Recording Sat, November 22, 2008

The REP group of recording forums on ProSoundWeb includes thousands of discussion threads that contain really useful information, great real-life stories about gear and techniques, studio and live recording notes and experiences - not to mention a lot of opinions!

To streamline the process of finding salient info, we’re regularly going to highlight some of the more useful threads. Up first: “Budget Headphone Amps” - a question posted by a REP member in Fletcher’s Forum that prompted several helpful responses and links. Enjoy.

BUDGET HEADPHONE AMPS?

Question posted by JSam (July 25, 2008)
I’m in the process of setting up a listening station for the archives. On the hardware side of things, I’m wondering about headphone amps. I just need something to control the level coming out of the D/A into the headphones--one stereo input, one (or more) outputs.

I’m assuming other people would use a similar setup for two-track editing. With simplicity and cost the key here, does anyone have any suggestions?

From looking at catalogs and websites, I think the Presonus HP4 looks like what I want. Does anyone have experience with this box or a competitor
(< or = ~$100)? I'm most interested in feedback regarding ease of use; one review I've seen online about the hp4 is that the gain increase is not smooth at all.

Regarding this thread, http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/m/28851/16147/?sr ch=headphone+amp, I’m guessing the Samson product would be a bad idea. Any others?

Reply by YZ
Second-hand home hi-fi integrated amplifier from a pawn shop?