When I first wanted to check out the Aphex Headpod 4, I was looking at it strictly from a remote broadcast engineer standpoint, especially live sportscasts. But as I was testing the unit I found the uses of this headphone amplifier could range from remote broadcasts to recording studio to even a podcaster, making it a very flexible headphone amp. It is simple in idea and takes away one of many worries when broadcasting or recording, making sure everyone hears the audio at the proper levels. Whether you're a musician, audio engineer, broadcaster, or podcaster this unit is very handy.

WAKO radio is in a typical small town and broadcasts high school games with an announcer and color commentator who share the same audio output to feed their headphones during the broadcasts. During pregame checks I hear them discussing the headphone levels. What's right for one is too loud or too quiet for the other. No more compromise; this unit solves that problem.

First let's look at what is involved in the inputs and outputs of the Headpod 4. The interface is very efficient with three inputs and four headphone outputs for monitoring flexibility. The three inputs on the rear panel of the box are a balanced 1/4" TRS left and right input (if you are using a mono input source then simply use the left input), unbalanced stereo analog 1/4" TRS input and a coaxial S/PDIF digital input. The analog inputs are 1/4" jack inputs, I would have liked an RCA jack analog input, but an adapter is an easy fix. The front panel has the four 1/4" jack headphone outputs.

The top of the unit has the main controls with the input selector, master volume and four individual volume controls for each output. The top control also has a small LED to alert when a digital input is available, and when power is applied the Aphex logo glows a pale green.

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