headphones

That's what I'm wondering. I don't know much about audio and electronics. If I have to turn the volume up a lot on the source, does that mean I need a headphone amp? (I don't, in my case.) What other reasons does one have for using one? Does it improve the sound?

Kirk

You're right! I read "cable and diaphragms" etc.

'De-stressing' does sound like 'break-in,' but I have no opinion on that.

Stephen

Unfortunately one's hearing goes to pot just like your hair turns gray, goes bald or lose your teeth and one needn't have heard a single note for any of that to happen..

The headphone circuitry included in some receivers is inadequate to properly drive many headphones, particularly those not intended for portable use. Yes, you can hear the music, but the sound isn't nearly the same.

Bill

I have a Creek OBH-11, purchased for about $110 a few years ago. I also have one of these...

...which I use with my laptop.

Bill

Don't even think about applying for a job at Best Buy unless you can erase all traces of this post. Allen

An amp may, or may not improve the sound, in this (or other) cases.

As others have alluded, there are several reasons why a headphone amp may provide superior sound:

- Some stereo systems have a "headphone out" jack which has a relatively high impedance... it's not a particularly good "voltage source". You often see this on integrated amplifiers, where the headphone output is drive from the main amplifier stage, through a series resistor to "pad down" the signal amplitude to the level that most headphones need. The high impedance of an output like this, can interact with the impedance of the headphone itself (which often varies quite a lot at different frequencies). This can cause the frequency response of the headphones to change. A dedicated headphone amp will usually have a low output impedance, and acts as something closer to a true voltage source... allowing the headphones to deliver the frequency response that they were designed to.

- A small MP3 player (for example) may be designed with a relatively low-power headphone drive circuit, which can drive a relatively high-impedance headphone (e.g. 32 ohms or above) but might have difficulty driving a lower-impedance headphone system (e.g. 8 ohms). You might notice low output levels, or distortion during the louder passages in the music. A dedicated headphone amp would usually be designed to drive low-impedance and/or low-sensitivity headphones to a comfortable listening volume without distorting. However, if your existing setup doesn't have these problems, then a dedicated headphone amp would probably not help, and (since it's an active electronic stage with its own distortion and noise) it *might* actually degrade the sound quality enough to notice.

You'd probably have to borrow a dedicated headphone amp, and test it with your headphones and source, to see if there's any real benefit in your situation.

My ad700's fit around the ear. They don't touch your ear.

I'll keep in mind to handle these delicately, which I usually do. For around the house, I prefer open air phones.

Greg