Dan Frakes wrote:
> As for the "inside my head" sound, that's historically been a criticism of
> headphone systems -- and often a very valid one. However, there are two
> caveats: 1) a good headphone setup, that includes a *good* pair of
> headphones and a quality headphone amp (the amps in portables and in any
> receiver just don't cut it) has far less of that in-the-head sound than most
> people are used to; and 2) if you get an amp that has a very good crossfeed
> filter, you would be simply amazed at how much the sound can be "outside"
> the head.
Dan,
If you are listening to your headphones using a good stereo system or the line out
of a portable, that may very well be so. The problem is that when it comes to
portables, many of them "force" you to use the headphone amp in them. They do not
have a separate line out (I think Sharp was one of the pioneers of this approach).
While they may be "intelligent" enough to sense whether it is being plugged into a
pair of headphones or a line in of some other device and match the impedance, you
are still going through their headphone amp. If you adjust the bass, you will hear
the change even if you have the portable plugged into a $10,000 audio system.
Once the signal is passed through the crappy internal headphone amp of a portable
unit, the damage has been done. Plugging that signal into the best separate
headphone amp isn't going to remove the distortion that the crappy one has created.
I guess it should also be a warning to anyone who likes to listen to their music
through headphones. IF you want the best possible sound, first you have to get
yourself a top notch pair of headphones. That goes without saying. But second,
you should invest in a good separate headphone amp and not use the headphone out
that is built into your amp or receiver. Use the line out as you would for any
other component.
I'll bet that even on a a decent grade receive in in the $900 range, if they have a
headphone jack, the amp is an after thought. If a good headphone amp sells for
several hundred dollars by itself, I doubt you are going to find one, in a $900
receiver. Probably not even in a $2000.00 unit.
I'm sure that professional recording studios use separate headphone amps.
Larry
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