
dachay2tnr
One Hit Wonder
This is quite interesting.Gilliland said:I had a Rolls RA53b for a short time. It sounded great as long as you didn't hook up too many pairs of headphones at the same time. It has outputs for five pairs, but I found that if you tried to drive more than two or sometimes three, it would distort severely. At first I thought it must be defective, but I got a second one and it behaved exactly the same way. So I returned it and bought a Behringer 4700. No problems at all with that one.
It seems to be an impedance issue. If you use high impedance headphones, you'll be fine. If you use low impedance headphones (Sony's, for example), you'll have nothing but grief from the RA53.
The 4700, on the other hand, has handled every combination that I've thrown at it. I don't generally buy Behringer gear, but in this case it seems to be an acceptable choice. (Note that the 4700 is specifically rated for low impedance headphones.)
I started this thread because I am currently using the Rolls RA53 (not, mind you, the 53b). However, I have had several performers complain of sporadic distortion when listening through it.
I have two headphone connections available on my Mackie board. I have one set of phones plugged directly into one connection, which is how I monitor. The other connection runs to the Rolls amp, which is what the performers use. I have never heard any distortion, so I've been assuming there was a problem with the Rolls and decided to replace it.
For what it's worth, I normally have four pair of Sony MDR-7506's plugged into it at all times. So it seems my experience mirrors yours almost to a tee - except for the model.
I ended up ordering a Presonus HP4 (I just can't seem to get my head around spending more than ~$100 for a friggin' headphone amp).
I'lll let you know whether this fixes the problem or not.