Oh G-d yes good headphone amps are worth it. Good headphone sound can be a glorious thing and quality amplification is just as important as it is with speakers (and often, unfortunately, more expensive). 50,000 headfiers can't be wrong. Check out Apex, Eddie Current, Woo, Ray Samuels, Cavelli, HeadAmp. I would lean towards tubes. Great solid state from Rudistor and something called a Beta 22 design done by small suppliers. And of course there is Stax.
(I have tried/heard/owned some of these, not all, but it's enough to be convinced of the value of a dedicated headphone amp.)
Most headphone jacks out of other amps are not too good (at least to my ears) but there are some exceptions that are extremely popular (I have not heard them), like Leben, Accuphase 3800, and the Cary SEI 300.
With a nice headphone amp, you get natural tonality, rounded images, out-of-head staging, air, and lots of joy.
Headphone listening has it's own special pleasures, with an intimate portrayal all its own that carries different pleasures than speakers, and is an art form in itself, with a special insight not found with speakers. But you need great amplification to get there. Try Audeze headphones (my current favorites).
(I have tried/heard/owned some of these, not all, but it's enough to be convinced of the value of a dedicated headphone amp.)
Most headphone jacks out of other amps are not too good (at least to my ears) but there are some exceptions that are extremely popular (I have not heard them), like Leben, Accuphase 3800, and the Cary SEI 300.
With a nice headphone amp, you get natural tonality, rounded images, out-of-head staging, air, and lots of joy.
Headphone listening has it's own special pleasures, with an intimate portrayal all its own that carries different pleasures than speakers, and is an art form in itself, with a special insight not found with speakers. But you need great amplification to get there. Try Audeze headphones (my current favorites).