[diabloii]

if i plug my cans into my receiver and then use it with my soundcard, would the receiver work as an amp?

 

[Svperstar]

I am no expert but the short answer is yes, SOME recievers have good headphone outs, others have poor preamp outs that don't have much power behind them.

Long story short it has to be fairly high end in order for it to work as well as a good headphone amp. Someone just made a thread a week or 2 ago in this forum saying they liked the headphone jack on their reciever more than the $400 dollar SR-71.

Like I said though, I am no expert and I am sure someone else will reply, but most likely you will still benefit from a good amp.

 

[3lusiv3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by diabloii if i plug my cans into my receiver and then use it with my soundcard, would the receiver work as an amp?

Yes, but some receivers are better than others and some may have trouble driving some headphones.

 

[donaldekelly]

I read on headwize (I think it was there) that most headphone out jacks on recievers put out around 10-20mW - a little less than an Ipod unamped does.

I emailed Onkyo to find out about my receiver and they said they did not have that info. Probably 10-20mW.

 

[3lusiv3]

I have a 10 year old Technics SA-GX170 amp/receiver, the instruction manual of which says: headphone output level & impedence 430 mV / 330 ohms. I don't know what this means but it seems to drive headphones quite well.

I have a PPX3 headphone amp so I don't use my receiver for headphones any more.

 

[jpr703]

Some work surprisingly well, a lot don't work too well at all. You'll just have to give it a shot and trust your ears.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpr703 You'll just have to give it a shot and trust your ears.

Agreed.

 

[augustwest]

If you want to use a stereo amp/receiver to drive your headphones, you will be best served by some of the vintage models from the late 70's. Brands like Marantz, Fisher, Luxman & Yamaha, can quite often be found cheaply & work quite well for driving headphones. Of the modern models, some of the more expensive units; like, Rotel, NAD, etc. will likely be good too.

- augustwest

 

[Albatross05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Svperstar I am no expert but the short answer is yes, SOME recievers have good headphone outs, others have poor preamp outs that don't have much power behind them. Long story short it has to be fairly high end in order for it to work as well as a good headphone amp. Someone just made a thread a week or 2 ago in this forum saying they liked the headphone jack on their reciever more than the $400 dollar SR-71. Like I said though, I am no expert and I am sure someone else will reply, but most likely you will still benefit from a good amp.

Does anyone know if there's a list somewhere as to which receivers actually have a decent headphone out and which don't? Perhaps one could be compiled here on the forums?

 

[kramer5150]

How about Adcom? They have some impressive 2 CH preamps for the $$$ , But I cant find any info or user feedback on their headphone circuit.

Garrett

 

[fr4c]

the old Panny XR's had really good headphone outs.

 

[BigD]

Highly recommend 70's vintage receivers with headphone jack built-in. Look for 70's Marantz. Also search 'vintage' on this forum. These old receivers are capable of delievering the performance even matching upto $300 headamp. Bonus is they include speaker output, am/fm radio, preamp functions. Personally the McIntosh C28 replaced the Perreaux SXH1 for home rig. Very surprising to find C28 better in the midrange where Perreaux's strength were found in bass impact and tightness. Overall I slightly prefer C28 due to its full body and sweet midrange.

-Marantz receiver 2220, 2230, 2235, 2250
-Marantz int-amp 1060, 1090, 1180

For quick quotes,
www.classicaudio.com
www.ebay.com

 

[Sleestack]

The headphone jack on my B&K 507 S2 Receiver is very good. The jack on my Denon PMA2000IVR is great. I'd have to say that the jack on the Denon is as good, if not better than my SM v3 and X-Can v3.... but definitely not in the same league as my MPX3.

 

[mkmelt]

A list of vintage amplifiers and receivers is not much use unless it also specifies some headphones that are a good match. You can learn what others think of the sound of their vintage receivers and amplifiers with various brands and models of headphones by just searching this forum. Search for the words "vintage" and/or one of the brands you might be interested in learning about such as NAD, Fisher, Harman Kardon, Luxman, McIntosh, Marantz, Pioneer, Yamaha

 

[Mr.Radar]

I have a Harman Kardon 730 vintage receiver. It sounds great all-around, even through the headphone jack (and the tuner is something else, easily the most musical tuner I've ever heard, though I haven't heard many). He H/P jack is a bit noisy (it so it wouldn't pair well with sensetive 'phones), its bass is a bit on the loose/boomy side and it isn't the most detailed amp but there's something about it that makes me prefer it to my Headsave Classic (perhaps its the purportedly tube-like highs). You can usually find them on eBay for $100 and they're worth it just for the excellent tuner and power amp.