Cambridge CXA81 as a headphone DAC/AMP vs headphone specific Topping.

[RigidRoamer]

Greetings! I've been a happy owner of CXA81 for some time while used it as intended - with a pair of decent speakers. But recently I used its headphone out with my Focal Celestee and was quite dissatisfied with the results. The sound is quite harsh, waaay too bright with noticeable hissing. So my question is - is it a common thing that speaker amplifiers can be subpar choice for headphones compared to DAC/Amps designed specifically for headphones (like DX5Lite for instance). Has anyone have a similar experience and, if yes, how you solved the problem? Thank you!

 

[staticV3]

So my question is - is it a common thing that speaker amplifiers can be subpar choice for headphones compared to DAC/Amps designed specifically for headphones (like DX5Lite for instance).

Yes. Their headphone outputs are often an afterthought with various shortcomings.

Has anyone have a similar experience and, if yes, how you solved the problem? Thank you!

You can buy an external headphone amplifier and plug it into your CXA81's Pre-out.
Something like the $70 Sabaj A10h, the $100 JDS Atom Amp+, the $110 Schiit Magni+/Heretic, or the $130 Topping L30 II would be perfectly adequate.

 

[RigidRoamer]

Thank you, staticV3. I have Cambridge CXN as a primary DAC/streamer. Was thinking to add A90D to the setup and be done with it.

 

[ClosDeLaRoche]

I have a CXA61 and use its headphone out with my sennheiser HD6XX with no trouble. The problem with the headphone out on the cambridge 61 and 81 is an output impedance of 30 ohms. This is fine with 300 ohm sennheisers but that's about it. For all other headphones, the suggestion of connecting a dedicated headphone out to the amps pre-outs is solid advice.

 

[wunderkind]

I would imagine the CA manual would provide an ohm range for the headphone out.
With a low impedance 35 Ohms Sensitivity 105dB SPL / 1 mW @ 1 kHz, your Celeste is quite a sensitive headphone to the point hiss is emanating from your integrated amp.
Suggest:
- Try other headphones to it to see if you have the same hiss problem. If it is prevalent with other headphones/earphones then your CXA81 circuit "leak".
- Plugging your Celeste to another device if possible. Phone, borrow friend's headphone amp etc.