Plan on only using headphones in living room, need a good receiver?

[rukawa11]

Hey guys, i live in an apartment so i just plan on getting nice headphones and connect it to a receiver instead of gettin nice speakers which i wont be able to blast. I was just wondering if sound from headphones will be really effected by a good receiver as opposed to a normal cheaper receiver. I plan on getting the senn 580, 600, or 650 and using it to watch tv, dvds, blu-ray, and for ps3 use, and to stream music from my comp. also if it does matter, what receiver would u recommend in the sub $500 range for such use. thanks

 

[WmAx]

If you want to maximize your value, you should avoid a receiver if you plan on using just the headphones. Get a mixer like the Behringer Xenyx or UB 1202 mixer. It can power virtually any headphone - it has huge reserves of power from the headphone output jack. And it produces no noise(when gains are set correctly - it is a mixer). It has several input jacks for you to use multiple sources.

Invest $275 or so into a Behringer DCX2496 crossover unit. It is also a sophisticated equalizer with no noise or distortion. It can be linked to your computer and you can control it directly with a GUI for configuration. The powerful EQ is a very important factor to obtaining your ideal sound signature over a quality headphone.

-Chris

 

[rukawa11]

this is exactly the type of answer i wanted. you said to get a mixer, and then u suggested to get a dcx2496, is that the same or do u suggest i get both? Thanks a lot wmax, i will probably use ur suggestion. also are there better looking mixers/crossover units?

 

[rukawa11]

also if i am playing my ps3 or watching blu ray on it how do i get the sound. right now the ps3 is connected to the tv via hdmi. so would i just plug audio cable from the tv to the mixer?

 

[WmAx]

this is exactly the type of answer i wanted. you said to get a mixer, and then u suggested to get a dcx2496, is that the same or do u suggest i get both? Thanks a lot wmax, i will probably use ur suggestion. also are there better looking mixers/crossover units?

Well, you need both an amplifier and high grade digital equalizer. The mixer is just serving amplifier duties here. You can get a dedicated headphone amp instead, but they usually only have one source input, so you would then need to buy a separate source selector. And if you do find a headphone amplifier with multiple source selectors, it will probably cost a great deal more than the mixer I recommended. As for the look of the DCX2496 -- you can not get other hardware from other companies that is even remotely close to the performance/quality of this unit unless you pay several times the cost. There are NO comparable options for near the same price of which I am aware.

-Chris

 

[WmAx]

also if i am playing my ps3 or watching blu ray on it how do i get the sound. right now the ps3 is connected to the tv via hdmi. so would i just plug audio cable from the tv to the mixer?

Yes, the tv audio out should be fine.

-Chris

 

[rukawa11]

thanks again for everything

 

[WmAx]

BTW, I want to urge the importance (and usefulness of a high grade precision digital equalizer). Read my post at the following link, demonstrating the precision and convenience of a digital equalizer compared to a conventional (highly regarded) analog equalizer:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=55898&postcount=29

-Chris

 

[fmw]

I think the mixer is a bad idea. It won't be of any value to him for anything else. If the TV has a headphone jack, then that's fine. If not, he should look for an inexpensive stereo receiver (under $150.) You can buy perfectly functional ones on Ebay for under $100. It will drive the headphones, give him an FM tuner to use to listen to the radio and will power speakers when those are added to the system.

 

[WmAx]

I think the mixer is a bad idea. It won't be of any value to him for anything else. If the TV has a headphone jack, then that's fine. If not, he should look for an inexpensive stereo receiver (under $150.) You can buy perfectly functional ones on Ebay for under $100. It will drive the headphones, give him an FM tuner to use to listen to the radio and will power speakers when those are added to the system.

The problem is that receiver headphone jacks are not consistent. Some will have high output impedance (causing unwanted frequency response fluctuations) and some will have rather low voltage output not being able to drive some lesser sensitivity headphone models to sufficient SPLs. Many may have audible noise/hiss, especially in very low cost receivers.

The mixer model recommended has multiple source inputs and has a headphone section that can drive virtually any headphone. It's also lower cost than a receiver.

-Chris

 

[fmw]

Not a big or common problem - in fact an extremely rare problem. And, no, it is more expensive than most stereo receivers available today.