Talk:Headphone amplifier

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www.headwize.com is NOT a commercial site.

Removed extra linking and re-worded the caution notice. -- Rohitbd

[edit] Headwize link

Apparently someone anonymous feels strongly about Headwize. However, it doesn't seem to be a very informative link. What was the purpose of adding it? The forums? If so, I would suggest replacing the link with a direct link to the Headwize forums. The link to Headwize seems to endorse them as a source of the best deals, which is beyond the scope of Wikipedia. --LostLeviathan 02:43, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

Headwize is the forum where the online headphone community started. It's since declined in popularity with the advent of Head-Fi, but the HeadWize Library as well as the DIY forum remain an important resource. --Anon

[edit] Head-Fi Link

I feel that the Head-Fi forums are very informative about this subject, it is one of the most comprehensive resources for headphone amp reviews on the net and the links should stay in the article. =) Dept of Alchemy 05:24, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rewrite?

(Putting in Talk for people to scrutinise. Feel free to improve, correct technical errors and/or merge with main article.)

A headphone amplifier is an audio component that drives headphones. It typically takes a line level signal, and amplifies the voltage and current to levels high enough to power headphones. All devices that have a headphone output, such as CD players or digital audio players, have a built-in headphone amplifier. Standalone headphone amplifiers are also available to augment or bypass these, giving a better-sounding (and often louder) signal.

A headphone amplifier typically consists of two amplification stages: a voltage gain stage, and a current gain (or output) stage. The voltage gain stage boosts the voltage of the input signal from a nominal 0.3162 volts RMS (line level) to a higher voltage, suitable for the headphones being driven. (A higher voltage leads to a "louder" signal.) This stage may use an op-amp or a vacuum tube, either of which lends a slightly different sound "colouring" to the output. The "gain" rating of headphone amplifiers refers to its voltage gain.

The current gain stage boosts the amount of current available to the headphones. This stage usually uses a buffer, sometimes as an IC and other times as a discrete circuit. The amount of current that a headphone draws is related to its impedance; given a typical operating voltage and impedance for a headphone, its current draw is derived from Ohm's law.

In some headphone amplifier designs, one of these stages may be omitted, or they may be combined.

A standalone headphone amplifier is designed to improve the sound from standard audio sources. The built-in headphone amplifiers on many of these are built from cheap parts, introducing distortion and noise to the signal. In addition, many portable devices emphasise battery life over sound quality; as a result, their underpowered headphone outputs can not drive high-end headphones to their full potential. Standalone headphone amplifiers connect to the line-out or headphone-out ports of audio sources, to provide a superior output signal.