headphone amp vs regular amp - any difference?

[akerman]

If you've already got a stereo/surround amplifier that you are happy with, is there any need for a headphone amp? Just wondering if headphone amps are specifically tuned, or made, for headphones, or if a regular amp does an equally good job.

 

[fr4c]

i'm guessing you're talking about an AV Receiver.

the purpose of the receiver is to drive speakers not headphones, so higher impedance headphones would need an dedicated amp instead of the jack on the receiver to sound their best. so it is highly recommended to use an headphone amp if you have a power hungry can.

based on your current headphone gear, which is the HD590 i think a AV receiver should do you just fine until you decide to upgrade to better headphones later.

 

[jpr703]

With higher end equipment, a specialized headphone amp does make a difference. A headphone jack on a reciever is usually put there for convenience and the manufacturers don't spend a lot of time or effort on that circuitry. A headphone amp, on the other hand, is made specifically for headphones. When you get your MS-2s you might want to check into one of the Gilmore amps.

 

[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akerman If you've already got a stereo/surround amplifier that you are happy with, is there any need for a headphone amp? Just wondering if headphone amps are specifically tuned, or made, for headphones, or if a regular amp does an equally good job.

You get more refined sound like smoother treble, more bass slam etc from quality (read: expensive) phones amp - but for the most part stereo amps do decent job in driving phones. There's no reason to be highly disappointed with phones jack output, unless there's huge impedance mismatch, which can easily make good phones sound muddy and so on.