Headphone advice

been using these for 20 years now.

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the absolute business
 
Englishbob said:
So, I just plugged my Senny's into my headphone jack on my NAD for the 1st time in forever and was like wth!, this sounds like shit. Am I right in saying I need a headphone amp now? And this plugs I to the NAD?
Background, I've upgraded various components since last plugging them in for music and the difference between the phones and speakers is hugely noticeable.
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Sennheisers like the HD600 and HD650 (and their Massdrop variant) are rated at 600 ohms. In other words, high resistance. They nearly always benefit from a dedicated headphone amp. I say nearly always, because my PrimaLuna integrated can run them without issue, but that's uncommon.

Something like my B&W P7 (32 ohms) can be driven by nearly anything, no dedicated headphone amp required.
 
So from what I have researched I think I need a headphone amp running from the tape out of the Nad. That doesn’t seem right though...unless I move pho8 to the tape in?...help me before I blow something up 😆
 
Englishbob said:
So from what I have researched I think I need a headphone amp running from the tape out of the Nad. That doesn’t seem right though...unless I move pho8 to the tape in?...help me before I blow something up 😆
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What's your pho8 currently hooked to?

Edit:Based on your NAD manual, I'd say you should use the tape Out. Sorry, not sure what I was thinking saying pre out.
 
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Englishbob said:
So from what I have researched I think I need a headphone amp running from the tape out of the Nad. That doesn’t seem right though...unless I move pho8 to the tape in?...help me before I blow something up 😆
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any tape out outputs a line level output for recording regardless of whether you have anything attached to your tape in. That’s the otput I would use because it’s line level and you can use the volume control on your headphone amp.
 
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Englishbob said:
So from what I have researched I think I need a headphone amp running from the tape out of the Nad. That doesn’t seem right though...unless I move pho8 to the tape in?...help me before I blow something up 😆
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You won't need to move the Pho8, nor will you need to touch the tape buttons on the NAD. This diagram shows how an amp is usually put together. You can see the tape out and preamp out both output whichever input is selected. The difference is the tape out is full volume while the preamp out has its volume controlled by the knob. I suggested tape out because headphone amps have their own volume knob so they don't need the NAD's.
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I left out tape in because there are a couple different ways to do it, and I'm not sure which NAD uses. Either way, they're not important to this discussion.
 
apholden said:
You won't need to move the Pho8, nor will you need to touch the tape buttons on the NAD. This diagram shows how an amp is usually put together. You can see the tape out and preamp out both output whichever input is selected. The difference is the tape out is full volume while the preamp out has its volume controlled by the knob. I suggested tape out because headphone amps have their own volume knob so they don't need the NAD's.
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I left out tape in because there are a couple different ways to do it, and I'm not sure which NAD uses. Either way, they're not important to this discussion.
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Oops, you're right. Stick with tape out assuming your headphone amp will have its own volume control. You don't want two volume controls in the chain.

Is there really nothing in the signal chain between any line level in (I'm assuming this is what the pho8 would be hooked to) and tape out?
 
There might be some kind of minor amp (really just a buffer), but I'm pretty sure that part is just copper.
Obviously, I can't be certain without cracking open a NAD. I suppose every manufacturer has their own way of doing things.
 
Actually, since tape in was mentioned, I should probably show how I've usually seen it done. As you can see, tape in really is an odd duck to be avoided unless you understand what's going on. This also shows why we used to put equalizers in the "tape loop" back in the 80s.
Amp2.png
 
Thank you gentlemen for your input. Now comes the fun part. Any recommendations on a headphone amp? Anybody have a personal favorite or a good match with the HD600's?
 
Englishbob said:
Thank you gentlemen for your input. Now comes the fun part. Any recommendations on a headphone amp? Anybody have a personal favorite or a good match with the HD600's?
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Certainly depends on budget and preference.

I only have experience with my DIY Bottlehead Crack, which I am very happy with (Although I have HD650s). I know most people don't want to deal with DIY though.
 
Joe Mac said:
I think there’s a few people on here with the Schitt one and I’ve not seen any complaints. But yeah like everything it’s budget dependent.
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The Schiit Magni 3 gets a lot of praise, but I wasn't impressed with it. It didn't last long in my system, but then again I did spend more to replace it. It's obviously still a contender in the $100 price point. But now the Cavalli Spark and JDS Labs as options, it's not alone at the top anymore. A few flavors at that price point now.

But budget here is key. The 600 series is said to scale up well, and take well to a tube amp, so the sky is really the limit.
 
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