Gain Staging a headphone amp?

[zerolight]

So I have my FM3 plus an XLR to phono cable into my headphone amp. It'll expect a typical line level in - how do I get that from my FM3? Do I crank it or do I do some gain staging by setting the output at mid way and winding my headphone amp up a bit. Does it matter?

 

[Rex]

It matters, but not as much as you might think. Here's how I'd do it:

With the FM3's output knob all the way down, crack your headphone amp all the way up. Now turn up thes FM3 until it's as loud as you'd ever want. Then use the headphone amp's knob to adjust volume.