Besides the dopamine hit you get from buying a new toy, there are a few situations that may warrant the purchase of an external headphone amp. Whether for your home studio or other applications like podcasts or live performances, we’ll look at some possible uses for headphone amps and provide some product examples to get you better familiarized with the options.
Podcasting
If you’re recording a podcast with multiple subjects, you’re going to need a headphone amp that can send signals to each member of your talent group. (Audio interfaces already have at least one or two headphone outs. So, check your setup before you dive into getting a dedicated headphone amp). Depending on the number of people on your podcast, connecting your audio interface to a headphone amplifier with the appropriate number of headphone outputs is a simple and affordable solution to your group monitoring needs.
Headphone amps can be incredibly wallet friendly too. The Zoom ZHA-4 Handy Headphone Amplifier is a solid budget option for podcasters, especially for those who sometimes record their podcasts on the go. It allows you to connect to 4 headphones, and each headphone channel has its own volume knob and mute button. It accepts power via USB-C cable, as well as 2 x AA batteries for location use, which will provide up to 4.5 hours of battery life.
High Impedance Headphones
Let’s quickly explain impedance in its simplest terms: impedance is the resistance to a current, in this case of an audio signal. A low impedance headphone has little resistance to the signal, so it requires minimal driving power, while a high impedance headphone has a lot of resistance, thus requiring more gain to get the same volume. Most audio interfaces, even the more affordable ones, have solid volume/gain levels on their headphone outputs. However, there are certain headphones with very high impedances that require a little more juice to achieve the headroom you need, or the adequate power required to get the best performance out of the headphones.
While a wallet-friendly interface, such as the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, may be just powerful enough to handle even a 250 Ohm headphone, such as the Beyerdynamic 1770, when it comes to high-end, higher impedance headphones, like the Sennheiser HD 800 S, you might want to consider a powerful headphone amp, like the LAKE PEOPLE G103-P MKII to do justice to the headphone’s sound potential and give you a comfortable amount of headroom.
Monitoring/Tracking for Multiple Artists
If your audio interface only has one headphone output, and there are artists in your studio other than yourself, you’re going to need an external headphone amp to provide multiple headphone outputs. An external headphone amp will accommodate the various impedances/sensitivities of these headphones (if the headphones or earphones are different), as well as your artists’ monitoring preferences with respect to volume. The Presonus HP4 is a solid example of a four-channel headphone distribution amplifier. A handy feature is that it also allows for monitor level control and offers a monitor mute switch on the front panel.
Custom Headphone Mixes for Multiple Artists
This capability isn’t commonly needed by home studio producers, but if you’d like to send separate customized mixes to each of your artists, you could go for something like the Behringer Powerplay HA8000 V2. It has two main inputs to send two individual mixes through the amp, but also eight independent direct inputs which would allow you to send an equal number of different aux outs from your console to the individual direct inputs on the headphone amp.
It’s a useful and affordable piece of technology that allows artists to listen to their own customized mix when recording. Perhaps a drummer wants to record without a vocal, or a vocalist wants a particular track elevated or eliminated to achieve a clearer groove. In short, every one of your artists can have a mix optimized for their performance needs.
Personal Monitoring
If you’re recording or performing with a group and/or you want a headphone amp that’s personally accessible and customizable, there are personal monitoring amps that allow you to adjust the blend of your own microphone and monitor levels. The Polsen PMA1 is an example of a simple personal monitor amplifier that features a mic input and thru via balanced XLR jacks and ¼ inch and 3.5mm headphone outputs.
For more information about the products mentioned above, including additional features, specs, and highlights, be sure to check out our detailed product pages. Or drop us a line below, and we’ll do our best to answer all your comments and questions.
