Roland CM-30 CUBE Monitor Amp

[lt.milo]

Hey, this is a very noob question. I have never bought super high-end headphones because I have not wanted to buy an amp. I do have this in my house : Link.

I have plugged some headphones in and have noticed that it can make them much louder from the source, does this mean that it would be a good amp for high-end headphones?

I accept that this is a very noob question but an honest answer would be very appreciated. Thank you.

 

[MaloS]

Heh, well the point of the amp for headphones is not to make things louder usually (unless you have something with very weak standard output), but to increase headroom. Speaking electronically - so it does not clip at all and provides adequate power at any frequency (normally the power delivery varies depending on the frequency which is being played back, resulting with uneven sound). If you understand something about electric engineering, I could explain more in depth =]

 

[lt.milo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Heh, well the point of the amp for headphones is not to make things louder usually (unless you have something with very weak standard output), but to increase headroom. Speaking electronically - so it does not clip at all and provides adequate power at any frequency (normally the power delivery varies depending on the frequency which is being played back, resulting with uneven sound). If you understand something about electric engineering, I could explain more in depth =]

So in other words, this would not be an ideal headphone amp?

 

[lt.milo]

could someone please help me out here!
thanks.

 

[Killercrush]

It's not made for headphones at all. Just forget it !

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

The headphone out on the Roland is almost certainly going to be inferior to any dedicated headpone amp. It was not a design priority and is likely to be noisy and high on distortion.

That said, the entry-point to dedicated headphone amps is not that high at ~$150 and the necessity of amplification is dependant on which headphone you aim to use in particular to boot. In general, high impedance headphones like the HD650 will benefit a great deal from amplification while low impedance headphones like Grados or any IEMs will not benefit much (relatively speaking) from a dedicated amp. So if you're on the fence about hi-end headphones, you could start ampless with a Grado and get an amp in the future when budget allows. This way you'll get great sound without an amp, and even greater sound when eventually you do acquire amplification.

So there you have it.

 

[lt.milo]

ok thanks for your help, I am going to have to start shopping around!