Speaker/Headphone Amp Combo

[Slickrr13]

Hello LTT,

 

It has been some time since I have been on here!

 

I currently have a Topping PA3 Amp for Micca RB42 speakers, a Topping D10s DAC and a Schiit Modi 3 Headphone Amp. I also have several headphones, HD 6XX. HD 660s, DT 770s, Fostex, and a few more.

 

I am looking to consolidate my Amp solution.

 

I know nothing of the receiver world and I have not looked into audio products in general in several years.

 

Looking for recommendations on an Amp (or recevier) that works for both speakers and headphones, size is not my biggest concern but the smaller the better. I would also like to keep it under 750$. 

 

Wondering if this exists and if so any guidance would be great! 

 

Thanks

[OfficialTechSpace]

Impedance and power is much different between headphone and speaker amps. Speaker amps have to drive very low impedance values relative to headphone amplifiers. You can use a power amplifier (meant for speakers) with headphones, but that's operating outside of the amplifiers comfort zone. They're also not designed to protect headphones, and have no systems in place to do such, unlike a headphone amplifier.

 

As for a receiver or integrated amplifier solution, you can get them with headphone outputs but they're not recommended for use. They're typically not nearly as clean as a dedicated solution, and they're more of a superfluous add-on. The headphone outputs are taken from the speaker outputs and passed through a series of resistors, giving it a very high output impedance. The result of which will vary drastically. 

 

It's best to stick with dedicated solutions, they remain that way for a reason.

[pas008]

i use x7