[Noob Meister Jr]

The sound quality out of my headphone socket of my stereo is poor. Could I fix this by plugging a headphone amp into the headphone socket or if the sound is bad at the socket does that mean nothing further down the chain is going to fix it? And if the latter is the case is there anything bad about buying a cheap behringr phono preamp and then plugging a headphone amp into that? 
 
I really appreciate all of your wisdom, thanks in advance.

 

[wnmnkh]

Yes. Once ruined, you can't make the sound better. Latter is the case.

Yes, go buy a cheap preamp, and connect to your headphone amp.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  The sound quality out of my headphone socket of my stereo is poor. Could I fix this by plugging a headphone amp into the headphone socket or if the sound is bad at the socket does that mean nothing further down the chain is going to fix it? And if the latter is the case is there anything bad about buying a cheap behringr phono preamp and then plugging a headphone amp into that? 
 
I really appreciate all of your wisdom, thanks in advance.

What is the make and model of the headphones and the stereo receiver?
What is your whole audio setup?
You do not really want to plug an external headphone amplifier into the receiver's headphone jack.

 

[Noob Meister Jr]

Yes. Once ruined, you can't make the sound better. Latter is the case.

Yes, go buy a cheap preamp, and connect to your headphone amp.

Thanks, quick and straight to the point! 
 
i'm not sure it is ruined though. i haven't actually ever used the headphone jack until now and it isn't super awful just not very good. I want to be able to listen to vinyl in all its glory but when I tried it wasn't so glorious. I wondered if it was the headphone jack; so I tested it with a portable CD player and the detail through my headphones is much better when i plug straight into the cd player than it is if i plug the cd player into the stereo and then plug the headphones into the stereo headphones jack.
 

  What is the make and model of the headphones and the stereo receiver?
What is your whole audio setup?
You do not really want to plug an external headphone amplifier into the receiver's headphone jack.

 the headphones are 250 ohm DT880s and I haven't yet decided on what amp to get for them. The receiver is an AKAI AC-M300, the record player is AKAI AP-M300. Thanks, I guess I could either get a knew integrated amp or just get the cheap behringer preamp.
 
just as an aside, I have another stupid question: If i got a DAC and amp in one would it work and just become an amp if i plugged it into the phono preamp to listen to vinyl?
 
I really need to start learning about electronics as at the moment it is all just guesswork. 

 

 

[PurpleAngel]

  The headphones are 250 ohm DT880s and I haven't yet decided on what amp to get for them. The receiver is an AKAI AC-M300, the record player is AKAI AP-M300. Thanks, I guess I could either get a knew integrated amp or just get the cheap behringer preamp.
 
just as an aside, I have another stupid question: If i got a DAC and amp in one would it work and just become an amp if i plugged it into the phono preamp to listen to vinyl?
 
I really need to start learning about electronics as at the moment it is all just guesswork. 

 

If the DAC/amp comes with an analog input, then you could use it with the record player's analog output.
You might consider getting the Bravo Ocean tube headphone amplifier ($118) for now, get a DAC later on.
Did you have a budget for the amplifier and DAC?

 

[Noob Meister Jr]

  If the DAC/amp comes with an analog input, then you could use it with the record player's analog output.

 
Huh? you mean I don't need a phono preamp? I can just plug the record player straight into the headphone amp?

 
Quote:

You might consider getting the Bravo Ocean tube headphone amplifier ($118) for now, get a DAC later on.
Did you have a budget for the amplifier and DAC?

 
the bravo ocean looks pretty sweet and good value for money if only I could find a way of purchasing it in NZ! 
 
the budget is probably around $150 US for now, maybe $200 if it's portable because if it's not i'll get a cheap protable amp (e.g. e6) or amp/dac for dt660 as well. I am quite keen on a tube but it looks impossible to get one cheaper than the little dot III which costs about US$300 here. There is the little dot 1+ but I suspect it may not drive my headphones to their full capability?
 
Here is the extensive list of  all the options I could find in my price range:
 
Fiio products
aune T1
xiang sheng dac-01 DAC
topping tp32, tp21, tp41, tp30
nuforce uDAC2
Little Dot1+
Pro-Ject Hed Box S

 

[PurpleAngel]

   
the bravo ocean looks pretty sweet and good value for money if only I could find a way of purchasing it in NZ! 
 
the budget is probably around $150 US for now, maybe $200 if it's portable because if it's not i'll get a cheap protable amp (e.g. e6) or amp/dac for dt660 as well. I am quite keen on a tube but it looks impossible to get one cheaper than the little dot III which costs about US$300 here. There is the little dot 1+ but I suspect it may not drive my headphones to their full capability?
 
Here is the extensive list of  all the options I could find in my price range:
 
Fiio products
aune T1
xiang sheng dac-01 DAC
topping tp32, tp21, tp41, tp30
nuforce uDAC2
Little Dot1+
Pro-Ject Hed Box S

I'm far from knowledgeable about record players, but I would think you could hook a head amp straight to the record player, a pre-amp might help boost the signal, which might improve audio quality.
Try to find experts on those vinyl stuff, see what they have to say.

 

[Noob Meister Jr]

Actually i'm very happy to discover I have proved myself wrong. I tried all the different sellers on amazon of the bravo ocean and one does ship to NZ! I will definitely consider this. So will tehy bring clarity to the bass in the DT880? because unamped I am very unimpressed by the lack of bass clarity so i really want to fix this! I presume you have actually tried the bravo ocean or have you just heard good things?

 

[Noob Meister Jr]

hey mate, could you confirm for me whether i can plug the record player directly into a headphone amp or whether I would need a preamp in between?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Actually I'm very happy to discover I have proved myself wrong. I tried all the different sellers on amazon of the bravo ocean and one does ship to NZ! I will definitely consider this. So will tehy bring clarity to the bass in the DT880? because unamped I am very unimpressed by the lack of bass clarity so i really want to fix this! I presume you have actually tried the bravo ocean or have you just heard good things?

I've used a few similar tube amplifiers, Indeed 6922 and Muse 6922, they both had power to spare.
Some people have reported the sound improved when switching from solid state to tubes, with Beyer 250-Ohm headphones.
 
It's possible the Bravo Ocean is a newer design, then my two units, the Ocean definitely looks better.
Check eBay, they have these little single tube headphone amplifier from $50 to $130.
 
Also there is some decent knowledge on these tube amps at the website RockGrotto.

 

[wnmnkh]

Ok hold on a sec.
This record player you are talking about.... It is vinyl turntable, right?

You abolutely need a phono preamp between a headphone amp and the turntable otherwise the sound will be distorted, since most of headphone amps do not have phono stage input to properly decode RIAA signal from vinyl.

 

[wnmnkh]

Yep, I searched for AKAI AP-M300. You need a phono preamp.
The equipments you have are quite old. I assume you are taking care of the turntable, like replacing worn stylus, etc.

 

[Noob Meister Jr]

"Check eBay, they have these little single tube headphone amplifier from $50 to $130."

isn't ebay just for americans?

 

[Noob Meister Jr]

Yep, I searched for AKAI AP-M300. You need a phono preamp.

The equipments you have are quite old. I assume you are taking care of the turntable, like replacing worn stylus, etc.

 


thanks mate. yes the cartridge is knew. not sure what else i need to do to take care of it?

 

[PurpleAngel]

"Check eBay, they have these little single tube headphone amplifier from $50 to $130."

Isn't eBay just for Americans?

We Americans just like to think eBay is just for us.