plugged to my Audeze LCD-3, the Mamoritai Euphony managed to extract much more information than I hoped it would, even at low to medium volume levels. It’s sweet when needed, hard when you want it and, I’d even dare to say that the amp was easily able to rival my Auralic Taurus Pre, even if the latter still holds a candle to many other pre-amp up to this day.
In terms of sound signature, nothing to say here: this amp is amazingly flat, outputting the sound as raw as it gets from the source. On my usual track list, the results were usually impressive, the Euphony covering all of every nuance from top to bottom, enhancing the FiiO M17 crisp highs and deep lows, at every given volume.
Soundstage however wasn’t as wide as expected. Not narrow enough that I could call it bad, but considering the tech inside and the power behind it, I expected a bit more from it, especially with cans like my Audeze. On that matter, the amp behaved perfectly well with my LCD-X/LCD-3, same with the Shanling HW600 (great, great pairing by the way) but fall a little bit behind when combined with the Sennheiser HD800S.
The article continues on page two, after the click here, or after the jump
Page 1: About the brand, design, bundle and build quality, specs
Page 2: Sound performance
