Headphone outputs

[Pat D]

When Audioholics evaluates receivers, has it given any consideration to the headphone outputs? We got a Yamaha R-S700 Receiver to use as a tuner and possibly spare amplifier. The amplifier section seems excellent, and even the phono input is fine.

But the headphone output is the pits, the worst I have ever come across. The headphone outputs on our laptops sound much, much better. The sound seems way balanced toward the bass end with very subdued highs. The title track to David Chesky's Club de Sol (Chesky JD33) is good for this. I tried my older Sennheiser HD 280 Pro cans, very easy to drive, and my newer Sennheiser HD 598 cans. Yes, the bass is fuller, but the treble is quite depressed.

 

[M Code]

Key AVR specs for headphone output is output power and impedance...
The mentioned early Sennheisers are high impedance and low sensitivity, as most later headphones are low impedance and high sensitivity..

Just my $0.02...

 

[Pat D]

Key AVR specs for headphone output is output power and impedance...
The mentioned early Sennheisers are high impedance and low sensitivity, as most later headphones are low impedance and high sensitivity..

Just my $0.02...

There is nothing unusual about the load offered by either of my headphones.l

According to HeadRoom, the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro has an impedance of 64 ohms at 1 kHz, with a peak of about 150 around 80 Hz. The think it can be driven quite adequately by portable players and computer sound cards.

Sennheiser HD 280 Pro - Full Size Headphones | HeadRoom Audio

The Sennheiser HD 598 has an impedance of 50 ohms at 1 kHz, with a peak of about 250 ohms centered about 100 Hz. HeadRoom doesn't think they are hard to drive.

http://www.headphone.com/headphones/sennheiser-hd-598.php

Neither phone has an unusual load. The problem wish to address is that the headphone output of the Yamaha R-S700 stereo receiver is not good. The balance is way off, with very warm bass and very subdued treble. The factory sound cards on our laptops sound much better, which is absurd.