[hakjk]

When most of the headphones even my hd600 can be driven to extremely

laud level by headphone out of external sound card (I have Philips Aurilium

and diyeden svdac05, also have Perreaux SXH1 amp),

what does it mean by saying need more power to drive headphone?

Thus, dedicated headphone amp is needed for cans like hd600?

I understand better headphone amp amplifies the signal better than built in

headphone jack, but even built in headphone jack provide enough power (the

voltage and the current) to the headphone?

My question may sound stupid;

Please help me understand the reason why headphones need dedicated amp

for their full potential. And also suggest how much of improvements should

one can expect by adding amp.

Thanks for all your help in advance.

 

[FallenAngel]

Volume has absolutely nothing to do with proper power handling for a headphone.

Hear those kids on the street driving with their windows down and their music blaring with piercing highs and trunk rattling bass - it's loud, think the speakers are driven well?

 

[hakjk]

I agree and understand that headphones sound better with dedicated amp, I like to know why?
This might be the better question to answer;
What would be the requirements for the good amp?
Technically, dedicated amp is better than built in headphone out in what ways?
Thanks for your thought thou.

 

[pyramid6]

They keep the "power" constant. More or less.

 

[scootermafia]

Cleaner, dedicated circuitry...a dedicated supply of current and voltage to your headphones.

 

[hakjk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyramid6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif They keep the "power" constant. More or less.

Can you be more specific?
So how does keeping power constant help in sound quality?

 

[PhilS]

This question gets asked about every two weeks or so, I would guess. If you do a search on this forum and the portable amps forum, you will probably find lots of information. This may be a way to get some information a little bit more quickly than waiting for new responses on this thread. And I suspect some of the responses on this thread may be a bit cryptic because it's been asked so often. Anyway, just trying to help.

P.S. Here's one thread I found, for example:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/neu...-point-404663/

 

[theBigD]

I dont really know all the technical jargon, but I will give it a jab from my own experience. I own a portable amp, govibe v5s with 24volt elpac and a home amp head direct EF1. with the go vibe, when i use the 9volt battery and power akg701 headphone seems lifeless, slow and poor bass. when i plug in the 24volt elpac, 701s sound more dynamic with better speed and bass. now when i change the op-amp form 8620 to earth hdam the soundstage opens up and becomes more involiving and instrumentation has better seperation and detail

if i switch to home amp soundstage really opens up and sounds more believable and bass gets better more defined. instrumentation sounds better. also soundfield becomes more dynamic at lower volumes. you get more punch and slam in the bass. percussion is much more realistic.

if you look at go vibe interally it has 1 power cap and 2 opamp chips. ef1 internally has over a dozen caps an opamp chip and tube.

so the caps give the amp reserve power to increase the bass output with authority and tube and op-amp open up the soundstage. current also helps the headphone perform better. So its about current and implementation of the op amp or discrete circuit or tube.

now if i plug directly into soundcard (my soundcard is modded with 4562 op amp and blackgate cap) or my reciever, the soundfield becomes 2d and congested with the lose of dynamics and punch. these devices were not well thought out or they didnt want to spend the extra money to improve headphone amplification.

 

[royalcrown]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hakjk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I understand better headphone amp amplifies the signal better than built in headphone jack, but even built in headphone jack provide enough power (the voltage and the current) to the headphone?

This isn't true. Usually the built-in jacks won't be able to provide enough voltage. You are right that, given solid state amplifier with enough current and voltage to drive your headphones, and with a total harmonic distortion low enough (even cheap amps manage to get the distortion well below audible levels), all amps should be transparent. It's simply a matter of making sure the headphones don't distort and/or clip.

See: Is a headphone amp needed? - Hydrogenaudio Forums for a good idea of how limited amounts of voltage can cause a headphone to clip.

 

[pyramid6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hakjk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can you be more specific? So how does keeping power constant help in sound quality?

It has to do with this: Electrical impedance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia It's beyond my patience to figure it out.

Basically, an amp will have lower "power" at certain frequencies. This causes the sound to sound quieter. The quieter frequencies may sound muted, weak, or lower. A good amp may not lose power over certain frequencies. Or at least as much. That's why good amps sound better, it keeps the power to all the frequencies more constant. It's a lot more technical and complicated.

 

[krmathis]

Power resource, cleaner signal handling, ...
So much more to it than just pure sound pressure level.

 

[hakjk]

Thanks for all your help guys.
I think we do not get really technical much here in head-fi.
So far according to my understanding, all those expensive parts and complex circuits are need to maintain constant voltage and current supply throughout wide range of frequencies.
I probably search little more for better understanding about how the amplifier works.
If anybody is master at the stuff, I really appreciate any help.

 

[Marky67]

Quote:

Originally Posted by theBigD /img/forum/go_quote.gif I dont really know all the technical jargon, but I will give it a jab from my own experience. I own a portable amp, govibe v5s with 24volt elpac and a home amp head direct EF1. with the go vibe, when i use the 9volt battery and power akg701 headphone seems lifeless, slow and poor bass. when i plug in the 24volt elpac, 701s sound more dynamic with better speed and bass. now when i change the op-amp form 8620 to earth hdam the soundstage opens up and becomes more involiving and instrumentation has better seperation and detail if i switch to home amp soundstage really opens up and sounds more believable and bass gets better more defined. instrumentation sounds better. also soundfield becomes more dynamic at lower volumes. you get more punch and slam in the bass. percussion is much more realistic. if you look at go vibe interally it has 1 power cap and 2 opamp chips. ef1 internally has over a dozen caps an opamp chip and tube. so the caps give the amp reserve power to increase the bass output with authority and tube and op-amp open up the soundstage. current also helps the headphone perform better. So its about current and implementation of the op amp or discrete circuit or tube. now if i plug directly into soundcard (my soundcard is modded with 4562 op amp and blackgate cap) or my reciever, the soundfield becomes 2d and congested with the lose of dynamics and punch. these devices were not well thought out or they didnt want to spend the extra money to improve headphone amplification.

Hi, I am really interested on your thoughts on this, can you simplify it a bit more for a newbee, please.

Cheers
Mark.

 

[krmathis]

Think about this situation.
A bicycle and a large truck is coming towards you down the road, both traveling at a speed of 50km/h.
Which one would do you most damage if it hit you when you cross the road?

Same speed, but different impact!

 

[hakjk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Think about this situation. A bicycle and a large truck is coming towards you down the road, both traveling at a speed of 50km/h. Which one would do you most damage if it hit you when you cross the road? Same speed, but different impact!

Yes, this is due to mass of truck is a lot higher than bicycle.
So, what is the mass in amp equation? Current or voltage?
If current is the mass, then voltage is the speed of the object?
That means, assuming supply same voltage, more current will drive headphones better(more stable).
Is my understanding right?