Headphone amp advice required please

Clank007 · 07-01-2012, 16:58

Due to ongoing issues with noisy neighbours I have been looking at a headphone solution for my LG Lcd TV.

I'm looking to buy a headphone amp and connect these noise cancelling headphones to them.

This headphone amplifier says to connect it by phono leads to an existing amplifier, but I dont own one.

My question is could I plug this into the optical out audio socket on the back of the TV, and then plug the headphone amp into it, and then the headphones into the headphone amp do you think?

Any advice gratefully recieved.

chrisjr · 07-01-2012, 17:19

That adapter is useless for what you require. It just converts between two different forms of optical connector. It does not do any digital to analogue conversion which would be needed to connect your headphones.

I am assuming that you have confirmed that the TV does not have either a headphone socket or analogue audio outputs of it's own? If it's anything like my LG telly then it probably doesn't. However at least SCART 1 is wired for output as well.

So you could use a SCART to phono socket adapter that is wired for output and use that to connect the headphone amp to.

I'm also wondering if you really need noise cancelling headphones. A good fully enclosed set of headphones should block out a lot of background noise anyway. And if the neighbours are that noisy then I'd be onto the Eviroment dept. of the council making a complaint!

Clank007 · 13-01-2012, 10:32

Hi,
Yes the LG TV I own does not have a headphone socket of it's own - just an optical audio out socket.
Last night I tried a SCART to phono socket adapter that is wired for output as you suggested, but got no sound at all when plugging this in to my neighbour's headphone amp.

What would advise the best soloution to be please - connecting the optical socket to a standard amp and then plugging a standard headphone connection into the amp itself?

Dan's Dad · 13-01-2012, 11:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clank007

Any advice gratefully received.

Maplin offer this Digital-to-Analogue Audio Convertor which has a headphone output -
but
its currently out of stock on line.

beware : "Connect most audio devices with a digital output (only 2-channel digital audio is supported)"
and it requires power via USB.

The customer reviews mention LG LCDs!

Clank007 · 25-01-2012, 20:34

Hi,
After discussing my headphone requirements with a colleague from work, he recommended me to buy this.

One of the reviews says:
Just plug in you optical or coax cable in the input end, select the input feed using the switch on the side of the unit and connect your left and right i.e. red and white RCA connector to the output end and the unit will do the conversion for you. If you want to plug in 3.5mm headphones you will need a cable which has the two red and white RCA connectors at one end and the 3.5mm headphone socket at the other end

Is this the perfect solution do you think?
ie to buy this little gizmo, a headphone amp and the cable which has the two red and white RCA connectors at one end and the 3.5mm headphone socket at the other end? (this one)

grahamlthompson · 25-01-2012, 20:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clank007

Hi,
After discussing my headphone requirements with a colleague from work, he recommended me to buy this.

One of the reviews says:
Just plug in you optical or coax cable in the input end, select the input feed using the switch on the side of the unit and connect your left and right i.e. red and white RCA connector to the output end and the unit will do the conversion for you. If you want to plug in 3.5mm headphones you will need a cable which has the two red and white RCA connectors at one end and the 3.5mm headphone socket at the other end

Is this the perfect solution do you think?
ie to buy this little gizmo, a headphone amp and the cable which has the two red and white RCA connectors at one end and the 3.5mm headphone socket at the other end?

Sounds like your colleague knows what he/she is talking about.

Clank007 · 25-01-2012, 21:01

Hi,
I hope he does yes!
I've been searching for ages for a relatively cheap way of connecting good quality headphones to my optical audio out only setup on my LG LCD TV so am hoping I might have at last found it

grahamlthompson · 25-01-2012, 21:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clank007

Hi,
I hope he does yes!
I've been searching for ages for a relatively cheap way of connecting good quality headphones to my optical audio out only setup on my LG LCD TV so am hoping I might have at last found it

It converts digital stereo to analogue stereo (the same as you will get from a pair of RCA phono outputs). There is one possible snag, if your TV has a Freesat-HD or Freeview-HD tuner and no way of selecting downmixing ac3 or DD audio to lpcm stereo then the amp won't work. Is there not a scart socket on the TV that outputs the audio for what you see ?

gomezz · 25-01-2012, 21:37

Or tell us the make and model of TV?

chrisjr · 25-01-2012, 21:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clank007

Hi,
After discussing my headphone requirements with a colleague from work, he recommended me to buy this.

