outboard headphone AMPs

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Phosphene

Phosphene

Horse Diaper
Im running an 1880 and I use this crapbox Apex headphone amp that someone gave me. I use AKG K270studio (75ohm) and AKG K240studio (55ohm) cans and the k240s seem to do alright, but the K270s always distort easily. Seems they are supposed to take more juice cause they have 2 speakers per ear (so I thought). I know I need a new Headphone amp. what do you guys suggest/use? Ive been looking at the Rane HC6. It looks pretty basic and meaty. Im trying not to buy any BerRINGer bullstuff after reading a few threads about them.

Do my headphones distort cause of my crapbox headphone amp? I think so, cause when I just plug the 270s into the 1880, they do alot better. Dur-durwood. you know, those 270s dont sound NEAR as good as the 240s to me. figures.

Jeremiah
 
Actually, if you are ever in need of several headphones going at once the Behringer amp ( 4700 ) is exactly what you need. They are great units. Don't believe everything you hear, in this forum or anywhere else.
 
I have the HC6 and it certainly does the job. Lots of volume if you need it and you can run a TON of headphones off this thing. Its cool cause it has extra outputs on the back in case you are routing to a patchbay or whatever. The only weird thing is the telephone style power cord, which seems like it should have broken by now, but hasn't.

Some 'B' gear is not total crap. I have and like the ECM8000 mics and just got the cable tester (a really good deal IMO, but I haven't tried it out yet). I've heard the headphone amp was decent also. I sold my preamp and compressor though.
 
I use the Rane MH4 headphone distribution amp. It is the little brother of the one above. Both are available very regularly on eBay for a realistic price. Quality is excellent, and far superior to the Behrenger stuff.
 
I use a behringer headphone amp with K270s they seem good.
 
Presonus has a 99 buck headphone amp I havn't heard any bad things about.
 
Jeyan said:
I use a behringer headphone amp with K270s they seem good.

I also have the behri headphone amp and have no problems with it.

In fact, I'd say I'm very happy with the purchase. The flexibility of the unit far exceeds what you get with the Presonus HD4 or the Rane piece. The guy at GC wanted to sell me the Rane too. :)
 
I also got the Behringer amp a couple of weeks ago...more than sufficient for what I do.
 
I would like to have more than 4 outputs, though someone said you can run up to 3 cans off 1 output on the behri? Of course, quality is my priority, esp when giving a drummer a mix thats not distorting trying to get a hot level for him/her. What options do you get on the Behri 4700 besides individual EQing and mono capability?
 
I use a Samson Q5. It's good for the money I gave (around $60 somewhere). It has five outputs and is linkable if you need more outs, or you could probably go the "Behringer route" and split the outs. Never needed that though, and it kind of defeats the purpose in my eyes.
Been using it with AKG 240M, Sennheiser HD200, Sony MDR-CD280 and Philips HP890 amongst others with no problem. I'm not sure if it's still around though.
 
Furman, they make quite a few units, and they're great because they daisy chain. And they make add on boxes so you can expand as needed.

Later,
musik
 
I use and like my OzAudio headphone amp. No distortion, even from $10 cans. 6 outs with 4 stage mixers for custom mixes.

Very nice, about $300
 
Phosphene said:
I would like to have more than 4 outputs, though someone said you can run up to 3 cans off 1 output on the behri?

The 4700 has 12 outputs, and 4 channels .
Each channel has 1 output on the front, and 2 on the back.
You can drive 12 headphones without a problem, only thing to keep in mind is that you can "only" have 4 separate volume/eq setups.

That shouldn't be a limitation.

Have one, works great.
/Stefan
 
I always jump in and post this and I am not by any means a fan of behringer gear. I think the behringer headphone amp definantly offers the most usable features for the amount of cash. One thing I have found usefull that no one really mentions is the channel eq. If you are shopping for a headphone amp in this price range more than likely you are using less than stellar headphones. With the eq you can at least make those terrible sounding $10 headphones listenable to get the tracking done.
Also I have had up to 4-5 pairs going at once and never had a problem getting the maximum volume from the amp. Look for the Ha-4600 I believe it has all of the same features as the 4700 but will be cheaper used.
 
I use an Oz Audio HR-4 I got off eBay for about $80

I like it, I also like that it's got the headphone output on the front and the back, so I don't have wires hanging off the front going to other rooms. You can use main mix, or each of the 4 channels can have their own mix (if you have the out support on your soundcard/whatever device) and no, I haven't tested if I can run headphones for the same channel on the front AND back at the same time.

Also, regarding the Behringer comment about running three cans off one output. That's what I used to do with my 1604a mixer when I used it, I ran 3 cans off it fine (no drummer). But you're still all stuck with whatever level that will give you and trying to find a medium between three people on one level just never works.
 
If you are shopping for a headphone amp in this price range more than likely you are using less than stellar headphones. With the eq you can at least make those terrible sounding $10 headphones listenable to get the tracking done.

Well, the AKGs aren't the best, I guess, but they aren't $10 cheapoz either. I scanned that Oz stuff before, but the prices were more than I wanted to pay I think (If i'm thinking of the right brand) Do you think i should save up and get something of that cal. & will I hear a difference? I saw some headphone amps that were REALLY expensive. What do those offer that cheaper ones don't? Longevity? Clarity? More options?

Nah, I prob won't spend more than a$100-$150 on a headphone amp. It's not THAT important to me....or is it. I'm bidding on a Rane 6 channel (RH-6)? now. I'll look at the Berhringer stuff too. Whats the difference between the 4600 and 4700?
Ok enough questions....
 
i've got the Berhi 4700 and i think it does a fine job.

i run all 4 channels just about every time i use it, running separate mixes to each of the 4 via the aux inputs.

my cans are split between some of Harvey's "More Me" $10 cans and a few pairs of Sennheiser HD280s and 580s. i can tell you for sure it puts out plenty of juice for those Senns and the sound is certainly clear enough for tracking. and there's a HUGE difference between the More Mes and the Senns, but then again at 10x the price, there better be! :D

i prolly wouldn't use it for critical listening, mix/panning evaluation, etc., but then again, that's not what i bought it for, either. it's the one piece of behri gear i will ever own and was well worth the $99 or whatever musician's fiend has em at.


cheers,
wade
 
I just won a 4700 and ill pick it up on friday. I figured the 4700 puts out more juice and noone has complained about it...besides I like the controls it has.

PLease tell me about Harvey's MOREME headphones as I think I am the only one in the dark about them.

How exactly do you use the front AUX inputs? Like how do you rout 4 different mixes TO them (from your mixer or whatever)

I want another pair of flat, crystal clear headphones to add. Like I said, I have AKG 240s and 270s. The 270s crap out way before the 240s, but I think it might be my cheap headphone amp. I figure 4 speakers vs 2 would mean less distortion, but there may be some resistance law that I am missing. Ohms....please educate me.

The Sennys are good? How much $$? $100?

What headphone amp would you get for critical listening? I am running an 1880, and using its D/A converter for the headphone OUT, so maybe that's the weakest link. Who knows.
 
Phosphene said:
PLease tell me about Harvey's MOREME headphones as I think I am the only one in the dark about them.
What would you like to know? They're cheap; they're pretty good sounding; they isolate very well for tracking, and they're sturdy. Did I mention they were cheap? Fore more MoreMe info, you can go to:

http://moreme.info

Pretty cute, huh?








Oh yeah, one other thing; they're really cheap (but in a good way).

MoreMe products are also available from Front End Audio at:
http://www.frontendaudio.com


(Okay, so that's two other things.)
 
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