[Johnnyde94]

Total noob quesion here but I also cant seem to find a straight answer what is "better" Low gain or High. In my set up I have HD650 and HE400I on a Jotunheim and I have always done high gain.

Sonicaly, and I would guess this depends on the topology of the amp is it better to run higher volume low gain or lower volume high gain when at Equal volume? In this case on my Jot 2 im recieving soon, My gut tells me low volume high gain so the amp stays mostly in class A mode.

Thanks in advanced this is something I have been wondering about for a long time.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Use whichever gain setting sounds best to your ears.
With the HD650 being 300-Ohm, I would normally use high gain.
As the HE400i is only 35-Ohms, might as well use the low gain setting.

 

[tomb]

Total noob quesion here but I also cant seem to find a straight answer what is "better" Low gain or High. In my set up I have HD650 and HE400I on a Jotunheim and I have always done high gain.

Sonicaly, and I would guess this depends on the topology of the amp is it better to run higher volume low gain or lower volume high gain when at ISO volume? In this case on my Jot 2 im recieving soon, My gut tells me low volume high gain so the amp stays mostly in class A mode.

Thanks in advanced this is something I have been wondering about for a long time.

Call me a noob, too, because I have no clue what you mean by "ISO volume."

As for gain, it's a personal preference ... as long as the amplifier's volume pot is first in the signal path. I only mention that as a caution, because even though 99.9999% of headphone amplifiers put the volume pot as the first thing in the signal path, there was one crazy guy who didn't: NWAVGUY. His O2 amplifier cheated. You can reduce noise in the signal path if you place the volume pot between the gain stage and the buffered output stage. If you do that however, you run the risk of clipping in the signal stage if the source signal strength is too high. This can happen regardless of the power of the amplifier or the efficiency of the headphone, meaning it will clip all of the time on that source, no matter what you do.

Having a source signal too high happens more often than you might think (cough, cough, Schiit), so 99.9999% of all headphone amplifier designs put the volume pot, first. The only way an amplifier will clip when the volume pot is first in the signal path is if the amplifier doesn't have enough power to supply the load (headphone), which is what we all expect and understand from "clipping."

Anyway, sorry for that digression. Gain is actually a ratio indicating the amplification factor. It is independent of power, impedance, or load, but the effects can vary with all three variables, plus the impedance of the volume pot and the source signal strength.

Put simply, you want a gain with the amplifier, headphone load, and signal strength that allows you ideal volume control. Your personal range is probably dead silence, but just below the detectable, to the highest volume you can tolerate. If you're like most people, you'd want that range to be spread out from zero on the volume knob travel to the end stop of the volume knob travel. Some people are comfortable only going halfway. In fact, some amplifier designers may design the amp that way to make you think it's got a lot of power, because you're only halfway and you can't stand the volume. That's gain, though - not power. Chances are, the amp will clip beyond that volume setting. Similarly, you don't want a gain that allows you to max out the volume knob travel and it still doesn't seem loud enough. The amplifier might have a lot of power left, but your gain is set too low.

Gain is just that - adjusting it means optimizing the range of loudness levels to match the volume knob travel that you desire. Optimizing the range of loudness with gain means that you have the maximum control of volume levels possible with that particular source, amplifier, and headphone (also music file).

 

[Johnnyde94]

Yeah IDK why i used ISO lol i should have just made it simple and said at same volume lol.

Interesting, I have read that some believe that even a the same volume one gain is inherently better than the other (low gain lower noise, high gain better bass)

Going back to the other comment, I thought even though the 400i have a lower impedance they are still harder to drive due to it being a planar design.

 

[tomb]

Yeah IDK why i used ISO lol i should have just made it simple and said at same volume lol.

Interesting, I have read that some believe that even a the same volume one gain is inherently better than the other (low gain lower noise, high gain better bass)

Going back to the other comment, I thought even though the 400i have a lower impedance they are still harder to drive due to it being a planar design.

That can be true to a certain extent. However, it may be part psychological and part comparing it to too low a gain. Too low a gain and you'll lose dynamics, because the signal's not strong enough for the buffer section of the amplifier to properly deliver the signal to the load. More noise gets amplified along with the signal, iow; the dynamics get lost in the fog. However, if that's not the case, it's purely psychological in hearing greater dynamic impact with very small turns of the volume knob.

