Dedicated headphone amp vs receiver

Well, that really depends on a lot of things.

Speaking of ideal components, a dedicated headphone amp will be better than a receiver.

However, there are a lot of marginal and lousy amps, not to mention ones with $200 of parts being marketed for over $3,000.

A good receiver will be better than those. There are lots and lots and lots of models out there. For receivers, I like NAD, Adcom, Marantz, and Rotel. Good quality and the older ones are very affordable. One of them would serve you better than many questionable headphone amps.

If you're considering separates, think about an older McIntosh preamp. Some aren't that expensive. Hook it up to something like a used Adcom power amp and drive speakers, too.

If you want tubes, you'll find older integrated amps and receivers from Fisher, Scott and what may be the most underrated brand of all - Stromberg-Carlson. Stromberg-Carlson used to be an excellent manufacturer, but not many know of them any more. Some of their old tube integrated amps are a complete steal for $150-$300 or so on eBay.

Sennheiser HD-595 50-Ohm headphones

Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro 250-Ohm headphones
So the Sennheiser should work with any receiver

I'm sure (guess?) the Beyerdynamic would work with any receiver at $300 or more, not sure about under $300

Most brands of stereo receivers will only do stereo 2.0 with headphones.

Some or most Yamaha receivers come with Silent Cinema, which can do 5.1 with headphones.

 

You can get a single tube headphone amplifier off eBay, prices start at $50, ships from China, 10 days transit time.

Those can usually power headphones up to 600-Ohms.

Tube amps add "warm" and "soul" to sound.

 

 

Many receivers have high output impedance (>100 Ohm), and if you happen to get such one, the HD595 will work poorly (boomy, resonant bass). If you only plan to use the receiver as a headphone amplifier, then it is obviously recommended to buy a headphone amplifier instead. You get better quality for the price. If you intend to use a computer as the source, then getting a real sound card (unless you already have one) is a good idea. It is not necessary to spend huge amounts of money on either, but make sure that the amplifier is adequate for both headphones. You want preferably at most a few Ohms of output impedance for the HD595, and at least a few Volts of clean/undistorted voltage for the DT880 (but you do not need that much if you are not one of those who prefer deafening listening levels). Of the various DT880 versions available, the 600 Ohm one is the best, with a decent amplifier, it is recommended.

 

it depends. it's really matter of preferences really to be honest. i like using speaker outputs to drive headphones with.


output impedance on most solid state amps don't have to worry about. i have sansui's with 680ohm output impedances at the headphone out and still work insanely well with headphones rated at 32ohms. the power transformer is not only their for blocking EMI but for impedance matching as well so the power transformer will automatically match the impedance and since the headphone jack is tied to the speaker outputs which are rate close to 0 ohms as well. the dropping resistors at the headphone out gives the headphone out it's given output impedance(for protection reasons).

i find power amps much more versatile when it comes to driving speakers and headphones since i drive every single headphone i audition and own off the speaker outputs of my amps. it's also a must if your driving any headphone rated above 600ohms nominal(most older AKG's cause of their impedance spikes in the 1000's) cause the power transformer will have no problem pushing a 600ohm nominal load. great for current hungry fullrange drivers(even headphones) as well cause the amount current headphones need is very little so the amp itself will never run out of steam on a good push-pull design.