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Are headphone amps generally just as good for subwoofers?

post #1 of 11
5/18/11 at 9:30am
Thread Starter 

I've been wondering whether or not decent headphone amps are powerful enough to drive subwoofers. I'm thinking of getting some subwoofers not too big, just large enough to blast music through my apartment for festivities.

 

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post #2 of 11
5/18/11 at 10:19am

Hey,

 

No, headphone amps are not going to be powerful enough to drive subwoofers.

 

The easiest way to get subwoofers is to buy a pre-made one. BIC offers a couple of models between $200 to $300 that seems to be hands-down favorites. There is also the Lava Sub, which has been getting some good reviews for an inexpensive subwoofer.

 

Jack

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post #3 of 11
5/18/11 at 10:47am

Not only that, most headphone amps aren't even powerful enough to drive speaker. And to go even further, many speaker amps can't even drive subwoofers. The best route is to get a power subwoofers. They come in many sizes ranging from some that will fit in the palm of your hand to some that you will need a crane to hoist. The idea of a headphone amp driving subwoofers is....well I'll just leave it at that.

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post #4 of 11
5/18/11 at 11:11am
Thread Starter 

I see.

 

In that case, I was planning on getting a decent pre-amp for my setup.

I know this is going a bit off-course, but do pre-amps have a different sound delivery than amps dedicated just for headphones?

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post #5 of 11
5/18/11 at 11:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wicked.ludicrous View Post

I see.

 

In that case, I was planning on getting a decent pre-amp for my setup.

I know this is going a bit off-course, but do pre-amps have a different sound delivery than amps dedicated just for headphones?


A headphone amp is a headphone amp whether it's in a preamp or a dedicated purpose built headphone amp

 

The final result depends on how well it's designed and implemented.

 

But I'll say this....I have an Adcom Pre-Amp and the built in headphone amp is just as good as MANY under $500 dedicated headphone amps....SO GOOD that I refuse to waste money on a dedicated amp since it drives all my headphones VERY nicely.

 

 

 

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post #6 of 11
5/18/11 at 12:12pm

If you want something that can drive headphones very well and can also drive passive subwoofers, I would suggest you check out the vintage receiver/integrated thread. There will be many options on something that can drive headphones better than most dedicated headphone amps, and also have beef to power subwoofers as well. They will be large and take up a lot of space, but they will have the ability to do what you want and then some.

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post #7 of 11
5/18/11 at 10:08pm
No, a preamp won't drive a subwoofer, either.

You need a power amp for a subwoofer. Though you can also get subwoofers with built-in amplifiers.
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post #8 of 11
5/19/11 at 10:33am

A sub with a built in amplifier is a powered/active subwoofer.

 

Just like how a speaker with a built in amp is called an active speaker.

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post #9 of 11
5/19/11 at 10:43am

In general, it makes more sense for a subwoofer to be bought as an amp/enclosure/driver package than a speaker. This is because for subwoofers, the resulting output characteristics depend heavily on the combination of all three elements. A good subwoofer would have driver parameters that were picked with the enclosure and amplifier designs in mind, and similarly, the enclosure would be designed with the driver and amp in mind, and the amp would be designed with the driver and enclosure in mind. Balances and trade offs are made at the system level with each of the 3 elements to achieve a desired output characteristic. 

 

It is rare these days to have an un-amped subwoofer to have similar performance as an amped sub. DIY subwoofer projects do this more often, but those tend to be overbuilt in order to make up for what they lack in design optimization. 

 

Jack

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post #10 of 11
5/19/11 at 7:54pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the input guys

 

So it seems the better choice would be to go for a powered subwoofer. If I'm wrong, an explanation would be greatly appreciated

 

And does anybody have a recommendation for a powered woofer? My budget is $200 and would like some bass. I've just been reading Amazon's top rated woofers

 

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post #11 of 11
5/20/11 at 1:13pm

The BIC F12 is $200 shipped from Amazon.com. Wonderful sub. 

 

Even more wonderful is the BIC PL-200:

 

http://www.acousticsounddesign.com/core/view_BigProduct.cfm?pid=1555&sc=28

 

Make them an offer for $270 shipped and they will accept it.

 

I recommend spending the extra $70. 

 

Jack

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