How do I use two headphones while recording?

N

nkberg

New member
Hi guys. I'm recording in the same room as the singer and my soundcard only seem to have one spot to plug headphones in, and I aswell as the singer wants to be able to wear headphones and hear the same thing so I can quickly look over and re-listen to what we just recorded and so on. How do I go about doing this?
 
You could buy a head phone amp. I have one from Presonus, works well, allows 4 headphones, about $100. Each headphone has its own volume control. You could try a splitter, but then the volume has a single control. I am sure there are others out there, but this is the best option.
 
mjbphotos beat me to it. The cheap Behringer works, doesn't colour the sound anything like as much as your choice of headphones will and (since it's not part of the signal chain) I have no qualms about recommending it.
 
I am going to extend my neck here and say that this is one situation where the purchase of a cheap mixer MIGHT be a good idea?
Even some pretty low cost units have onboard effects such as reverb and a bit of "ego 'verb" can boost a singer's confidence but of course you do not want to have FX on the recording, especially a dodgy reverb!

The mixer can be used as a talkback link and to run backing tracks, clicktracks etc. If you were using a headphone split the mixer could be at the singer's elbow and they could set their own level.

Ah! Just noticed the "B" word...Say n'more!

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Ah! Just noticed the "B" word...Say n'more!

Dave.
Click to expand...

You know how I feel about behr equipment, but when going for $$$ saving .... I picked up an almost-new 1202FX to use as my live backup mixer (I'm a boyscout in being prepared - spare everything!) for $65. If I ever need easy-access headphone control in the studio, it would be handy. My US800 has 2 headphone jacks already, but only one control of course.
 
I bought the same little Behri headphone amp, it's been great. Gotta watch how much input signal you feed it, but it has plenty of gain on the headphone outs to compensate. $30 well spent.
 
YanKleber said:
This is exactly the one I have. Actually it works not only as headphone amp. I have my monitors plugged into one of the inputs. It is cheap and effective.

:)
Click to expand...

I take it you mean the monitors are plugged into an OUTput Yan?

Ok well, although I am sure this works for you in your particular set up, running monitors from a headphone output is not recommended for several reasons.

First is signal quality. We want the monitor feed to be as pristine as possible since it is all you have to tell you exactly what is going on. Headphone amps, especially cheap ass' Berry types, are not noted for quality in terms of distortion and can suffer from crossover distortion.
The search for a super clean feed has led to people buying "passive" monitor controllers tho' these are not without their troubles and I would rather have a well designed active unit.

That Behringer amp also has a maximum output of around 2volts (40mW into 100R). That is a headroom of just +8dBu or +6dBV and even if working at -10dBV only a barely adequate +15dB.

Bottom line: Headphone outputs should be restricted to headphones, unless you have something really tasty like a Benchmark!

Dave.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top