Why do people buy headphone amplifiers?

I live that too...

 

Heard back from Schiit about the digital output on my FM HD tuner being compatible with the Bifrost.

"It should work fine, as long as the tuner outputs SPDIF digital audio. We have no experience with such devices, I’m afraid."

The manual states the output is digital at 44.1khz. Nothing more...

Bifrost + Asgard + Grado RS1i's. The Asgard has a preamp out I can connect to a cassette deck to record the DAC output to the headamp. Very cool.

That's a bit of coin but may sound fantastic.

 

That should sound good.

 

I haven't read through the thread but I use the Bifrost + Asgard and it's a very happy combo with Sennheiser 600's which only add to the party but I'm sure Grado's would do a fine job too.

I prefer to listen to speakers but there are times when I don't want to disturb others in the house - or there could be audible things going on in the house I don't wish to hear.

No regrets with my Schiit Audio gear.

 

As for the original question, a lot of modern amps and systems need an additional headphone amplifier to power headphones to any worthwhile level. This isn't the case with many vintage amps.

My Ultrasone Pro 750's are powered by a Musical Fidelity M1HPA headphone amp and I have no complaints and definitely a worthwhile investment for when the rest of the household don't want to be exposed to Coltrane at the Village Vanguard or The Pogues played extra loud.

The Grado's are hideously expensive here in the Netherlands, I am planning on auditioning the Woody Allen 1's, but they are €900.00.

 

Definitely agree on the vintage sound it is amazing. Today it's almost a must to power with an external amp to have the same power and fidelity I have learned.

Everything is expensive everywhere. Boy don't we know it!

 

You could just measure the resistance with an ohm meter by checking across the center conductors to ground but that is a static measurement not really impedance. Impedance changes with frequency.
It would be close enough though.

 

My dream machine is the Balancing Act headphone amp in 300B/PX-4 configuration. They have the Moth Amp steam punk thing going. A little out of everyone's price range, but awesome.
http://www.eddiecurrent.com

 

Excellent thread. So I have a question, I have the HiFiMan EF5 headphone amp with RS2 Grados and I think they sound excellent. However, I want to buy other headphones and I can't decide between 4 contenders: HiFiMan HE-6, HE-500, Beyerdynamic T-1 and Sennheiser HD-800. I plan to update headphone amp in 2 years since I am blowing away 1000+ dollars on headphones this year, or I can buy 1000+dollar worth of amp this year or wait 2 years for the headphones, question is how do these 4 headphones fare with my current EF5 amp so I can buy them first and later upgrade the amp?

How does one know how a headphone amp will drive a pair of picky headphones?

Thanks!

 

As noted upthread, all amps should have specs listed that will tell you how loud the amp will get for a particular impedance load (ohms or Z). If you know that, and the output impedance of the amp, you can get a good idea whether the amp will work well with the headphones you have in mind.

I should note though that the amp's output impedance is irrelevant for planar magnetic headphones (like the HE-500).

I think you'd be best served by finding a headphone (or headphones) you like via audition, then picking the amp to suit.

 

I'd love to try out headphones, unfortunately I live where there are no hifi headphones anywhere, so that is impossible. I had to buy the Grados blindly. I am still looking for specs about my amp, but when I find them what are the key specs I need to consider? How is this link? http://hifiman.com/products/?pid=30

 

Friendly reminder... I have 2 nice headphone amps for sale in the classifieds

 

Which ones?

 

It's a pity you can't try out headphones where you are.

I've been looking for specs for your amp for a few minutes (I thought you might ask) but the ones provided by the website aren't really adequate in terms of assessing whether the amp will match with particular headphones. What you need are specs like the ones provided by Schiit Audio (these are for the Schiit Valhalla, just to give you an example:

I've bolded the important parts in terms of matching headphones. What this information shows you is that the Valhalla works best (gets loudest) with headphones of about 250-300 ohms, so it might be a good match for the higher end Sennheisers (and a bad match for low impedance Grados). In addition, the 30 ohm output impedance means that, if we want to improve damping (increasing bass tightness, or perhaps more appropriately avoiding bass looseness), headphones of 240 ohms impedance or higher would match better with this amp (again Sennheiser HD600 and above, or Beyerdynamic headphones of at least 250 ohms impedance).

