Quote:
| What the hell is the differnce? Is a headphone amp really just a guitar amp or just a portable pre-amp. Well hell if I know. If you can please explain this to me, I would be mucho thankful |
A headphone amp could be anything that amplifies a line level signal to a level useable with headphones and ,yes , can be confusing .
But i will try to sort it out .
Hi Fi Headphone Amp :
An audio stage specifically designed to obtain the maximun possible fidelity out of a headphone , be it for home or portable use . Some may include headphone specific features such as crossfeed , gain selection , or headphone impedance switches
Guitar Headphone Amp :
If specifically designed for use with guitars then it will usually include guitar effects such as sustain , distortion , etc.
Since guitars have a limited frequency range it is much easier to design this type of headphone amp and in fact using what would be considered inferior chips for "hi-fi" would be considered ideal for guitar use for the induced distortion (TL072 Op-amp , LM-386 Amp IC ) .
Preamp for headphone use :
Fact is a well designed line stage could also be used for driving headphones (and visa-versa ) . As long as it has a low source impedance and good output current drive .
Simple matter of whipping up a "RCA jack - to - Headphone jack adapter with a LINE/HEADPHONE switch so the amp feed is off for headphone listening
Pro Sound / Studio Headphone Amps :
Again , a basic headphone amp with additional features required for the application such as a mixing input for a personal monitor (allows listening to the mix while adding your voice/instrumental)
Also for studio use you will see headphone distribution amps . A multi amp device allowing each performer to control the volume of his individual "mix" while performing together in the studio
hope this helps
The "NEW" Ricmeister (HARDLY
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