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Topic: How to easily choose between power amp and headphone amp? (Read 7191 times) previous topic - next topic
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How to easily choose between power amp and headphone amp?

I must be missing something very simple. I have a stereo set up in my home office: CD player, USB-DAC and turntable all go into my integrated amplifier, which drives my speakers. The integrated does have pre-outs that I am not currently using, but would like to sue one day to drive a more powerful amp. Right now, I would like to be able to use headphones with the system so as not to disturb others. There is no headphone output on my amp. Can I use the pre-outs to feed into a headphone amp? If so, how do I tell it NOT to send the signal to it's internal amp as well?

I.e, I want to either use the integrated's power amp or an external headphone amp, but not both. How do people deal use headphones when they have multiple sources plugged into a pre-amp or integrated?

Thanks.

How to easily choose between power amp and headphone amp?

Reply #1 –
Give us the make and model of the amp so that we can see what it's got.

How to easily choose between power amp and headphone amp?

Reply #2 –
Quote
Can I use the pre-outs to feed into a headphone amp?
Yes.

Quote
If so, how do I tell it NOT to send the signal to it's internal amp as well?
Sometimes there are jumpers on the back that allow you to "break the loop".    Or, is there an A/B speaker selector switch?   

If there is no way to switch-off the speakers, you can get an external  speaker selector switch and select a non-existant pair of speakers.

How to easily choose between power amp and headphone amp?

Reply #3 –
Quote from: TooSteep on
There is no headphone output on my amp. Can I use the pre-outs to feed into a headphone amp? If so, how do I tell it NOT to send the signal to it's internal amp as well?


Check the manual for which connector to use in place of a line out. 

Also, just so you're clear, the output of any electrical device is always amplified, even a line out.  Its just amplified by an amplifier with less current capacity then the main speaker amp.  So basically, you're just looking for whichever output on your device provides a signal level output at low current (high impedance).

How to easily choose between power amp and headphone amp?

Reply #4 –
Quote from: pdq on
Give us the make and model of the amp so that we can see what it's got.


Creek 4330R. ~ 10 year old. Very straightforward.

How to easily choose between power amp and headphone amp?

Reply #5 –
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/50-6...ELAID=220554165

[Or one like it] Headphone jack and multiple speaker kill switches, even though you need just one pair, for the least amount of money.

How to easily choose between power amp and headphone amp?

Reply #6 –
You can use the tape monitor switch to disable the power amp. Just don't connect anything to the tape in.

How to easily choose between power amp and headphone amp?

Reply #7 –
Quote from: pdq on
You can use the tape monitor switch to disable the power amp. Just don't connect anything to the tape in.


Ahhh. Thank you. I wondered how that worked. So if there was a tape deck attached, pressing the button would send the 'Tape In' to the power amp side, but the 'pre-out' would still be sending the original input source (the input selected on the front)?

Since there are no controls anywhere for selecting the tape as the input source, or for telling the amp to send the selected input signal to the tape outs, does that imply that the 'tape out' are always on, and are acting as a duplicate of the 'pre out's? If so, does that mean that I could hook a headphone amp to the 'tape out'?

How to easily choose between power amp and headphone amp?

Reply #8 –
The "Tape - OUT" jacks have a fixed level output that can directly feed an external headphone amp.  They will output whatever is selected by the input knob.  If you don't want to hear the speakers, just turn the volume to zero.

I don't think pressing the "Tape Monitor" button will do what you want; it is designed to patch through the playback of an external tape deck which would then appear at the pre-outs and the speaker terminals.  Since there is no attached tape deck all you will get is silence.
 

How to easily choose between power amp and headphone amp?

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Apesbrain on
The "Tape - OUT" jacks have a fixed level output that can directly feed an external headphone amp.  They will output whatever is selected by the input knob.  If you don't want to hear the speakers, just turn the volume to zero.

I don't think pressing the "Tape Monitor" button will do what you want; it is designed to patch through the playback of an external tape deck which would then appear at the pre-outs and the speaker terminals.  Since there is no attached tape deck all you will get is silence.



OK. That makes sense. When pressing "Tape Monitor", the pre-outs get rerouted as well.  I like your solution, as that would allow me to connect my pre-outs to a different power amp in the future.

I will connect the headphone amp to the 'Tape Out' terminals and turn the amp volume to 0. The headphone amp will have it's own volume control.

Thanks to everyone for the help. I can't try it because I don't have a headphone amp  (or headphones) yet. I wanted to make sure it would work before I bought one.

Cheers.