One of the reviews says:
Just plug in you optical or coax cable in the input end, select the input feed using the switch on the side of the unit and connect your left and right i.e. red and white RCA connector to the output end and the unit will do the conversion for you. If you want to plug in 3.5mm headphones you will need a cable which has the two red and white RCA connectors at one end and the 3.5mm headphone socket at the other end

Is this the perfect solution do you think?
ie to buy this little gizmo, a headphone amp and the cable which has the two red and white RCA connectors at one end and the 3.5mm headphone socket at the other end? (this one)

The bit you have put in bold is not correct advice though. The converter box is not designed to drive headphones. The line level outputs are intended to be connected to a high impedance amplifier input not low impedance headphones.

This may compromise the sound you get out of it. Plus there is no volume control. The optical out of the TV will almost certainly be fixed level, unaffected by the TV volume control. There is no control on the box for level.

So you will need a separate headphone amp connected to this unit. Or alternatively the base station of a pair of wireless headphones.

gomezz · 25-01-2012, 21:51

Or any old sterero or radio with an AUX IN and headphone OUT.

Clank007 · 25-01-2012, 21:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

The bit you have put in bold is not correct advice though. The converter box is not designed to drive headphones. The line level outputs are intended to be connected to a high impedance amplifier input not low impedance headphones.

This may compromise the sound you get out of it. Plus there is no volume control. The optical out of the TV will almost certainly be fixed level, unaffected by the TV volume control. There is no control on the box for level.

So you will need a separate headphone amp connected to this unit. Or alternatively the base station of a pair of wireless headphones.

Hi, thanks for replying.
I have to admit though that I am now quite confused.
Where you mention connecting the base station of a pair of wireless headphones - again i'm not sure quite what you mean there, sorry

gomezz · 25-01-2012, 22:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by gomezz

Or tell us the make and model of TV?

It really would help people help you if you told us this.

Clank007 · 25-01-2012, 22:02

Sorry, Its a 32 Inch LG LCD TV. I'm not sure of the model number though

Edit: Just checked - its an LG 32LB76

chrisjr · 25-01-2012, 22:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clank007

Hi, thanks for replying.
I have to admit though that I am now quite confused.
Where you mention connecting the base station of a pair of wireless headphones - again i'm not sure quite what you mean there, sorry

The digital to analogue converter linked to in your post is not designed to be used with headphones of the type you linked to in the first post. ie those types with a bit of wire coming out of the ear pieces to a jack plug.

Wireless headphones as the name suggests dispense with the bit of wire from the earpieces and instead use radio signals. The base station is the bit that plugs into the source of the audio and transmits that audio to the headphones.

It can be plugged into either a headphone socket or a line level output like that on the converter box. Without the problems that plugging a wired pair of headphones in involve.

Clank007 · 25-01-2012, 22:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

The digital to analogue converter linked to in your post is not designed to be used with headphones of the type you linked to in the first post. ie those types with a bit of wire coming out of the ear pieces to a jack plug.

Wireless headphones as the name suggests dispense with the bit of wire from the earpieces and instead use radio signals. The base station is the bit that plugs into the source of the audio and transmits that audio to the headphones.

It can be plugged into either a headphone socket or a line level output like that on the converter box. Without the problems that plugging a wired pair of headphones in involve.

Ah, thanks Chris I think I now understand.

So basically the solution would be to buy the Digital to analogue convertor and connect that to the optical audio out socket on the back of the TV with an optical cable. Then buy a set of wireless headphones.and plug those into the line level output of the convertor. Is that the jist?

gomezz · 25-01-2012, 22:40

You would do better to connect the wireless headphone base station to the second SCART socket (marked AV2) using a suitable SCART converter lead.

chrisjr · 25-01-2012, 22:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clank007

Ah, thanks Chris I think I now understand.

So basically the solution would be to buy the Digital to analogue convertor and connect that to the optical audio out socket on the back of the TV with an optical cable. Then buy a set of wireless headphones.and plug those into the line level output of the convertor. Is that the jist?

