Built-in Headphone Amps into CD/DVD Players vs. Dedicated Headphone Amps!?

[AdamCalifornia]

Can built-in Headphone Amps/Circuitry/Jacks
into sources compete with dedicated headphone
amps? Here is the example of two Marantz
CD5001 and CD5400 CD players, each $299.

From the CambridgeSoundWorks site:

CD5001 CD Player
... It combines the latest CD transport mechanism for superb playback
with customized components such as state of the art DAC, improved detail, imaging and soundstage....
- Newly Designed Headphone Amp. With Buffer Circuit
- 1 Optical / 1 Coaxial Digital Output
- RC-5 In/Out Jacks
- Gold Plated connectors

CD5400 CD Player
The CD5400 is ideal for audiophiles and music lovers who have budget considerations
as well as high technical standards. ... Pure High Fidelity ....
Audiophile-grade 1 bit, 8 times over-sampling ...
- Gold Plated HQ Headphone Jack with Volume control
- Optical and Coaxial digital Output
- RC-5 Jacks
- Gold Plated connectors


CD5001: 'Newly Designed Headphone Amp. With Buffer Circuit'
CD5400: 'Gold Plated HQ Headphone Jack with Volume Control'

Do they mean in both cases a new 'built-in headphone amp'?

Let me emphasize that I am not asking for guidance about CD players alone,
but CD players with good 'built-in headphone amps', say, under $500.
Can those 'built-in headphone circuits' compete, say with HeadRoom's Micro Amp, Gilmore amp, Pimeta, whatever under, say, $300?

See you at the Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy

Adam

[DigiPete]

A $300 Cd player's heaphone jack will not have a chance against a good $300 headphone amp, not even close! Probably even a $100 head amp will blow the CD player jack away.

Those 880s need a good head amp

[EdipisReks]

a basic Cmoy is considerably better than the headphone jack built into the Sony SCD-C555ES.

[omedon]

Originally Posted by AdamCalifornia

CD5001: 'Newly Designed Headphone Amp. With Buffer Circuit'
CD5400: 'Gold Plated HQ Headphone Jack with Volume Control'

Seems like marketing mumbo jumbo to me. Since when do cd-players not have volume controls? Yammaha Natural Sound CDP's have been around almost since the begginning and have always had volume control. Wouldn't be surprised if they had a gold plated jack either.

[cotdt]

My stereo power amp has a built-in Gilmore V2 headphone amp! And beleive me it will smash almost all headphone amps. =)

[chadh]

By all reports, the Eastern Electric Minimax tubed CD player has a sensational headphone out. But it's in the $1100 price range. One of the tubed Jolida CD players apparently has a decent headphone jack, but is not of the same quality as the Minimax. Its separate headamp section bypasses the tubes, as opposed to the minimax that uses the tubes and (apparently) sounds wonderful. Interestingly, I think both of these units have volume controls that effect only the headphone output (so they are attached to the dedicated headphone amplification circuit), which may well be the same arrangement as the CD5400.

Oh, I think the Jolida goes for close to $1000 new, but may be available used closer to $600 (but I'm really just guessing here).

Chad

[AdamCalifornia]

Yes, I was aware of the fact that a $300 source have not chance with even CMoy.

Originally Posted by EdipisReks

a basic Cmoy is considerably better than the headphone jack built into the Sony SCD-C555ES.

Those two Marantz Cd players were just examples, and I could cite some specs. Gilmore Lite is $299 and Marantz CD5400 is also $299, and of course CD transport must cost something, DAC, etc.
So there is no way that CD5400 could come even close to Gilmore Lite.

On the other hand more expensive CD players, say $2000+, would blow away Gilmore Lite, etc.

See you in Torino, Italy at the Olympics

Adam

[stryker]

Not sure too many genuine hi-end cd players have headphone outs. I have the pleasure of owning a Sony DVP-S7000, one of the flagship DVD players that Sony came out with some years ago. I purchased it used with some mods to it. Very, very well made with separate audio and video lasers and boards.

