MASS-Kobo brings the $20,000 Model 491 monoblock headphone amplifier to London
Hand-built to order in Shizuoka, the Model 491 runs twin balanced monoblocks with independent left and right supplies, rated at 3.5 watts per channel into 32 ohms.
MASS-Kobo showed the Model 491 at CanJam London 2026, a twin-balanced monoblock headphone amplifier hand-built to order in Shizuoka, Japan, at $20,000 (£16,599). Each channel has its own power supply, and it is rated at 3.5 watts per channel into 32 ohms, with 4.4 mm balanced, 4-pin XLR, dual 3-pin XLR and 6.35 mm outputs.
Independent supplies per channel is a real design decision with a measurable consequence: it limits how much one channel's current draw can modulate the other, which shows up as crosstalk. Whether that difference is audible at listening levels is the older argument, and 3.5 watts into 32 ohms is far more power than most headphones will ever ask for.
Announcement sources
- The Best DACs, Headphone Amps and DAPs from CanJam London 2026 (ecoustics)
- CanJam London 2026 Report (HiFi Pig)
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This is an announcement, not a verdict. Specifications come from the manufacturer and nothing here is measured until a unit reaches the rig. For tested solid amps, see Solid AMPs reviews. Back to all new releases.