Members the_tonto Posted August 31, 2005 Members Share Posted August 31, 2005 Anybody have thoughts on a cheap headphone amp? I was thinking of just picking up one of the $50 Rolls or A.R.T. ones because I really just need the functionality of one not top quality. However, I would like one with a good amount of gain to use in conjunction with my HD-280's for placing mics on loud sources. Also, I'm considering spending some more so I have more channels (and better quality) because i know somewhere down the road I'm going to want more than 4 channels but i don't need that now. Whats up with the specs on the behringer ones where it says 3 headphone outputs per channel or something? That didn't make sense to me. Anyway I was thinking: Rolls, or A.R.T. for the cheap route, or maybe either the 4 or 6 channel behringer (yes i know, but i've heard that these units actually aren't that bad), and there's also presonus and nady ones for about $100 but they are only 4 channel. So any reccomendations, or warnings? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members where02190 Posted August 31, 2005 Members Share Posted August 31, 2005 Samsom makes a 4 channel unit that's I think about $100 that's pretty decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted August 31, 2005 Members Share Posted August 31, 2005 I have the Rolls and am actually very happy with it... it has quite a lot of gain and I've never really needed anything fancier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sweet Posted August 31, 2005 Members Share Posted August 31, 2005 Like many others, I'm sure, I got the Presonus HP4 free with the Firepod. I like it, although I don't have enough experience to know any better:D IOW, it might be a POS, but I don't know it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C JoGo Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 Califone 1214AVBL Jack Box cheapest 4 channel on the market $16.00 New the 10 channel version -- $20 We use the Behringer and have seperate "satellites" with the Califone on each stand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Watershed Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 The Behringers work extremely well for the price you pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted September 1, 2005 Moderators Share Posted September 1, 2005 Originally posted by Watershed The Behringers work extremely well for the price you pay. Yes it does. If there was ever a spot for a Behringer product, this is it. Plenty of gain, individual eq and aux inputs per channel. I got mine for $90. I remember the clerk shaking his head in dibelief at the low price on this thing when he sold it to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted September 1, 2005 Moderators Share Posted September 1, 2005 I don't think I've ever seen anyone do a... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted September 1, 2005 Moderators Share Posted September 1, 2005 ...TRIPLE POST BEFORE. Sheesh, sorry about that. Where's that coffee? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members where02190 Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 The Califone 1214AVBL Jack Box is a passive splitter box with volumen controls, no power. It uses the existing hp buss power to run all the hp's plugged into it. Not a very good device if you need gain. Yea a Berhinger unit would suffice, but for about the same money ($99) you can get the Samson unit, which is at least as good if not better. I've used it and it sounded great and seemed to be built very well, unlike the Behringer stuff. http://about.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=9851992 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Eric Dahlberg Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 Samson & Behringer are both made in China, perhaps in the same factories using the exact same designs. Neither one is up to the level of a Rane but they both sound decent & are built surprisingly well. I've only ever seen one HA4700 come back defective. the_tonto, Behringer's 8-Channel HA8000 may work out for you given the number of channels you're looking for. It has less circuitry to muck up the sound quality, too (although I haven't A/B'd to see if it actually does sound better than the HA4700). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkwave Posted September 1, 2005 Members Share Posted September 1, 2005 I use the Sampson. Sounds fine for tracking and does the job. Lot's of inputs too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted September 2, 2005 Members Share Posted September 2, 2005 I have the Rolls, which I purchased for US$45. It has a lot of gain and works great!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted September 2, 2005 Moderators Share Posted September 2, 2005 Someone mentioned the Rane... now that's a nice headphone amp. When I needed an amp, I went looking on ebay for a used Rane but couldn't find it and got the Behringer. If you're in the market, at least look for a used Rane. 6 phones and very clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members where02190 Posted September 2, 2005 Members Share Posted September 2, 2005 We have a Rane HC-6, and indeed it is a great ph amp, 6 channels of some serious, clean and quiet power that will drive ANY phones to death levels. However they are NOT cheap, about $300 new, usually at least $150 used. However IMHO they are a top choice for headphone amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Windreaper Posted September 2, 2005 Members Share Posted September 2, 2005 Originally posted by Eric Dahlberg the_tonto, Behringer's 8-Channel HA8000 may work out for you given the number of channels you're looking for. It has less circuitry to muck up the sound quality, too (although I haven't A/B'd to see if it actually does sound better than the HA4700). HA8000 can only (safely) handle impedances of 100ohm and up. That kind of sucks if you intend to use it in a studio environment. HA4700, otoh, is a very good box for the money and suffers from no such limitations (8ohm and up). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WKG Posted September 3, 2005 Members Share Posted September 3, 2005 Originally posted by Eric Dahlberg Samson & Behringer are both made in China, perhaps in the same factories using the exact same designs. Neither one is up to the level of a Rane but they both sound decent & are built surprisingly well. I've only ever seen one HA4700 come back defective.the_tonto, Behringer's 8-Channel HA8000 may work out for you given the number of channels you're looking for. It has less circuitry to muck up the sound quality, too (although I haven't A/B'd to see if it actually does sound better than the HA4700). I have the Sampson S-Phone. It is nearly identical to the Behringer HA4700 with the exception of having the front input jacks fastened with nuts as opposed to simply soldered to the board. Seems overall more solid. Works great for my needs and can run up to 12 pairs of headphones on 4 separate channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members where02190 Posted September 3, 2005 Members Share Posted September 3, 2005 the construction quality of the Samson is much better than the Behringer. I bet I could stand on the samson, while the Behringer...well its typical super this aluminim that I bet I could break with my bare hands, and I'm far from Mr Universe. Not that you'd be doing this in the studio, but for me, I like the feeling of a well contructed box, it assures me the PC board inside are not getting tweaked, potentially breaking solder joints from connectors that are attached to the housing as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cosmac Posted November 19, 2005 Members Share Posted November 19, 2005 I purchased the Behringer Powerplay Pro XL headphone amp and exactly one month after the warranty expired so did the unit! It simply refuses to power on anymore. I changed the fuse, I changed the switch...still nothing. Their tech support was useless as well.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chris carter Posted November 19, 2005 Members Share Posted November 19, 2005 I have the Rolls and it's performed much better than I ever expected so I'm very happy with it. It's also nice that it's incredibly small and solid (have dropped it many times). As well, it uses little mini-faders instead of knobs to set the levels which is nice because it's easier for a singer to understand and they can quickly adjust their own level if they want without screwing anything up and without having to think. And yes, as has been mentioned before, it has a crapload of gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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