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Recommend me a good headphone amp to use with my RME audio interface


Christian Jones

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I use Beyerdynamic DT 770 and DT 880 both 250 ohm. I'm getting an RME UCX interface as soon as I can find a good deal on one, but it's only got one headphone input and I'm thinking a proper headphone amp may have a better and cleaner sound for true headphone monitoring and mixing anyway. Anyone recommend a good headphone amp for this? 

Edited by Christian Jones
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Do you need two headphone outs?

I have the ufx II. Assuming the headphone amp is the same, I've found nothing to dislike about those amps, if you like just clean, which for monitoring I think is what you want.

 Prolly the headphones themselves have more impact on your listening experience than any advantage to a separate headphone amp?

Enjoy, they are pretty darn good interfaces.

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26 minutes ago, emeraldsoul said:

Do you need two headphone outs?

I have the ufx II. Assuming the headphone amp is the same, I've found nothing to dislike about those amps, if you like just clean, which for monitoring I think is what you want.

 Prolly the headphones themselves have more impact on your listening experience than any advantage to a separate headphone amp?

Enjoy, they are pretty darn good interfaces.

Eventually I will need more than one headphone output but for now just one will do. I just remember someone someplace saying that the headphone amp in the UCX wasn't that great and so I was just looking to maybe shop for a headphone amp while I shop for a UCX. I suppose I can just test the UCX amp first. Right now I'm monitoring off a Mackie 1402vlz3 headphone output but I'll be shedding that Mackie once I get the ucx and arc usb. I don't have much to compare to quality-wise re headphone amp sound quality for mixing and recording. 

Edited by Christian Jones
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I have the UCX and I just split the output.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000068O56

My RME also has SPIDF, so I sometimes zip a feed across the room and split from my slave device there as well. That give ms 4.

The RME Mic Pre is top rate. You don't want to use anything less unless necessary.

Now, if you're running a studio and everyone has to mix their own headphones, the do make something for that, but that's out of my league. No one who visits me would ever figure out how to use it.

Now, it is important that the headphones reach the couch. 🙂

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HD9HP4--presonus-hd9-hp4-pack-headphone-amplifier-with-headphones

My friends in groups mostly can't be persuaded to don headphones. 🙂 They just play live and you get what you get. :) 

if I ever add a headphone amp, I won't rack it so I can throw it across the room.

If you're close enough to the rack, I'll just split the RME headphone jack and use that. Don't forget you can run a feed from the UCX to your home stereo and use the headphone out on the home stereo too. Just a thought.

You get 6 mono outs in addition to the 2 used for the headphones. I don't usually use all 6. Sometimes.

The only people I could imagine complaining about the headphone amp on the RME UCX would be drummers with hearing damage trying to crank it beyond control, duck taping the cans to their heads to squeeze out more volume.

Any regular human will be all set.

Edited by Gswitz
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I have some Rolls Battery powered jobs that are very useful.  They have a wall wart as well, but by going battery powered they do not introduce any appreciable noise when used in line with a mic or instrument. Two outs each with individual volume knobs. . Before I brought on the  VS-700 they were the shiznit for zero latency monitoring.   

 

Small enough to easily be thrown across the room without damaging the room, too. 

Edited by StudioNSFW
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Presonus HP-60 here. Actually one at the console and another in the booth; everyone always wants more me.
("go ahead, turn you up as load as you can stand it!"). (Tried a Mackie in the booth, way tooooo noisy.)
That coupled with TotalMix; lots of versatility. Mix A and Mix B plus a stereo input on each of 6 outs.

works for me....

t

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