Is it ok to amplify my headphones through my speakers?

2010-05-12 19:08:35

I hope I'm posting in the correct section this time .

I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 201 that are connected to my onboard headphone jack. And I love them, but I gotta say sometimes on certain movies (and Dark Side of the Moon MFSL edition) the volume is to low, and the only way to bring it to respectable levels is to use pre-amp, but of course that adds some minor distortion and I find it somewhat unpleasant.

My speakers (2.1 crappy genius speakers) have an headphone jack attached to them near the volume control and it seems to amplify the signal greatly, my only fear is that I might damage the headphones, so... is it safe to plug-in my cans there?

Is it ok to amplify my headphones through my speakers?

Reply #1 – 2010-05-12 19:36:24

We might be able to answer that if we knew the power source of the speakers. Are they USB powered, or are they powered by a AC-DC power module with its output voltage listed?

Is it ok to amplify my headphones through my speakers?

Reply #2 – 2010-05-12 19:54:46

The speakers are not USB powered, unfortunately I lost the box ages ago (I think I have them for about 5 years now) and there is nothing written ON them that might give a clue (no, not even a bloody product number), I did found the picture of them however, and I don't think genius made another model that looked like them so it must be it:

Name   Genius SW-F 2.1 500
Description   2x10+25 W Watt, 65 dB, Number of satellites: 2.1, Subwoofer

http://image.compari.ro/full/16592600.geni...w-f-2-1-500.jpg


The subwoofer is the one suplying the power, it's plugged in directly into the wall (european socket if it makes any difference), the only weird part is that the power line between the subwoofer and the "main speaker" (the one with the volume control and the headphone jack) is also the audio line for the bass. So in total there are only 2 wires coming out of the subwoofer: one to bring in power from the wall socket and another one to give power to the right speaker and to recieve audio from it.

Is it ok to amplify my headphones through my speakers?

Reply #3 – 2010-05-12 20:21:58

It should be safe.  After all, it is a "headphone" output.  I'm tempted to say "if you can stand the volume...", but some people might like to listen really loud!

Plus, as you've described the situation you are not using the additional amplification to make the headphones louder.  You are just using the additional gain to make quiet music as loud as your other music.

(The Sennheiser website doesn't seem to specify maximum voltage or power level for the 201s.)

My computer speakers also have a headphone jack, and I use it.

P.S.
I've never heard of anyone burning-out a pair of headphones by listening too loud...  But, it probably has happened.

Is it ok to amplify my headphones through my speakers?

Reply #4 – 2010-05-12 20:24:29

I don't know about your particular speakers, but my 2.1 set (Klipsch promedia) also has a headphone out.  I've used it to power a few different headphones and they have worked without issue.

The only *issue* is that the headphone output boosts the bass (RMAA verified). 

If you have a multimeter you can test the maximum output voltage.  I do suspect though that at at your preferred listening levels there will be no issue and checking the maximum voltage is not needed.  Just don't turn it up to maximum!

Is it ok to amplify my headphones through my speakers?

Reply #5 – 2010-05-12 20:43:35

Ok, what about recordings or movies that are quiet? right now I'm listening to Dark Side, everything in windows and foobar at 0db and the speaker volume at about 65%, and Dark Side is the quietest piece of music I have (VU metter hangs at around -20db or lower and peaks at about -10db just to give you an idea), but what about something like a movie? I just put on the dvd to Pink Floyd - The Wall in and it's mostly quiet (at normal listening levels I can't make out what Pink is muttering to himself near the toilet bowl), should I do what I always do and pre-amp or is it safe to turn up the volume knob in these cases? (also, the bass seems to be about the same, these cans never had a big bass response, don't much care about bass anyway)

In contrast if I put something like Death Magnetic on I have to keep the speaker volume at 45% unless I want my ears to start bleeding.


edit @odigg: so what you are saying is that if I have something REALLY quiet on my hands it's ok to turn it up to maximum? I just want to know what I should do in the future: turn the volume knob up on really quiet stuff or just pre-amp it.

Is it ok to amplify my headphones through my speakers?

Reply #6 – 2010-05-12 20:55:13

I think as long as your ears are alright the headphone will be fine.