This psychological tendency also skews first impressions and auditioning equipment at headphone meets. One hears great dynamics and seemingly great power with equipment that unduly emphasizes these qualities, but then you bring it home and live with it for a while and it gets old and tiring very quickly. The best scenario is equipment that is immersive and lets you start listening to the music, forgetting what the equipment is doing with the sound.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Total noob quesion here but I also cant seem to find a straight answer what is "better" Low gain or High. In my set up I have HD650 and HE400I on a Jotunheim and I have always done high gain.

Sonicaly, and I would guess this depends on the topology of the amp is it better to run higher volume low gain or lower volume high gain when at Equal volume? In this case on my Jot 2 im recieving soon, My gut tells me low volume high gain so the amp stays mostly in class A mode.

Thanks in advanced this is something I have been wondering about for a long time.

Whether it switches over or not or even if it's pure Class A or Class D/T is not the determinant for what gain setting to use.

Use whichever doesn't have audible noise and no channel imbalance.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Low gain (less floor noise), higher volume (lesser chance of channel imbalance)
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/study-headphone-amp-gains-low-or-high.5495/

 

[PopZeus]

At its most useful, I find low gain is great for most IEMs and high gain is great for most full size. Though I really never need to put the Jot 2 into high gain except for 300 ohm headphones. I guess this is more my DAP/portable experience.

 

[Johnnyde94]

I just got my Jot2 so far I have kept it in high gain with my HD650 but haven’t tired it with my HE400i yet.

 

[Johnnyde94]

Low gain (less floor noise), higher volume (lesser chance of channel imbalance)
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/study-headphone-amp-gains-low-or-high.5495/

Looks like low gain it is then as the jot should be able to run almost anything in low gain.

 

[Johnnyde94]

Lol to confuse things more a prominent reviewer on youtube said that Schiits equipment is meant to stay on high gain to sound best.

 

[esmse]

I find a lot of gear to sound best on high gain but it's not always giving me enough range on the volume dial. Amps also have a sweet spot and it's usually not at 9 o'clock, more around noon, depending on the amp.

 

[iFi audio]

Total noob quesion here but I also cant seem to find a straight answer what is "better" Low gain or High. In my set up I have HD650 and HE400I on a Jotunheim and I have always done high gain.

It's headphones specific, but in general you should use the setting that provides you reasonable volume control over headphones in use. If just a slight knob turn results in a massive volume increase, that means the gain is too high. If you go all the way with volume and it's still not loud enough, then the gain is too low. Hope this helps, thanks!

 

[castleofargh]

Lol to confuse things more a prominent reviewer on youtube said that Schiits equipment is meant to stay on high gain to sound best.

Could be true, could be subjective BS. I can't count all the people who got fooled by the simple fact that when they go back and forth, high gain is louder so it feels more detailed, clearer, etc.

I got convinced that overall, low gain that is loud enough for my needs will tend to be the better option. Mostly for the reasons already mentioned, possible increase in noise floor at higher gain(although that does depend on design), possible increase in the channel imbalance if I have to turn the volume knob way down(depends on the volume knob), simple bother of having a hard time finding just the right listening level because small changes on the volume knob cause a lot of gain change(depends on how the designer set things up), possibility for the higher gain to have higher impedance on some designs...
Going for low gain that's loud enough is kind of the statistical right choice for me. On a given setup, it might not matter at all(I think that's really the most common case), or it might be better to use higher gain.

If that's really bothering you, I'd say go ask the pshiit people directly. They have nothing to 'gain' lying about that.

 

[Johnnyde94]

Could be true, could be subjective BS. I can't count all the people who got fooled by the simple fact that when they go back and forth, high gain is louder so it feels more detailed, clearer, etc.

I got convinced that overall, low gain that is loud enough for my needs will tend to be the better option. Mostly for the reasons already mentioned, possible increase in noise floor at higher gain(although that does depend on design), possible increase in the channel imbalance if I have to turn the volume knob way down(depends on the volume knob), simple bother of having a hard time finding just the right listening level because small changes on the volume knob cause a lot of gain change(depends on how the designer set things up), possibility for the higher gain to have higher impedance on some designs...
Going for low gain that's loud enough is kind of the statistical right choice for me. On a given setup, it might not matter at all(I think that's really the most common case), or it might be better to use higher gain.

If that's really bothering you, I'd say go ask the pshiit people directly. They have nothing to 'gain' lying about that.

ha I see what you did there what do you think is too high dial wise when it comes to things being in low gain? Like over 1-2 o’clock