Headphones and amp for vinyl

[AncientDragon]

I've started doing some research and on my budget I think I'm going to buy a iFi Zen Air Can amp and DT 770 Pro headphones although happy to hear about alternatives.

This will be for listening to vinyl and I have the Ifi Zen Air Phono so will be connecting the Air Can to that. Will this work ok? On If's site it does not mention a turntable as an input although it has RCA connections so presumably it's ok?

I know the that DT 770s come in different Ohm versions. I'm not really sure why. Presumably the higher the ohms the better? If so can the Air Can amp drive the 250 ohm versions. If so is this the best one to go for?
It looks like the Air Can only has inputs (apart from the headphone jack).

So I assume I can't wire it between my phono and my speakers. I'll have to swap the Air Can out with my speakers when I want to use headphones. Is that correct?

 

[staticV3]

Hi @AncientDragon! Welcome to ASR.

I have the Ifi Zen Air Phono so will be connecting the Air Can to that. Will this work ok?

Yes.

It looks like the Air Can only has inputs (apart from the headphone jack). So I assume I can't wire it between my phono and my speakers.
I'll have to swap the Air Can out with my speakers when I want to use headphones. Is that correct?

Kind of.
You could swap them around, or you could use RCA splitters to plug both your speakers and the headphone Amp into the Zen Air Phono's RCA Line out, but you'd have to use some other means of controlling volume. Do your speakers have a volume knob?

If not, then I'd consider buying another headphone Amp that has preamp outputs. Something like the Schiit Magni+/Magni Heretic/Magni Unity, the JDS Atom Amp 2, or the Topping L30II.

That way, you can connect the headphone Amp between the Zen Air Phono and your speakers and use the headphone Amp's volume knob to control your speakers.

I think I'm going to buy DT 770 Pro headphones although happy to hear about alternatives.

I'd buy the Sennheiser HD560S instead.
It's open-backed, so will be less sweaty to wear, will sound more spacious, and pad wear doesn't seem to affect the frequency response nearly as much as with the DT 770 Pro.

 

[AncientDragon]

Thanks for this.

I should have mentioned I need closed back headphones because I’ll be using them when others are watching TV in the same room.