[audioqueso]

Is there any amp without a volume control?

I have a UMC-1 processor. It has no headphone out.
I want to have a headphone amp hooked up to a pre-out so that I can use headphones.
I want to be able to use the pre's remote to control the volume of the headphone out.

So is there a headphone amp like that?
And if not, is there a headphone amp with a remote (IR)?

My headphones are Sennheiser HD555 and Audio-Technica ATH-A900.

 

[krmathis]

Check out this thread -> http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/bes...ne-amp-475524/

 

[audioqueso]

Thanks.
So there really ISN'T a dedicated headphone only amp, huh.
And I couldn't really find any headphone amp with a remote either.

...SOL I guess.

 

[leeperry]

there's the HLLY DMK-IV that has a tiny remote...too bad the opamps in the HP out are not top notch, also it's got a digital volume control you could possibly bypass?

 

[KingStyles]

The Isabellina HPA has has a headphone jack and a remote to control the volume.

 

[audioqueso]

Wow... looks nice, but ridiculously overpriced. And I don't think "you didn't mention a budget" even counts for that price. ha ha ha

I've searched a lot, but it does seem like a very rare thing to find a headphone amp that is just an amp, or includes a remote. Thank you though.

 

[tintin47]

^ It is because no one wants a preamp in addition to headphone amp. It isn't necessary because of the low power and takes up a lot of space. Also cost is higher. And there is no need for a remote because you have to be within a few feet of your amp to listen.



You can always buy a pre with a good headamp, though there aren't many. The melos sha and sha-gold were in that group, though they haven't been made for 20 years so used is the only way to go.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audioqueso /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've searched a lot, but it does seem like a very rare thing to find a headphone amp that is just an amp, or includes a remote. Thank you though.

Exactly!
They are really rare, and you may simply have to custom build one.

 

[Leny]

99.9% of all headphone amplifiers have their volume control directly at the input. So buy your favourite, open her up, and by-pass the volume control.

Or just use an amp with the volume control set to 'max' as that way it is effectively out of the circuit, simply changing the vol via your processor / pre.

: )

 

[audioqueso]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tintin47 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can always buy a pre with a good headamp, though there aren't many.

Thanks, but not really an option for me. It kind of defies the point of what I'm going after.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leny /img/forum/go_quote.gif Or just use an amp with the volume control set to 'max' as that way it is effectively out of the circuit, simply changing the vol via your processor / pre.

Would that work? Would that work properly? I never thought about that because I thought it would distort or something.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tintin47 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ It is because no one wants a preamp in addition to headphone amp. It isn't necessary because of the low power and takes up a lot of space. Also cost is higher. And there is no need for a remote because you have to be within a few feet of your amp to listen.

I disagree with 100% of what you've said

but then again, I'm doing my own DIY setup that DOES have IR remote, volume control and all that.

its very useful, let me tell you.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audioqueso /img/forum/go_quote.gif T Would that work? Would that work properly? I never thought about that because I thought it would distort or something.

a vol control that is set to max (ie, no attenuation) is effectively out of the circuit for all practical purposes.

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif a vol control that is set to max (ie, no attenuation) is effectively out of the circuit for all practical purposes.

I'm afraid that's incorrect.

It is very much in the circuit.

To understand why, just consider why it's called a "circuit" to begin with. In electronics, circuit is defined as "the complete path of an electric current, including the generating apparatus, intervening resistors, or capacitors."

For example, let's consider a simple single ended interconnection. The circuit begins at the ground reference of the source component, then proceeds to the output of that component, through the interconnect, through the volume control, and back through the interconnect to the source component's ground.

The signal seen by the component that the volume control is being used to control the volume for is the voltage developed across the volume control as a consequence of the current flowing through it (assuming a resistive volume control).

So it's no less in the circuit than if it were set at the midpoint or at any other point nor would any of the distortion it may produce be kept from affecting the signal.

se

 

[linuxworks]

yes, its still 'in' the circuit but it has minimal effect when its in pass-thru mode.

SOME effect, yes, of course. it has capactance and all the other non-ideal (for a pure R) things that real world elements have.

my point is that you can *effectively* ignore the pot when its at full pass-thru (no atten) mode.

the input stage also has a Z of its own, and the pot is now in parallel with that complex (x+r) component.

if the input z of the circuit is 1M or higher and the pot is 50k, say, its effect won't really load down the circuit much. there will be X issues but you'll only see that on test equipment (imho).

we're just talking about degrees, really.

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audioqueso /img/forum/go_quote.gif Would that work? Would that work properly? I never thought about that because I thought it would distort or something.

I wouldn't recommend doing that. With the headphone amp's volume all the way up, now you have the combined gain of the preamp plus the headphone amp. Most preamps have far more gain than is required for most headphones as it is.

If you end up going with a regular headphone amp, adjust its volume control so that your preamp's volume control gives you a good range of control, i.e. so you're not going from silence to blowing your brains out with just a slight turn of the knob.

se