[jnorris]

What I use is a 10 ohm and a 1 ohm resistor in series across the + and - speaker terminals.  The headphone output is taken across the 1 ohm resistor.  This way the amp sees a nice 11 ohm load and the headphones are looking back at a 1 ohm load.  Everybody's happy.  Robinette suggests a 6 and 2 ohm series which will work also.  You have plenty of range in the volume control when you do it this way.
 
I would not suggest putting the headphones directly across the speaker terminals.

 

[roadcykler]

   
What would one need to run the HD800 off speaker taps, and is there a benefit to doing so?

 
No.

  Check out these links:
 
Rob Robinette's page
https://robrobinette.com/HeadphoneResistorNetworkCalculator.htm
 
 
...and from our own forum...
http://www.head-fi.org/t/421644/using-speaker-outputs-to-drive-headphones-and-what-awesome-results
 
Most of the headphones I've tested were low impedance, 50 ohms or less, and showed marked improvement from the speaker outs through the adapter.  I actually compared the frequency response of the amp from the speaker outs with the headphones, and from the headphone out with the headphones plugged in and the results were pretty amazing.  Almost flat for the speaker outs and variations of up to 8db for the headphone jack.

Almost any time you play headphones or speakers louder, people think they sound better which leads them to the erroneous belief that more power = better sound. Every audio show I've been to, starts out the speaker demonstrations playing very loud for that all important first impression. If one is consistently listening to speakers and especially headphones at 100 dBs or higher, you'll almost certainly end up with tinnitus and hearing loss, which is cumulative.

 

[Seamaster]

  Unfortunately, people with low impedance headphones are not getting anywhere near the best sound.  The high-value resistors that all past and present amplifiers use, 150 to 330 ohms, negatively impacts sound quality significantly.  I didn't want to believe it, since the headphone jack is so convenient, but after listening through a simple resistor divider off the speaker taps I was totally blown away by the difference.

I had a McIntosh MA6900, the headphone output resister was as high as 600 Ohms and sounded lifeless, I had my tech replaced it with an 50 Ohm one that helped SQ big time.

 

[ColtMrFire]

 
Most of the headphones I've tested were low impedance, 50 ohms or less

 
So a high impedance headphone like the HD800 would be a bad idea?

 

[jnorris]

I honestly don't know.  I don't have any high impedance headphones to test.

 

[Monsterzero]

   
So a high impedance headphone like the HD800 would be a bad idea?

Speaker taps would be a bit overkill for a high sensitivity headphone like the HD800...they dont need a ton of power like the HE6,but they are amp picky....I would look in the HD800 thread to see what the preferred amp(s) are.

You might have great success using a vintage amp from the headphone jack...the power will be plenty,but the HD800 tends to be sibilant with less than optimal amps/sources.

I drive my AKG K240 sextetts thru my headphone jack,which are 600 ohms and 90 db,at around 9 o'clock the volume gets head splitting,so in theory the HD800s would be even easier to drive....

TL,DR dont need speaker taps 

 

[Seamaster]

So a high impedance headphone like the HD800 would be a bad idea?


one pair of HD800 do not have enough load if you connect them to your tube amp without a dummy load or a pair of speaker, your transformers will go up in smoke in 10 min

 

[Thenewguy007]

You could run the HD800 directly off the speaker taps. People do, if they think it sounds better that way.

What are the chances the drivers of the HD800 being blown out from this?

I heard people blowing out their HE-6 doing this.


Just plugging it in to the speaker taps & having the volume at zero, is there any chance of that happening no matter how powerful the amp is?

 

[Seamaster]

What are the chances the drivers of the HD800 being blown out from this?

I heard people blowing out their HE-6 doing this.


Just plugging it in to the speaker taps & having the volume at zero, is there any chance of that happening no matter how powerful the amp is?

if your amp is SS, nothing. if your amp is tube, will pop smoke in about 5 min give and take, with HD800

 

[Mr Rick]

if your amp is SS, nothing. if your amp is tube, will pop smoke in about 5 min give and take, with HD800

i would like to see your evidence for this statement.

 

[Seamaster]

remember A headphone is just an device with a load to the amp, HD 800 don't provide enough load. every headphone tap to amp should have a protective resister, ideally

 

[Seamaster]

i would like to see your evidence for this statement.

if you have questions, you can ask the amp designer:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/600110/2359glenn-studio/14580

He is building me an amp adapter for me, i will post it here when it is done

 

[r2muchstuff]

Finishing up the renovations in the upstairs "sitting room" (den).  TV system is mostly setup and now so is my audio
 

 

[Oregonian]

  Finishing up the renovations in the upstairs "sitting room" (den).  TV system is mostly setup and now so is my audio
 
 

Looks awesome!   What is the component list? 

 

[r2muchstuff]

  Looks awesome!   What is the component list? 

Top to bottom:
 
Pioneer PL 610 - turntable
Pioneer F 28 - tuner
Cambridge D100/ iPod Classic - digital transport > coax > Schiit Bifrost Multibit - DAC
Schiit Vali 2 (6SN7 tube) - headphone amp & Schiit Lyr 2 (Testing tubes) - headphone amp
Pioneer C 21 - preamp
Pioneer U 24 - program selector (passive switches)
Pioneer M 22 - Class A dual mono amp
 
Apple Airport Express > optical > Bifrost MB
 
Boston T1000 (or several others, nothing new or expensive) - speakers
Various headphones, tubes selected for Beyerdynamic T90 & Grado SR 325e
 
Alternative speaker amp:
Pioneer M 25 - Class A/B dual mono amp
 
All sources connected to C 21 which drives the M 22.  Lyr 2 and Vali 2 connected through U 24 from C 21 "REC" out (line out).  C 21 does not have to be "on" ( i.e. passive only) to use headphone amps except with the turntable for which the C 21 serves as phono preamp.  All sources available to all amps.
 
 
r2