Does quality of receiver affect headphone jack? (1 Viewer)

[Hollywoodaholic]

Hey, I know it's a dumb question, but I have a lovely pair of Ultrasone 650 headphones, and an old RX-V793 Yamaha Receiver that's cutting out on me in the static/volume department whether through speakers or headphones. So I either fix for a couple hundred or buy a cheap receiver because all I want to do is listen to my vinyl through the headphones.

So does it matter? Can I get a under $200 receiver and still expect full quality through the headphone jack, or is that in any way differ by quality of the receiver? The Yamaha really sounded great, but I notice when I record CDs through a Sony recorder and listen to the headphones on that jack, it's not as good. Or is that just my perception?

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Headphone output quality seems like an after-thought and mixed bag on most receivers, and there doesn't seem to be much info out there about them... although Yamaha's lower end models might do a better job than many others I guess -- nowadays, I too have relegated my old-ish Yamaha RX-V663 to headphone-only duty driving my Sennheiser HD600s very well (and using an Oppo BDP-95 as primary source via analog connection).

Near as I can tell, one nice thing about the older (lower-end) Yamaha receivers is their optional pure audio mode that cuts out all processing. Not sure if more recent models still offer that ability.

IF I were you, I'd probably try looking into dedicated headphone amps instead of another low-end receiver (although not sure if there would be a good, affordable solution for your vinyl/turntable setup... unless it already outputs fully pre-eq line level signal). I've been considering on-and-off doing that myself... though I'm satisfied so far w/ my old receiver's output. You might try checking head-fi.org for recommendations.

_Man_

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Ditto to what ManW said. Get a headphone amp and connect it to the Yamaha’s L/R output jacks.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Interesting resolution to my issue. I found if I just leave my receiver on and it stays warm, the fluctuation issue goes away and the volume stays stable. So, burn a little electricity, keep the receiver, enjoy the headphones. Thanks again for responses.