Topic: Laptop > Headphones -- Getting Decent Volume

[mattmiller]

When I'm on the road trying to process a recording in the hotel room after a show, I can't get anywhere near decent volume from my laptop through my HD280 Pro headphones.  Once I increase the volume above about 50% on the laptop's mixer, I get nothing but distortion.  To resolve this, do I need to use a USB soundcard in place of the onboard audio and headphone jack, or do I simply need a headphone amplifier to put in between?

[rastasean]

I think a headphone amp would be sufficient enough. Even the altoids amp and an 1/8" male to male cable will be good enough to give the headphones more power.
If the motherboards internal amp sucks, it would only be magnified--to to speak--with an amp.

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I think a headphone amp would be sufficient enough. Even the altoids amp and an 1/8" male to male cable will be good enough to give the headphones more power.
If the motherboards internal amp sucks, it would only be magnified--to to speak--with an amp.

yeah, some form of a headphone amp is in order, whether its a DAC/amp or just an amp.

[ashevillain]

Another option (if you don't want to carry around an extra box) would be to trade in your current headphones for some lower impedance phones. Those HD280's are 64ohm. I use the ATH-M50's which are 38ohm and I keep the volume around 2/3 to 3/4 of the max. It is plenty loud enough....too loud in some cases.

[mattmiller]

Another option (if you don't want to carry around an extra box) would be to trade in your current headphones for some lower impedance phones. Those HD280's are 64ohm. I use the ATH-M50's which are 38ohm and I keep the volume around 2/3 to 3/4 of the max. It is plenty loud enough....too loud in some cases.

I thought about that, but then I read on the web that some people with headphones in the 300 ohm range were advised to get lower impedance phones (in the 30-40 ohm range) AND an amp.  I figured if going from 300 ohms to 30 ohms isn't enough by itself, will I see much of an improvement going from 64 ohms to 30 ohms without also adding an amp?

And on the subject of amps, anybody know enough about them to be able to recommend a decent one?  I'm not looking for superb quality -- just a healthy volume boost without losing any quality.  For example, the FiiO E5 is only about $20 and has pretty good reviews on Amazon.  Do I need anything more expensive than that?

[ashevillain]

I thought about that, but then I read on the web that some people with headphones in the 300 ohm range were advised to get lower impedance phones (in the 30-40 ohm range) AND an amp.  I figured if going from 300 ohms to 30 ohms isn't enough by itself, will I see much of an improvement going from 64 ohms to 30 ohms without also adding an amp?

I don't know about that....I'd like to see the source of that info. I learned way back when I was doing car stereo stuff that when you cut the impedance in half the output wattage should theoretically be doubled. This doubling doesn't always happen due to power supply issues which I don't quite understand. However, you will most likely get at least a 50% increase in output as going from 64 to 38ohms obviously is not half....but you get the idea.

That said, I guess the headphone amp will be less noisy than the direct output from the laptop but I do have to say that my Macbook's output is quieter than you'd think.

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However, you will most likely get at least a 50% increase in output as going from 64 to 38ohms obviously is not half....but you get the idea.

True, that will affect it, but there is also a sensitivity rating to keep in mind which may or may not correlate to impedance.

That said, I guess the headphone amp will be less noisy than the direct output from the laptop but I do have to say that my Macbook's output is quieter than you'd think.

I agree that the macbook's out isn't bad, but it's far from great in my experience for headphones.

I'm not looking for superb quality -- just a healthy volume boost without losing any quality.  For example, the FiiO E5 is only about $20 and has pretty good reviews on Amazon.  Do I need anything more expensive than that?

Na, that or one of the mint/altoid-style amps should be sufficient.

[notlance]

My inclination is to bypass the laptop’s internal sound completely and get a USB sound interface.  I think the laptop manufacturers spend about $0.50 on audio.  My first laptop’s audio would distort when the level approached 0 dBFS, regardless of the headphone volume.  Getting a USB audio interface cleared up the problem.

You don’t have to spend a ton of money to get decent USB audio.  This is what I bought:

http://www.amazon.com/Cakewalk-UA-1G-USB-Audio-Interface/dp/B0021HUHEO

I use Sennheiser HD280 ‘phones too and the above unit will play plenty loud and clean.  I’m sure there are other USB audio interfaces that would work just as well and perhaps for less money.

Of course, you could always get this:

http://www.sounddevices.com/products/usbpre2.htm

Which I’m sure would give you acceptable headphone sound from your laptop.

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http://www.sounddevices.com/products/usbpre2.htm

Which I’m sure would give you acceptable headphone sound from your laptop.

From personal experience:
The Good: It is loud.
The Bad: Has noticable hiss (most likely due to impedance mismatch).

[jbou]

I have not used this, but when I was researching USB headphone amps recently, this one seemed to get good reviews

http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-uDAC2-HP-Black-Headphone-24bit/dp/B00442KO0Q

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Y5FRNS/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00442KO0Q&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=09B4B3TVE5Y6VNBJGJRB

[mattmiller]

Thanks for all the advice.  I'm intrigued by the better quality that one of the USB sound cards would offer, but I'm going to try the $20 amp first.  If it doesn't satisfy me, then I've only wasted $20.

[bdasilva]

I just bought this.... I run 280s also and this is the best 99 dollars I ever spent for laptop/headphone sound. Don't just make crap sound louder....
http://www.focusrite.com/products/vrm/vrm_box/

I mix on my cans... This makes ALL the difference

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I just bought this.... I run 280s also and this is the best 99 dollars I ever spent for laptop/headphone sound. Don't just make crap sound louder....
http://www.focusrite.com/products/vrm/vrm_box/

I mix on my cans... This makes ALL the difference

I wondered about that. had my eyes on the one from SPL in Germany but at like 15X the price. Anything you regret about it?

[bdasilva]

I regret nothing.... It is the shit.