Use preamp as headphone amp?

well, some preamps make decent headphone amps, its just usually cost inhibitive, it should be no problem to hook up headphones, but it really depends on what you're hooking up

something like K1000's probably wont love you for it, Grado's won't really care either way, they're happy with an iPod, something in the middle of the road, like HD-650's its hard to predict exactly how it'll behave, without trying it out

so, what cans are you hooking into it, is probably the best piece of information you can provide, for people to tell you whether or not it'll be a good pairing

the A700's shouldn't be a problem, neither should the 424's, neither are exceedingly complex loads, I have no idea on the IEM's (not my bag, sorry, someone will have an answer though)

although, from what I do know about IEMs, they shouldn't be exceedingly hard to run (at least as long as they aren't the craaaazy high end ones)

I see this thread is kind of old, but I had a similar question. I have pre-ordered the new Emotiva XDA-1 DAC/Preamp. I currently own a pair of DT880/600's, and plan to buy a balanced pair of T1's when I can afford it.

 

My original plan was to buy an audio-gd phoenix to use with my 880s, second I would buy a pair of T1's, and last I would send out my T1's to be re-cabled. If I can drive these headphones well with my preamp, it will save me a bunch of money, and I can go straight to buying a pair of balanced T1's.

 

The XDA-1 is not out yet but has a peak output voltage of 12VRMS (Balanced). From what I know 600ohm headphones need a lot of voltage, not current. My only issue is I do not know what constitutes high voltage. would 12V be enough?

 

Also, would a dedicated headphone amp, like the phoenix provide any major advantages (assuming the XDA-1 is powerful enough). I know that with the XDA-1 I would be limited to only balanced headphones, but I am curious if there are any other advantages to a dedicated headphone amp.

 

All information is appreciated.