Can the HiFiMAN HE-Adapter be used on e.g. HE.500 headphones?

I used the 500s on the 6 speaker amp rig and thought they sound better than the headphone amp. They may be more sensitive but they are still a planar. They didn't need the same amount of volume but do use the power the same way.

Can it be used on the HD-800 or T1?

You can do this, but those headphones really don't need that type of juice at all. For reference, the HE-6 requires more than 4 times as much power to reach the same volume as the HD800. This is why Hifiman has that.

 

Thank you!

 

The amount of noise you would get on sensitive dynamic headphones would make that a very poor configuration, and you have picked two of the most sensitive in terms of their ability to render minute details, Listen hard enough and I'm sure you will hear your amp whispering 'Intruder alert'. 

The HiFiMan box is the same idea as the headphone driver circuit in many receivers and amplifiers with headphone jacks. It's just a resistive network to prevent the amplifier from doing something naughty to the headphones or itself. You can build one yourself if you're so inclined:

http://sound.westhost.com/project100.htm

You can vary the size of the resistors to change the output abilities relative to the amplifier. And of course the quality of the resistors. If you have a table-top receiver or integrated amplifier with a headphone jack, it likely has a similar circuit to this. It probably restricts more power than the HE-Adapter does though.

In terms of the sound quality through other headphones, it's probably a non-issue, assuming the amplifier itself is relatively clean and quiet. Although for something like the HD 800, I'd just the front panel jack (or build a more suitable box).

I have a Pioneer VSX-455 and the specs state 110 Watts into each channel.  I've been using my E9 with the HE-500 but decided to try the headphone jack on the Pioneer and it sounds better than the E9.  Everything seems a more dynamic, I made sure to level match both so they were at the same volume.  It's not a huge difference, but it is noticeable.  It feels like it powers the HE-500 better but I thought receivers weren't good with headphones?  So is this basically the same thing as using the HE-Adapter or would I have better results with the adapter?

The adapter has 10 Ohm parallel resistors for impedance matching with the 8 Ohm output from your speaker amp (for the 50 Ohm HE-6) and a 25 Ohm resistor in series, I believe 1/4 watt, for over-current protection, the connectors and the plastic box.

There's nothing wrong with receivers and headphones, I think the stigma comes from some very poorly designed entry level components that have grounding or noise issues (like a lot of cheap computer audio cards) and a few amp manufacturers claiming that anything but a dedicated headphone amp is inferior. Sure, at the extreme top end a dedicated anything is likely going to be the best, but in that big ocean of gray in the middle, receivers can do a fine job.

Please go straight to the Vintage Receivers thread and ask Skylab why he owns more vintage receivers than dedicated headphone amps. despite having owned/heard more of the latter than almost anyone on Head-Fi. Apologies to those who have heard more amps than Rob, but I think you'll agree that he has paid his dues as far as reviewing headphone amps ...

 

Yea, I don't hear any noise at the volume I listen at.  It does a pretty good job to my ears.  Those vintage Marantz receivers do look sleek also.

 

 

Thanks, I'll ask over in that thread.