L5730
Addicted to Fun and Learning
As the title, is this even possible?
Take any consumer CD Player or DAC with unbalanced outputs.
We'll assume 2 Volt RMS output @ 0 dBFS and an output impedance of 100 ohm (Khadas ToneBoard / Topping D10).
If we took some cheapish headphones which "don't require a dedicated headphone amp", say something like 32 ohm with sensitivity of 96 dB SPL/mW, I gather that even a really low output current from such a DAC might be enough to drive such headphones to an acceptable loudness level?
I get the point that line output is meant to send voltage and the current is just negligible. Headphones typically require an amount of current to drive them, just like loudspeakers, and there we see the reasoning for an amplifier.
So I guess, things like laptop line/headphone outputs have enough current to drive easy-to-drive (is "sensitive" the right term?) headphones, whilst also putting out enough voltage to feed other line-level gear down the chain, if required. In my limited experience, the line output voltage from laptops is well under 2 volts and is rather quiet going into a regular integrated amplifier, compared to say, a CD player.
Output impedance seems to be something too. The lower the better? Maybe I should find the material and read, Amir's comparison chart certainly plots/ranks different headphone amps based on output impedance. 100 ohm might be a bit much for less sensitive headphone,s but some easy to drive IEMs or over-ears would be fine, no? Even if the tonal characteristic changes a bit?
I am not being cheap here, I have plans to get a headphone amp as soon as, or even before I settle on what headphones I want. That's me, but I am just interested in this idea, and it might help out someone else on a very tight budget.
So, yeah, is it possible? Would it sound OK?
As always, thanks for your input and discussion.
Take any consumer CD Player or DAC with unbalanced outputs.
We'll assume 2 Volt RMS output @ 0 dBFS and an output impedance of 100 ohm (Khadas ToneBoard / Topping D10).
If we took some cheapish headphones which "don't require a dedicated headphone amp", say something like 32 ohm with sensitivity of 96 dB SPL/mW, I gather that even a really low output current from such a DAC might be enough to drive such headphones to an acceptable loudness level?
I get the point that line output is meant to send voltage and the current is just negligible. Headphones typically require an amount of current to drive them, just like loudspeakers, and there we see the reasoning for an amplifier.
So I guess, things like laptop line/headphone outputs have enough current to drive easy-to-drive (is "sensitive" the right term?) headphones, whilst also putting out enough voltage to feed other line-level gear down the chain, if required. In my limited experience, the line output voltage from laptops is well under 2 volts and is rather quiet going into a regular integrated amplifier, compared to say, a CD player.
Output impedance seems to be something too. The lower the better? Maybe I should find the material and read, Amir's comparison chart certainly plots/ranks different headphone amps based on output impedance. 100 ohm might be a bit much for less sensitive headphone,s but some easy to drive IEMs or over-ears would be fine, no? Even if the tonal characteristic changes a bit?
I am not being cheap here, I have plans to get a headphone amp as soon as, or even before I settle on what headphones I want. That's me, but I am just interested in this idea, and it might help out someone else on a very tight budget.
So, yeah, is it possible? Would it sound OK?
As always, thanks for your input and discussion.