Anyway, I had Thrice further mod it by swapping out the stock opamps in the analog line out as well as the opamps that [I figured] powered the headphone section. Not bad and I think it rivals any cmoy or amp on that level, but not a Gilmore Lite or something on that level. I now have a Channel Islands VHP-1 with VAC-1 PSU that I just got today and it beats it all around with my power hungry 650s. Would be the same story for 880s. However, for Grados and other low impedence cans, the amp section in my 7000 is more than ample.

Most of the headphone outs on cd playtes are lame, though (see 6 Moons review of Minimax vs. some moderately-priced headamps), but you have to be a real audio head to notice the difference.

[AdamCalifornia]

I've read about VHP-1 with VAC-1 PSU in a Stereophile.
This combo got excellent review. Even without the PSU
the headphone amp is very good!

The problem is that I've got a universal DVD/CD/SACD/DVD-A Pioneer 578-A player ($129). It sounds very good for the price.
How shall I connect, the 578-A to, say, to VHP-1? I guess, I need a DAC to connect to the 578A's digital output.
It also has L/R stereo analog outputs but NO line signal output!

The same with the HeadRoom's Amp. I would need to buy a DAC to make the digital connection! $300 +$300 = $600.
Am I missing something here?

I was hoping, that may be I'd get a source CD player with a decent headphone circuitry, say, under $500 -$600. Then I'd have
(a) Dedicated CD player
(b) with good headphone circuitry Built-IN

But this scenario is just a dream. I'd need, perhaps $2000+ source to get the nice headphone circuitry, and even this is NOT sure, as was suggested above!

See you in Torino, Italy,

Adam

[chadh]

Seriously, look for a used Eastern Electric Minimax CD player. I suspect you can get one for around $700. In the six moons review, Srajan (marginally) preferred the minimax headphone out to the CI Audio VHP-1 (although the VHP-1 was used without the dedicated power supply).

You don't have to go to $2000.

Chad

[stryker]

Originally Posted by AdamCalifornia

The problem is that I've got a universal DVD/CD/SACD/DVD-A Pioneer 578-A player ($129). It sounds very good for the price.
How shall I connect, the 578-A to, say, to VHP-1? I guess, I need a DAC to connect to the 578A's digital output.
It also has L/R stereo analog outputs but NO line signal output!

The L/R analog outs ARE line level. Therefore, analog out=line out. It just means that the signal comes out as analog instead of digital. It is still at line level. You don't need anything but a headamp to connect to with interconnects. Some high end cd players come with a variable out so you can
connect direct to an amp for speakers but they are usu. high-end and only certain models.

Translation: you're fine, all you need is a dedicated headphone amp if that's what you want.

[AdamCalifornia]

I've noticed on the HeadRoom's Micro Amp
that it's got 'line-in' input and this is only
for one cable, it's not for the L and R inputs.
Does one need a Y-cable 'converter'? I'm confused.

See you at the Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy

Adam

[Azure]

The Micro has a 1/8" (3.5mm) input jack that has both left and right channels. If your Pioneer player has RCA out with left and right output jacks, then you need a Y-cable to go from RCA to 3.5mm. You can get a cheap one at your local radio shack or perhaps have somebody on the boards build you a high quality one.

[djbnh]

I'm not so crazy about the headphone output of the Jolida JD-100 cdp. The MiniMax - reviews say its head-out is good, but I haven't listened to it.

EDIT - one of the many things that's nice about the JD-100 is it has two pairs of RCA outputs, so the user could employ the second pair to run a discrete headphone amp.

[AdamCalifornia]

Yes, that's what I imagined i my
last post above, but wasn't sure.
So I can bypass my crappy $100
stereo receiver. Wow!

Anyway, so what is the speaker level out?

See you tonight at the Olypics

Adam