[rodzghost]

Hi,
 
I'm new here.  I've been trying to find out how to reduce the bass distortion coming out of my Philips TV headphone out.  I currently own Sennheiser 598's and some Meelectronics M-Duo's and A151's.  I mostly use the 598's and M-Duo's for movie-watching and let my wife use the A151's for her workouts.  The problem I'm having is that my computer (using on-board HD Audio) outputs audio fine, but when I plug into my TV's headphone jack, the bass gets distorted.  It's most noticeable in movies like Interstellar, where there is an insane amount of bass in the soundtrack.
 
I've been searching all over, but can't seem to find a definitive answer on whether a DAC or AMP would fix this?  Right now I'm looking at the O2 + ODAC, or whether I should buy just one or other.  Can someone please help me choose? 
 
My TV has RCA outputs as well, but I have a feeling the audio quality won't be much better from those than from the headphone out.  There is no digital out.
 
Thanks!
Rod

 

[NA Blur]

The first step is to make sure the distortion you hear is not from the headphone / earphone. This is the most common cause because so many headphones cannot handle high volumes accompanied by multiple instruments. Rock music is perfect for this and I often use the track listed below to test for it.
 
Can you test and see if the headphones / earphones do not distort when you plug them into an iPod or similar device?
 
Do both headphones including the HD 598 distort?
 
Does the distortion sound like crunchy audio when the music is busy and loud?
 
Can you hear other artifacts like random "bleep-bloops" when a silent part of a track is playing?
 
Distortion Test Track
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EDtnl_MhE0&list=RD_EDtnl_MhE0

 

[rodzghost]

So far the only time I've heard the bass distortion is from the bass-heavy scenes from Interstellar.  For instance, the launch scenes.  Audio is incomprehensible and it just sounds terrible.  If I listen to the same scene on my computer, everything is fine.  This is true for the MDuos and my 598's. 
 
When using the TV, the bass distorts even at low volumes, whereas on my computer, I can crank up the volume with no noticeable distortion at all.

 

[Shaffer]

As it's just one show, in essence an outlier, it's not worth worrying about. Good luck.

 

[Mr Rick]

  So far the only time I've heard the bass distortion is from the bass-heavy scenes from Interstellar.  For instance, the launch scenes.  Audio is incomprehensible and it just sounds terrible.  If I listen to the same scene on my computer, everything is fine.  This is true for the MDuos and my 598's. 
 
When using the TV, the bass distorts even at low volumes, whereas on my computer, I can crank up the volume with no noticeable distortion at all.

 
Forget the other stuff. Fix / get a new, TV.

 

[Shaffer]

Forget the other stuff. Fix / get a new, TV.

Because of flawed sound on one program?

 

[rodzghost]

I should clarify. The bass distortion is an any movie with moderate to heavy bass in the soundtrack. Interstellar was just so way over the top bass heavy that it made me realize that my headphones were distorting. I actually thought I had blown out my headphones, but when I switched back to watching in my computer, I was relieved it was just the TV.

So back to the original question, would a DAC be better suited than amp in alleviating this? I'm really close to pulling the trigger on a $79.99 O2 amp.

 

[davidsh]

If there is no digital output from the tv you can't connect a DAC

 

[rodzghost]

Right but I can connect it to the source. Eg PS3 or Apple TV.

 

[NA Blur]

Make sure you do not have any EQ settings turned on on your TV. I have a Philips TV and suffer no distortion when gaming or listening to music. I run my headphones from the RCA audio outs on the back. One problem with trying an amp is if the distortion you hear occurs at any volume then the internal amp may be the problem. An external amp, unless there is a serious output impedance problem with the output on your TV, will just amplify the bad signal.
 
An amp may help if you have RCA jacks on the back for audio out. You could run that to an amp that has RCA jacks as inputs and amplify that signal instead of the stereo jacks. You could even test the RCA audio output from the TV with your headphones by getting a Y-splitter. This cable will be a 2-RCA ( Male ) to 1-Stereo ( Female ) connector allowing you to plug in your headphones to those outputs. For an amp to solve the problem we have to make sure that the signal going to the amp is good otherwise you are just amplifying a bad signal.