Receiver headphone output question

[crezyelmo]

I was wondering how bad the headphone out on my Denon AVR-2801 receiver is. It sounds great to me, but how much better could a seperate "headphone amp" be. My source is a Pioneer DVR-333 DVD/CD player connected to it through digital coax. This setup sounds noticably better than the headphone output on my panasonic discman, but the discman doesn't sound too bad either.

How much of an improvement would I get from using a better standalone cd player, and is using a receiver a significant weakness?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[NickG]

Quote:

Originally posted by crezyelmo I was wondering how bad the headphone out on my Denon AVR-2801 receiver is. It sounds great to me, but how much better could a seperate "headphone amp" be. My source is a Pioneer DVR-333 DVD/CD player connected to it through digital coax. This setup sounds noticably better than the headphone output on my panasonic discman, but the discman doesn't sound too bad either. How much of an improvement would I get from using a better standalone cd player, and is using a receiver a significant weakness? Thanks for any suggestions.

I have two receivers, a Onkyo 595 and a Denon 1602. I also have two headphone amps the basic Creek and the Corda Headamp. For the most part, the headphone outs from the two receivers are similar and pretty darn good. Headphones used HD580 and Grado SR80. If I was wearing either headphone while writing this post or focusing on some other task I would not usually notice the difference between the headphone amps and the receivers. For me, it is when I stop and listen to the music that I would be more likely to hear the difference between the receivers and headphone amps. My experience is that the sound difference is subtle, not dramatic as others here on Head-Fi report. Things I do notice are when I am paying attention to the music are better clarity, bass is tighter and more "presence". Now, if we are talking about the difference between a headphone amp and the sound from a PCDP, then we are talking a much bigger difference.

All that being said, I would still buy my headphone amps if I had it to do all over again. My $.02.

Nick

 

[JML]

You asked a question that cannot be answered given what information you supplied in your posting and your profile.

Headphones differ significantly in their power demands (wattage and voltage) and in their nominal impedances. Headphone amplifiers, and the headphone circuits of any electronics (portables, receivers, etc.) cannot be all things to all headphones. Some work well with low impedance headphones, some work well with high impedance headphones, some are built with quality op amps and supply ample power, some are simple circuits that reduce the output from the power amp side, etc.

What you should do is find the specs of your current equipment -- that means contacting the mfr. if there's nothing on the web or in your owner's manual. For example, my Rotel preamp has a headphone circuit that's built around a good op amp, is designed for low-impedance headphones, and puts out 5 volts. It sounds pretty good. But my Corda is extremely well-built with far better components, has two impedance choices, and puts out 12 volts. It sounds better.

To use two extremes as examples: Out of a "typical" headphone jack on a receiver, a Senn HD-580 would sound significantly worse than if it was connected to a headphone amp set up for high impedance phones because it is a 300 ohm headphone that needs a good deal of power delivered at high impedances, while a Grado SR-60 would probably not sound all that different because it is a low impedance headphone.