im new to the forum....excellent site. wanted some help with a couple of questions about headphone splitters. will a splitter allow 2 sets of phones to be used simultaneously without degredation to either of the phones? will both sets be in stereo? do both sets of phones need to have the same impedance? i have sennheiser hd565 ovations andam interested in doing some headphone listening with my brother who has the same set. any help would be appreciated.

m.r.

Someone more knowledgeable will drop by in a moment. But If I’m not mistaken doing so will alter the impedance of the outputs with the splitter in place depending on what phones are hooked up.

Yeah, you definitely need to make sure they are both the same impedance, preferably both the same phones. If there's any impedance/amp interaction problems, they will be doubled, so make sure that both (a) the amp can handle the impedance (half of the impedance of one of the phones); and (b) it is already powerful enough to drive the cans.

Some headphone amps already come with multiple outs (RKV, EAR, etc.).

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No. The degree to which it affects the sound will depend on the component. Any thing placed in the signal path will alter the sound somewhat. However, note that the volume will be lower with both pairs of headphones plugged in. This will probably require that you turn up the volume on your source or amp. That can also lead to a degredation of sound quality.
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If the splitter is a stereo splitter, then yes. Look for three conductors on the plug - three metal parts, separated (usually) by two black rings, like you have on your headphone plug.
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No this is not necessary, but it means the headphones will be driven at different volumes (so even less preferable). Even with identical model headphones there will be some (minor) difference in impedance, and thus volume.

TA

EDIT: What Dusty Chalk said (damn my slow typing)