Using headphones to compare receivers? (1 Viewer)

[RobCar]

So I was thinking about this this morning. If I have a pair of decent headphones that I'm very familiar with, can I take them to the store and use them to get a good sense of the differences of how recievers sound? In other words, does how a receiver sound though 'phones accurately reflect the way that it will sound through speakers? If so, this could be a great auditioning tool, although I guess just for two-channel music reproduction, since obviously you wouldn't have 5.1 on your ears.

 

[John Garcia]

Sound yes, but that won't tell you anything about the receiver's power capabilities. There is also the issue that different manufacturers may have different voltages for their headphone jacks, so your results may vary. IMO, it's definitely not a good way to audition.

 

[Chu Gai]

Agreed. 'Course there are 5.1 headphones around.

 

[DanaA]

I also feel it's not a great idea. I'm almost thinking that the headphone jacks are almost an afterthought to the manufacturers. I've heard some good things about some Denon jacks and those of older Marantz's, etc. but haven't confirmed them personally. All I can say is that the one on my Integra 9.4 pre/pro can hardly drive my Sennheiser 650's, which admittedly take a lot of oomph to bring out their best. By the way, if anyone cares, my Perreaux headphone amp does wonders for the sound.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

It'll give you a good indication of differences between the headphone amplifier sections, but that's about it.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[BrianWoerndle]

Headphone have a dedicated 'headphone amp'. So you are not going to even use the internal amps of the receiver, which is half the sound.