# Connect headphones to amp w/o phone jack?



## bcjohnst

OK, this may be a stupid newbie question. Here it goes...

 Is it possible to connect headphones to an amp without a headphone jack? I'd like to try listening to my speaker-based Korneff 45 (2 watt) amps through my headphones. The only problem is the Korneff doesn't have a headphone jack. Is it possible to connect the 1/4" headphone jack to a female 1/4" headphone adapter that terminates in bare speaker wire/spades/bananas? 

 Why or why not? If so, where would I find an adapter?


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## Nick 214

It depends on your headphones.

 If you're using something like the AKG K1000, you could just connect them to the speaker leads.

 If you're using just about anything else, you'll run a very serious and large risk of destroying your cans. Look into autoformers... Do a search for "Speaker amp, with headphones" or the like.

 Yours, (nice amp, btw.... pics???
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





)

 Nick


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## senns&nonsense

Related question.... How bout a preamp? Would that be safer, sound better because better matched to the requirements of cans?


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## Nick 214

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *senns&nonsense* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Related question.... How bout a preamp? Would that be safer, sound better because better matched to the requirements of cans?_

 

I'm sorry, I think I've lost your point....

 If it's a true preamp, it will have no amplification for speakers/headphones.... so....


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## monolith

I believe there are adapters that allow you to do this. I saw one for sale a while back. It was custom made.


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## krmathis

Sure! But it all depends on your headphones...
 I run an AKG K1000 straight from the speaker out bindings on my 30 watt speaker amplifier, and get excellent results. The same for Stax headphones, running through an SRD-7 Pro hooked up to the same speaker out bindings.

 So its certainly doable.


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## senns&nonsense

No, preamps do not have speaker output, but they do have variable output that is fed to a power amp and some even have hp jacks. 

 My question was whether it is possible to use that output (assuming a pre w/out hp jack) to power headphones. Obviously the headphones would have to be cabled so that a connection was possible. And specifically, if one had a preamp with balanced output, could then one use cans that had been recabled with balanced xlr termination.

 I hope that is more clear.


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## bcjohnst

Quote:


 Sure! But it all depends on your headphones... 
 

I want to try using my ATH-W1000s. The specs say 2 watts max, which is the maximum wattage on my Korneff. I read that the AKG K-1000 requires a minimum of 7 watts, which is much more than my Korneff puts out (my speakers produce 98 db/watt). Are there any other factors other than the wattage that would make the headphones incompatible with the speaker amp?

  Quote:


 If it's a true preamp, it will have no amplification for speakers/headphones.. 
 

The Korneff is a SET speaker power amp that runs 45 tubes. 

 Does any one know where I could find a speaker cable that could adapt the 1/4" headphone jack and terminate in spades? Are there any custom cable mfgrs you would recommend?


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## bcjohnst

Quote:


 (nice amp, btw.... pics???) 
 

It's a great sounding amp if you have very efficient speaker (98 db+). It's especially nice with back-loaded horns. I'll post some picts later this week.

 ..haven't added pictures yet, but you can see the exact amp here:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...en-us%26sa%3DN

 It's the one right in the middle.


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## bcjohnst

Update...

 I checked with Larry from Headphile who was pretty knowledgeable about the subject. Here's his response:

 "The ATH cans can't be balanced with their stock cable as they combine the grounds at the "Y".

 Grado can be though, and could be accomplished the easiest in the following way. Cut stock 1/4" plug off 6-12", set aside. Put balanced 4-pin XLR on Grado cable. Make 4-pin XLR to bare wire adapter for amp. Another 4-pin adapter for the stock 1/4" plug. Gets you both worlds without too much hardware.

 But foremost, you need to know if your amp can drive a 32 ohm load safely."

 I think most cable manufacturers would be reluctant to make cables like this because they would only work in certain applications, and they wouldn't want to be liable for busted amps.

 I checked with Jeff Korneff who said that he wouldn't recommend running 32 ohm headphones through the amp, but maybe 8 or 16 ohm headphones would work if they're available (maybe some vintage cans?).

 So, maybe I'll just have to buy a dedicated headphone amp, like the Zana or Yamamoto. But I would really love to find a headphone amp with a similar type 45 tube sound. My RA-1 isn't cutting it for me.


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## Rick T.

I just found this very old thread.. One can definitely do this, especially with a low powered SET 45 amp.. You need some DIY skill or someone who could custom build the cable adapter for you though. Check out these articles:

http://www.dms-audio.com/power-amp-heaadphone-adapter#

http://www.dms-audio.com/f5-headphones

http://sound.whsites.net/project100.htm

You might not need the assosciated filter networks for very low powered (71A, 45, 2A3, etc.) SET tube amps with high quality output transformers.

If anyone knows a cable maker who sells these types of adapters off the shelf, please do chime in..


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