Headphone Amplifiers

[naruto1988]

am i wrong in my definition? i have a pair of grado SR80's and they sound fine. what would an amplifier do for them?

 

[Bobthelost]

Depends what you're using as the source.

Sr80s are damn nice but i think they have 32 ohms impedance, which is getting high for low end audio sources.

 

[Viper GTS]

The short answer?

Yes, but they are much better equipped to handle it than most consumer audio devices.

The longer answer:

This is primarily due to the general public wanting a week of battery life out of a single AA battery. Really old PCDP's are actually fairly powerful, & are sought after by audio geeks. Most modern consumer audio is absolute trash in the amp department, you really need a dedicated amp to get the most out of decent headphones.

Your Grados will almost certainly benefit from an amp.

Viper GTS

 

[Bobthelost]

There won't be much improvement if you've got a good quaity sound card. Viper seems to be assuming that you're using them for portable sound where an amp would help.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost
There won't be much improvement if you've got a good quaity sound card. Viper seems to be assuming that you're using them for portable sound where an amp would help.

I would beg to differ on that.

Viper GTS

 

[0roo0roo]

higher end headphones don't have drivers efficient enough to be driven by low power devices. so unless you need it, an amp won't automatically give u benifit.

 

[0roo0roo]

go to headphone.com or head-fi.org for more info. real headphone amps cost a decent bit.

 

[Chesebert]

not headfi.org!!! ...or your wallet will be very very sorry.
spoken from years of temptation and wallet abuse.

consider yourself warned.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Chesebert
not headfi.org!!! ...or your wallet will be very very sorry.
spoken from years of temptation and wallet abuse.

consider yourself warned.

It is a terrible place for wallets.

Don't tell my girlfriend but $1K headphones seem absolutely reasonable to me thanks to that place...

Viper GTS

 

[Zepper]

Headphone outputs on lots of devices are just warmed-over line-out ports with a pot for volume control. The impedence match is poor and there is often not a lot of oomph for some inefficient headphones. A headphone amp will match impedences closely for less rolloff in the high end and will usually provide enough oomph to split your head open. Use wisely...

.bh.

 

[Snooper]

Headroom.

I decided to build a headphone amp to drive my Senn HD590s. The Audigy 2 card just couldn't drive them cleanly. The first amp was a small, simple amp just to "get my feet wet" so to say. It made a HUGE difference in sound quality. I lot more difference than I expected.

Which, of course, led to the second amp I build. The first one was really optimized for "on the go" amp usage. The second one had been build as either a very high end portable amp, or a nice "stationary" amp. Frankly, I didn't expect it to sound much better than the first one.

But I was wrong. It was noticiably cleaner. Just more "effortless" all the way around.

Which, of course, led to the third (and current) amp, a very nice almost maxed out PPA. I spent a lot of time and a lot (more) money than I expected to on this amp. And was surprised once more to find that it really did sound better than my first two amps, even though it was not as big a jump in quality from the second to the third as from the first to the second. Of course, the biggest jump was going from no amp to a cheap, simple amp to start with!

Right now, I am very happy with my PPA. I'm sure at some point, I'll start visiting some of the DIY audio web sites again and start getting the hankering to build something else... But that will be because electronics is a hobby, not because I am in any way displeased with my PPA.

 

[Ctrackstar126]

ive only been on the headfi.org forums for a week and im about to be out $800. and thats just to get started :shocked:

 

[duragezic]

At an IEEE meeting at school they demonstrated how to build an altoids can amplifier. People who went said they are very nice if you have good 'phones but say an mp3 player with not very good or loud output.

 

[naruto1988]

so all they do is change the power output. my ipod nano powers my headphones fine...at max volume, the sound is a bit too loud...

what i am asking is do they change the sound quality?

also, i'm upgrading to an sound blaster x-fi xtrememusic soon...good choice?

 

[cw42]

Originally posted by: naruto1988
so all they do is change the power output. my ipod nano powers my headphones fine...at max volume, the sound is a bit too loud...

what i am asking is do they change the sound quality?

also, i'm upgrading to an sound blaster x-fi xtrememusic soon...good choice?

