Volume related safety question

Hi, I'm think about purchasing a full sized amp but I have a problem that stops me from doing so. Is it possible to hurt or even kill yourself with a headphone amp by accidentally cranking the volume up too high? Most desktop amps can output more than 1W of power into my low impedance cans, Is there a way to make sure the volume does not exceed a certain point? I can't enjoy my music if I knew that I might accidentally blow my brains out.

Thanks in advance 

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMRaven 

Get an SPL meter?  That way you know when you're going above 80-90db.  You can get up to 90db and listen to it for a couple minutes, but probably would want to stay below 70db for prolonged listening periods.  (all just imo)

Thanks for the replie but what I meant by my question is that is there a way of stopping an amp fro supplying too much power to the headphones because I want to avoid injuries.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcg27 

You could add an additional attenuation stage to the amp. Basically you would need to figure out your input voltage from your source, the gain of the amp, and the output voltage that corresponds to whatever your safe listening level is. You would then attenuate your input signal enough so that even when your volume is maximum the gain multiplied by your attenuated signal produces an output less than or equal to whatever you determined is safe.

Thanks for the replie, I'll a little more research on attenuation stage and gain and I think I'll be fine when I purchase my first amp.