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Headphone amp needed or not....

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seduct10n
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Hi,

 I have a Cambridge 640 V2 amp and have just bought some grado sr60 headphones.  I know the amp has a phones output, but is it worth getting a headphone amp for better sound, or will the amp output be good enough?

 Also, if I do get an headphone amp, what one (less than £100) and what interconnect would I use....

 

Cheers.

mahler1
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Re: Headphone amp needed or not....

Hello.

I have a pair of GradoSR60's and a pair of Alessandro MS1. The headphone amp I use is a QED MB 45, which I bought on ebay for £45, it is an excellent amp which is connected to the back of my Cambridge dab tuner.  I would assume you connect the leads from the headphone amp into the back of any output of your amp that you are not using, I might be wrong but I am sure that another member would advise you on which output you would use as there are so many well informed people using this site.  As I said the proformance of the QED is excellent and should fit your budget.

John Duncan
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Re: Headphone amp needed or not....

They go in the tape loop generally.......

But as for whether you need one or not, I can't say - do you have a dealer who can lend you one to try out? New, the Pro-Ject Head Box is a good place to start - s/h, I'd be looking for Creek or a Musical Fidelity X-Can (v2 is probably your limit, budget-wise).

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seduct10n
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Re: Headphone amp needed or not....

I don't know of a dealer to try one, so might just take the plunge and go for it.  I would prefer to have the best sound possible from the headphones, as the neighbours complain about me turning my stereo up (can't think why!).

 

Cheers,

Phil

tractorboy
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Re: Headphone amp needed or not....

I have an amp in a similar bracket to yours, namely the Marantz PM6002, and I'm running a pair of SR60s through a Pro-ject Headbox, as Mr Duncan mentions. To my ear, I get a modest improvement in sound over the headphone out on the amp, certainly not a dramatic one though. Whether or not you think that's worth an additional £70 or so is something only you can answer... let us know how you get on.

mahler1
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Re: Headphone amp needed or not....

H Phil. I have just had a look on ebay for you and someone is offering the QED amp for auction here is the item number good luck

320219561980

Ed