I concur with the observation that professionals use headphones mostly as secondary tools. Their primary sound reproduction tools are studio monitors, which are being discussed and compared a lot more on pro-audio forums.
I also agree with the notion that a significant part of the money paid for the audiophile equipment goes to exterior fit and finish, marketing, and sales. Pro-audio design tends to be functional yet not flashy, marketing is more informational than emotional, and sales channels are more efficient.
I'd like to contribute yet another observation. The pro-audio headphone amplifiers are so relatively cheap and simple compared to the rest of pro-audio gear that they are often included as part of a more sophisticated piece of equipment, and because of that they may go unnoticed.
Distribution headphone amplifiers that you mentioned is one example. They are meant to deliver one stereo mix through multiple (usually 4-8) individually adjustable headphone channels, presumably to members of a band monitoring their live mix. In my experience, they don't sound all that good, as they are optimized for small space per channel rather than for low distortion.
Noticeably higher quality headphone amps are included in decent analog studio mixers (don't have experience with high-end digital ones but I presume they are good too). Good mixers are indeed already optimized to be a platform for a ridiculously low-distortion and low-noise audio amplification, employing fully differential circuitry, records-setting op-amps, rigid full metal enclosure, beefy and sophisticated power supplies etc.
Because of the mixer's platform general suitability for lower-power audio amplification, adding a quality headphone amp doesn't result in a big incremental cost. Besides, listening to and adjusting live mix is a critical highly focused real time activity, which often needs to be conducted in the presence of loud external sounds, and because of that it can only be done with high-quality headphones.
Thus higher-end mixers both can and must have a high-quality headphone output. "Higher-end" doesn't necessarily mean "huge and expensive" as mixers of a given family typically come in several variants mostly differing by the number of inputs they support. As far as I can tell, their headphone sections tend to be identical. So the smallest mixer of the most advanced family designed by a reputable vendor could be your best bang for the buck.
An additional advantage is that mixer also includes equalizer, which can be used to adjust the frequency response curve to your liking. And yet another advantage is that it usually has a sound level meter, complete with red clipping lights, so you can detect the recordings fallen to the "loudness wars" right away.
And I haven't even started talking about mixers with embedded USB and/or Firewire I/O. I believe those are the ultimate pro-audio values in the context of head-fi . There may exist audiophile systems with sound quality that I'd like more than that of my current Mackie Onyx 820i (http://www.mackie.com/products/onyx820i/index.html), yet I highly doubt such a system can be had for less than $3000, while the Onyx is just $500.
Quote:
Hey everyone, just looking to the veterans to clear up some confusion. I feel like I've searched a bit and understand the basics, but I have a few questions.
Cliff's notes:
1) Why are hi-fi amps reviewed, talked about, and traded more than studio headphone amps here?
2) Why are hi-fi amps more expensive than studio amps?
I have been researching headphone amps recently, and recently got a used Fostex PH-50 5-channel distribution amp off of eBay from a guitar shop. If we are using studio/monitoring headphones for hi-fi, then what is wrong with studio amps as well? Why are we getting 300 and 600 Ohm headphones that the professionals use for making music and then not trusting their amps to drive the phones, instead getting amps like the ones at Moon Audio or TTVJ? If these hi-fi amps are superior, then in studios, why are rack-mount distribution amps good enough for the professionals, the ones that are actually mixing the music that we're listening to? I'm just confused as to what some of these $2,500+ amps provide that the headphone companies don't. Beyerdynamic, Grado, and AKG, for example, all have $600-$900 amps to be used with the headphones to be used at home.
