[ampgalore]

Does it make sense to get a headphone amp if the volume I listen to is lower than the CD player's analog out volume?

On my portable CD player, when I plug my low impedance headphone directly to the line out, the volume is way too loud.

Does it make sense to still get a headphone amp?

On a full sized CD deck, that analog out volume would be unbearably loud.

 

[gpalmer]

I'm not sure I'm completely following you. What are you plugging your headphone into, the headphone out or the line out?

 

[ampgalore]

I plugged the headphone directly into the line out. And the volume is unbearably loud.

A full sized home CD deck's analog out is even more powerful. If you somehow connect your headphone directly to the analog out on the home CD deck, that would blow out your eardrums.

 

[gpalmer]

OK, don't do that!

Not that I really think you'll bother anything but usually a line out isn't intended to drive headphones. Of course that water gets muddied in portables so...

Anyways, to answer your question, yes it makes sense to get an amplifer. The amplifer's job is to drive the headphones so it is optimized more for current delivery rather than the line out which if I remember correctly is meant to deliver voltge but realtively little current. Amplifers actually attenuate the signal they are fed to produce the output, which is why you have things like stepped attenuators (Note the attenuator in the name).

 

[go_vtec]

Well lineout is fixed in volume. Our church uses a similar set up and attached a labtec phone with inline volume control directly to the RCA out.

If you need to control such volume, you will need either a line attenuator, inline volume cord or headphone amp. I think a headphone amp makes more sense since line attenuator seems too infexible in volume changes and inline volume cord quality is less than steller (at least the one I tried). Perhaps you should consider an affordable portable amp or descent home version depending on your application.

 

[ampgalore]

Thanks gpalmer for the answer. I actually wondering if the line out is so powerful, we might as well use attenuators instead of amps to drive the headphones. Now I know