[starscream]

Hi guys,

I'll be receiving a Pico probably in a few weeks time. It will be my first headphone amp. I wanted to ask about the uses and differences of low and high gain settings.

Do you base the decision on which gain setting to use on the impedance of the headphone in use? I am assuming high gain for higher impedance? What is the difference at the difference settings?

What would be recommended for use with ESW9 which is 42ohm ?

 

[st4r0c3an]

low gain for 42ohm

 

[ClieOS]

Always choose to use low gain first. If you feel that you didn't get enough volume, than switch to high gain.

 

[BIG POPPA]

Low gain usually to me sounds better in most cases. High gain can tend to be bright in some cases.

 

[Nocturnal310]

Ya... High gain makes the Sound output very bright even if the volume level is tolerable.

 

[tnmike1]

I've often wondered about this difference myself. I know you're supposed to match gain to your headphones, but what else do you get?? Longer battery life with low vs. high?? Better SQ with one or the other?? I find on my Hornet I can set gain to "medium" and it's perfect for both IEMs and Beyer 880s. The Portaphile I keep on "low" gain and everything works well on that setting.

 

[mrarroyo]

I had a similar conversation w/ Ray in regards to the gain switch on the new SR71A. Depending on the manufacturer they probably used resistors of different values to achieve the various gains.

Their use will have an small but audible effect, thus you may want to experiment. If the volume pot gives you enough travel you may prefer the high gain with your cans. Good luck.

 

[QQQ]

Yes, sometimes low-gain means just a voltage divider at the input.