Headphone Amp

rtcook

rtcook

Experienced
I just wanted to share my results with an experiment I recently tried to improve the sound of the Axe through headphones. I have a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 32 ohm headphones. By my standards a pretty good pair of headphones. But, plugged into the Axe's front Phones jack I never thought what I was hearing was the same as what was coming out of my FRFR setup. And, it could not get it loud enough for my taste. So, I deciced to purchase a FiiO E12 Mont Blanc headphone amp after much research on these portable amps. The FiiO is a very flat and clean amp. I connected the output of the Phones on the Axe to the input of the FiiO and the plugged my headphones into the FiiO's output. Fired it up and was amazed at the difference! What I was hearing now was much more like what I hear from my FRFR setup. Plus, I had more volume than I needed. This worked out just great for me and I wanted to share in case anyone else having issues with headphone sound wanted to try it. It also works excellent with my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 phone.

Roger
 
Just making sure I got this right. You ran the axefx headphone jack out into your headphone amp? If so you're coloring the tone twice. Once by the preamp of the axefx headphone amp and once by your new headphone amp. If you want to eliminate the lack luster flavor of the axefx headphone amp you need to bypass it from the chain. Maybe there's a way to use the outs on the back of the axefx which are exactly what your signal is when you're playing frfr live. Just trying to help you improve the results. Good luck, cheers!
 
I respectfully disagree. It's a clean, flat amp. All its doing is boosting the Axe Phones jack output. No color. I can listen to my headphones now and they sound like my FRFR PA speakers. You'd have to try it to know. Not everyone was dissatisfied with the headphone sound from the Axe. I don't know why there is a difference. I just know I found my solution.
 
Fair enough, i don't have any issues with axefx headphone amp. I just thought you were having issues with it. Sorry for the assumption. I never use it so i can't comment too much other than it sounds very different from my metric halo interface headphone amp. If you're happy, keep doing what you're doing, no worries. I was just offering food for thought. :)
 
I don't feel it's colored. It just sounds better now.

plyall said:
One way to get around the 'dual coloration' scenario would be to use a SPDIF -> Headphone amp (or converter). I have seen a few with a Google search, albeit the first one I came across was in the $200+ range.

Amazon.com: Audiophile Products Fubar IV Special Edition Headphone Amp w/ USB and S/PDIF inputs: Musical Instruments



There are also some converters on Amazon and elsewhere.

Lindy SPDIF DAC Pro with Headphone Amp: Amazon.co.uk: TV
Click to expand...
 
Not saying you did. but simply offering an alternative that gets around the AFX phones amp.

Ultimately what sounds good to you is good. I understand that they also use some sort of 'sound field' (IR?) that gets rid of the in-your-head feeling, which could be a good thing unless you are looking for zero tolerance accuracy.
 
plyall said:
Not saying you did. but simply offering an alternative that gets around the AFX phones amp.

Ultimately what sounds good to you is good. I understand that they also use some sort of 'sound field' (IR?) that gets rid of the in-your-head feeling, which could be a good thing unless you are looking for zero tolerance accuracy.
Click to expand...

Say what? Sound field IR? Lucy... splain. Lol
 
Yes - the literature that I read on the unit after seeing the post says:

"Speaker sound field simulation to lessen the "in-head" sound of headphones"

See the product write-up on Amazon.com:

Amazon.com: FiiO E12 Mont Blanc Portable Headphone Amplifier: Electronics

I would imagine that they are doing this 'speaker sound field simulation' using what else? Probably an IR.

Also - there are a few very detailed reviews below the main ad that give it a real good work out. Seems like a pretty slick unit. Too bad it doesn't support digital (SPDIF) in as well.
 
plyall said:
Yes - the literature that I read on the unit after seeing the post says:

"Speaker sound field simulation to lessen the "in-head" sound of headphones"

See the product write-up on Amazon.com:

Amazon.com: FiiO E12 Mont Blanc Portable Headphone Amplifier: Electronics

I would imagine that they are doing this 'speaker sound field simulation' using what else? Probably an IR.

