Headphone Amp?

[Diesel]

This is a question for all of the other home theater gurus.

I just got a really kick-booty pair of headphones (Sennheiser HD-600) for a great price. They sound amazing, but someone told me that, to hear the full potential of the headphones, I should use them in conjunction with a headphone amplifier.

In speaking with someone else about it, they said that if I'm using it on a powered receiver, a headphone amp isn't necessary. It's more important if you're using the headphones with portable audio devices, which have very weak headphone outputs, but for home theater equipment, an amp shouldn't be necessary.

I read some reviews on www.audioreview.com, and saw some promising reviews, although they all seem to be a little pricier than I'd like, especially considering how much I just sunk into the headphones themselves. Unfortunately, the reviews didn't clear up the issue of whether or not I need the amp if I don't plan on using them with portable devices.

Any thoughts?


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[SwissSmiss]

why would you want to amplify headphones? trying to become deaf quicker?


* note: this is me being a smart **** funny girl again.

 

[nootch]

I saw the deal on those headphones, but I couldn't justify the purchase (though they would come in very handy with my sleeping schedule and how much I love watching DVDs). But to answer your question, while I'm not an expert on the subject, you should be fine if you're just using them through a powered amp. I'm sure the headphones came with a high quality gold-plated adapter, which would be my first concern when using it on a home system (you'd be surprised how many times I've seen people plug expensive headphones into an expensive amp with a cheapo $1 adapter). Also, if you're using it through a Home Theater setup, make sure you run the wire away from the tv and other devices so as not to get any interference (again, just the basics).

If you do decide to use the headphones for portable use, and aren't too happy with the results, here's a site that shows you how to build your own (I haven't done it, but it looks pretty simple... and all for about $20-30 in parts).

Hope that helps a little, and congrats on your new toy.

[edit] sorry, forgot to add the link

[/edit]
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<FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by nootch on May 02, 2001 at 01:45 AM]</font>

 

[Diesel]

I got them in yesterday, and they do sound great. They don't come with a mini-plug adapter: it's a one-piece standard large headphone plug. So, that cleans up the sound, somewhat.

However, I'm just wondering if it could get better with a headphone amp.

SwissSmiss&gt; It doesn't amplify the volume. It amplifies the signal. Sometimes, companies build systems with headphone jacks that produce weak output signals, or signals that aren't clean. This produces bad sound when using headphones.
What an amplifier does is strengthen the signal, and cleans it up a little so it ends up sounding more vibrant and fuller. It's not all about volume.

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