1. Someone said your SR80s are only like 32ohms, so they're pretty efficient, and prob won't benefit from an amp much.

2. An amp can change a sound signature slightly, but it will not change the real quality of it. It can't add anything that's not there like detail, but it can bring more out of your headphones.

3. X-fi: it's an acceptable sound card.

4. No one wants to see ur Xanga, save that for ur AIM profile.

 

[naruto1988]

haha, thanks a lot. but my xanga link is classic xD it's been there since forever.

 

[CKTurbo128]

Yep, if you want detailed information about headphones, amplifiers, sound cards, etc., Headfi.org is the place to go.

However, like others have warned, your wallet may take a beating after a visit there.

 

[Zepper]

Yes, a good headphone amp can make a difference in the quality of the sound. As I said above, the mismatched impedences cause a rolloff in the high frequencies and a slowed transient response that can cause a change in the character of what are mainly low tones like bass guitar string sound, bass and kettle drum and similar sounds that consist of a low frequency primary tone with the high-transient of the strike or pluck. Plus the limited voltage range of the typical headphone output also limits and distorts transients.

The preamps and headphone amps I build just using inexpensive, but high-quality, very low-noise and ultra fast OP-Amp ICs have a minimum of +/- 14 volts power supplies for a slew of at least 28 Volts (and these are linear power supplies that lack the high primary frequencies found in switching PSU power - cleaner power in makes for cleaner sound out) - the most you can get from many PC sound cards is +/- six volts for a 12 Volt max slew. The sound takes on an entirely different character (also mentioned above) from the typical headphone output...

. Yes, Virginia, I was an audio freak long before I became a computer freak...

.bh.

 

[CP5670]

How much does a decent entry-level amp cost? My headphones sound very good to me without any amp, but the 80 ohm impedance is a little on the high side for soundcards and it looks like I would get a noticeable improvement from an amp.

 

[Zepper]

Actually the impedence of headphones are usually LOW as the line-out on most sound cards has an ~ 1k Ohm impedence. A lower unbalanced output impedence feeding a higher unbalanced input impedence is the normal scheme of things, the backwards impedence relationship of the headphones to the output is what causes the rolloff.

Some sound cards used to have a jumper that could change the line out by connecting in a small power amp IC to drive cheap passive speakers. That changes the impedence relationship to the proper one, but there is still the transient voltage restriction.

I'm not familiar with commercial HP amps as I roll my own. Perhaps others will chime in. Some of the sets of parts for (having mental vapor-lock, is it the Chou or Chow* design hp amps) cost over $50. Pre-builts cost over $100. http://www.dansdata.com has links.

.bh.

* It's Chu Moy or CMoy - a trip to Dan's cleared the fog.

If you decide to build a CMoy, I recommend the dual +/-9V battery power for portable use. Build it with parts that are capable of dealing with +/- 14V so you can build such a power supply for home use. As mentioned earlier, this is not for volume, it's for transient performance/clarity. .bh.

 

[Snooper]

I think my first amp set me back about $50 in parts and a bit of time soldering things up and testing.

And just for the record, don't think for a MINUTE that all an amp gets you is more volume! That is almost as bad as saying all a larger engine gets you is more top speed!

The amp will do SO much more. It provides the power to play the transients in music that your sound card can't. You probably don't have any idea how much of your music is missing! And the impendence mismatch issue has also been mentioned above.

Get a decent amp and play it at the same volume you normally do. You will be amazed at how much cleaner everything is. There will be instruments playing you didn't even know was in the song.

 

[Looney]

For the SR80, you don't need an amp. I had both the SR60 and 80s, and they were fantastic without it. When i got to Senns and Sony's though, i could tell i needed them. I picked up a cmoy altoids amp, and they made a world of difference with the Senns and Sonys. I even use them with the SR80s because i like having volume control without needing to use my mouse.

 

[Quick1]

I partially agree with Looney, most people couldn't hear the difference. Get a good sound card and you're good to go. Try that first before investing in an amp. If you're still not satisfied, then do some research and buy a used one. As previously stated, it's a very expensive hobby that can get out of hand quickly!

F.Y.I...I own the 60's and the Senn 580's.