Also - there are a few very detailed reviews below the main ad that give it a real good work out. Seems like a pretty slick unit. Too bad it doesn't support digital (SPDIF) in as well.
Click to expand...

Oh my bad, I read your post too quickly I thought you meant the AxeFx had the IR thing. Sorry about that

I also found the Aphex Headpod 4. The reviews seem to say they are really good. And they aren't expensive at all. I just ordered one to see if it makes a difference compared to my metric halo headphone out. Man... I spend 5 minutes on here and my credit card just seems to pops out lol.

APX-HEADPOD-4.jpg
 
That's actually a very good price for an amp with crossover correction. This should correct the audio to sound more like a binaural recording, and less "in your head". I bought one too. Not for the Axe, just for listening.
 
t0aj15 said:
I've been using a simple straight forward headphone amp for years with my ultra. No need to spend $250 for a simple headphone amp. If your headphones are any good they shouldn't need any "correction". This one cost me well under $50 and sounds great.

Rolls Corporation - Real Sound - Products HA43 Pro Headphone Amp
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Headphones do need correction. Most records are recorded for speakers. With speakers you hear both channels with both ears, each with a slightly different frequency response because your head gets in the way of the sound wave. To properly record for headphones you need a special set up that mimics the human head. That's called binaural recording.
 
plexi59 said:
Headphones do need correction. Most records are recorded for speakers. With speakers you hear both channels with both ears, each with a slightly different frequency response because your head gets in the way of the sound wave. To properly record for headphones you need a special set up that mimics the human head. That's called binaural recording.
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I think you are mixing up spatial cues with basic listening.

Good records sound good on headphones and speakers.

But, to get authentic spatial cues, I.e. to put the listener into a "real" space, binaural recording techniques are used.

There is more use of the binaural "head" type microphones in commercial records than you might think.

I heard of the them used as room mics (Michael Wagner) and for drum overheads! (Tchad Blake)
 
yek said:
Yes, I'm curious as well.

I find it a steep price for just a headphone amp (Aphex).
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I haven't done a complete test I still want to try some direct from the Axefx testing but here's what I've done so far.

Axefx II --> AES out --> Metric Halo ULN-2 Interface --> balanced stereo analogue outs --> Aphex Headpod 4

So I did compare the Headpod 4 to the metric halo headphone amp and the metric halo sounds smoother and more detailed, but has no where close to the amount of power that the Headpod has. The headpod puts out serious juice. Don't get me wrong the Headpod sounded good, just not as good. But I need to test the Headpod getting signal directly from the AxeFx before I can say how it compares to the Fractal headphone amp.

Since the AES signal went to the ULN-2 first, the digital/analogue conversion was done in the ULN-2. So, I also cant say how good the headpod's converters are. I want to run the AxeFx directly into the Headpod via spdif and see how it compares directly to the AxeFx headphone out.

I'll do a thorough test of everything this weekend hopefully and report my findings. Cheers!
 
Sorry to go slightly OT here, but am I right in saying that I recall that the Axe headphone out is not the best way to monitor the Axe, and that the main Output into a mixer is the more accurate signal?

Meaning going from Axe main out-> mixer-> headphones will sound better than Axe headphone out -> headphones?
 
NY Guitarist said:
Sorry to go slightly OT here, but am I right in saying that I recall that the Axe headphone out is not the best way to monitor the Axe, and that the main Output into a mixer is the more accurate signal?

Meaning going from Axe main out-> mixer-> headphones will sound better than Axe headphone out -> headphones?
Click to expand...

I actually have never heard either way from fractal on that.
 
plexi59 said:
Headphones do need correction. Most records are recorded for speakers. With speakers you hear both channels with both ears, each with a slightly different frequency response because your head gets in the way of the sound wave. To properly record for headphones you need a special set up that mimics the human head. That's called binaural recording.
Click to expand...
The OP is NOT asking about listening to records through speakers, he's asking about using headphones with the Axe-Efx. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other. Recordings introduce all kinds of post recording processing that just isn't there when you listen to an Axe-Fx through headphones. IMO your argument simply holds no water.
 
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