 

Rega Ear
Musical Fidelity X-Can with matching X-PSU

 

And how about the Beyerdynamic A1 headphone amp? How does it fare with the 4 headphones?

 

Thanks, will check em out!

 

The Beyerdynamic amp is made specifically for their high-Z headphones. I'm not certain how it would work with the Senns you are considering, but I think it would be ok. The only issue is that you could probably have something that works just as well as the Beyer amp without spending that much money.

On edit: the A1 has a very high output Z (100 ohms) which would suggest that it would not be particularly good at maintaining good headphone damping (the rule of thumb is that a minimum 8/1 headphone/output impedance ratio is best).

 

Found this info on the EF5, maybe you could interpret it a little better? (please?) I don't understand any of it, it's frustrating. I need to educate myself better before roaming these threads I believe.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/head...-headphones-and-ef-5-headphone-amplifier.html
http://www.avguide.com/review/hifiman-ef5-headphone-amplifier-playback-45
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-10451217-47.html

 

Also, for other suckers like me, I have been immersing myself all afternoon with these pieces of literature to understand a little better and still I am confused...

http://www.apexhifi.com/specs.html
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/nwavguys-heaphone-amp-measurement-recommendations
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvER-WhtgCFjdE9kdXRUWWVmTWVUMUlHbnJXcFI3UEE#gid=0

However, extremely interesting read, I must say. I just wish I wasn't so physics-impaired.

 

To be honest none of those reviews have the kind of information you actually need to determine whether that particular amp will work well with a particular headphone (i.e. not enough technical specs given). It would appear that there is relatively little information available concerning your amp.

 

The Innerfidelity article you cited is very useful for understanding the main issues in headphone amplification. The Apex article looks good too, and that cheat sheet is very handy for comparison purposes.

 

The EF5 will drive any of the headphones you're considering (although the HE6 will be pushing it and will be constrained by the amp). The only headphones it's probably not well suited for are IEMs (mostly due to noise and gain issues). It's an approximately 2 watt headphone amp. Enough to get most any headphone plenty loud. Most headphones take only a few hundred milliwatts to get to ear blasting loud. The rest of the watts are for headroom and dynamic freedom.

Here's two reviews of the EF5
http://www.avguide.com/review/hifiman-ef5-headphone-amplifier-playback-45
http://www.headfonia.com/hifiman-ef5-review/

The Headfonia review mentions the EF5 sounds a little too mellow with the HD800. I wouldn't necessarily consider that a critical problem. I'd rather have the HD800 with a too mellow amp than a too hyper analytic aggressive amp. But that goes to personal preference for the style of sound I prefer.

Get the headphones you want. Pair them with the EF5 for a year or two. It's going to sound good. Listen to that setup and figure out based on that sound what it is that you want in a better headphone amp.

To add some fuel to the confusion, HiFiMan introduced two new headphone models at CES this week. The HE-400i and HE-560. Improvements on the HE-400 and HE-500. Here's info on the new headphones:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-5...hone-tech-at-ces-2014-improves-sound-quality/
http://www.head-fi.org/t/698831/fresh-outta-ces-the-hifiman-he-400i-and-he-560
Apologies for the head-fi link. Reading the head-fi ramblings about a new headphone that few have actually heard is going to cause more confusion than help.

With the CNet intro review describing the HE-560 as more transparent it could be quite interesting and potentially better offering than the HE-500. Very much worth watching for full reviews once it is released. I don't know if HiFiMan will discontinue the HE-500 when the HE-560 is released or not. I've personally been waiting for HiFiMan to improve the HE-500. With luck the HE-560 will be what I'm looking for.

 

This thread has become a wealth of really great information. I have been reading everywhere and gotten quite overwhelmed at times with info I wondered over. But really, it's all right here.

Here I am with my meager Grado 80i's I really like and so wondering what amp would be nice for them. At the same time I want to move higher up the Grado line just for the fun of it.

From what I've learned so far I'm listening to the 80's for awhile as I save for better. Once I have better phones I'll pick the right amp. Patience here is such a virtue as one can spend a ton of money changing everything only to become even more unsure. One thing at a time I guess and then listen. I like that approach.

Great thread...