That would be one solution certainly. Or if you want to use wired headphones then plug the converter into a headphone amplifier.

Though one advantage of wireless headphones is the possibility to buy additional pairs of headphones so you can run as many pairs off the one base station as you like. Handy if there is more than one of you in the house. And no wires lurking to trip you up when you get up to make a cuppa! In fact you could probably wear the headphones all the way to the kitchen or the loo if you wanted.

For example
http://cpc.farnell.com/sennheiser/rs...110/dp/AV10375

http://cpc.farnell.com/sennheiser/hd...are/dp/AV13126

OK not the cheapest around but I have a lot of time for Sennheiser and haven't yet found a bad set of headphones from them.

Clank007 · 25-01-2012, 22:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

That would be one solution certainly. Or if you want to use wired headphones then plug the converter into a headphone amplifier.

Though one advantage of wireless headphones is the possibility to buy additional pairs of headphones so you can run as many pairs off the one base station as you like. Handy if there is more than one of you in the house. And no wires lurking to trip you up when you get up to make a cuppa! In fact you could probably wear the headphones all the way to the kitchen or the loo if you wanted.

For example
http://cpc.farnell.com/sennheiser/rs...110/dp/AV10375

http://cpc.farnell.com/sennheiser/hd...are/dp/AV13126

OK not the cheapest around but I have a lot of time for Sennheiser and haven't yet found a bad set of headphones from them.

Thats awesome - many thanks Chris for taking the time to help me it is much apprceciated

Now all I have to do is find a way to con the missus into letting me spend some money

chrisjr · 25-01-2012, 22:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by gomezz

You would do better to connect the wireless headphone base station to the second SCART socket (marked AV2) using an suitable SCART converter lead.

That is certainly an option. Provided the SCART out is able to feed audio from whatever source is being used. Not all can. Sometimes you only get the tuner output, not so good if you are watching a DVD or a Sky box.

The manual available online doesn't seem to mention what is output over SCART as far as I can see.

grahamlthompson · 26-01-2012, 10:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

The bit you have put in bold is not correct advice though. The converter box is not designed to drive headphones. The line level outputs are intended to be connected to a high impedance amplifier input not low impedance headphones.

This may compromise the sound you get out of it. Plus there is no volume control. The optical out of the TV will almost certainly be fixed level, unaffected by the TV volume control. There is no control on the box for level.

So you will need a separate headphone amp connected to this unit. Or alternatively the base station of a pair of wireless headphones.

Clank007's last statement is substantiallly correct he acknowledges he needs
The DAC and a headphone amplifier. If he uses Wireless Phones he can dispense with the amplifier.

pocatello · 27-01-2012, 04:19

Head over to headfi site, they have more info.

Closed headphones work better than supposed noise canceling for noisy neighbors.

07-01-2012, 16:58	#1
Clank007 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2,680	Headphone amp advice required please Due to ongoing issues with noisy neighbours I have been looking at a headphone solution for my LG Lcd TV. I'm looking to buy a headphone amp and connect these noise cancelling headphones to them. This headphone amplifier says to connect it by phono leads to an existing amplifier, but I dont own one. My question is could I plug this into the optical out audio socket on the back of the TV, and then plug the headphone amp into it, and then the headphones into the headphone amp do you think? Any advice gratefully recieved.

07-01-2012, 17:19	#2
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	That adapter is useless for what you require. It just converts between two different forms of optical connector. It does not do any digital to analogue conversion which would be needed to connect your headphones. I am assuming that you have confirmed that the TV does not have either a headphone socket or analogue audio outputs of it's own? If it's anything like my LG telly then it probably doesn't. However at least SCART 1 is wired for output as well. So you could use a SCART to phono socket adapter that is wired for output and use that to connect the headphone amp to. I'm also wondering if you really need noise cancelling headphones. A good fully enclosed set of headphones should block out a lot of background noise anyway. And if the neighbours are that noisy then I'd be onto the Eviroment dept. of the council making a complaint!

13-01-2012, 10:32	#3
Clank007 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2,680	Hi, Yes the LG TV I own does not have a headphone socket of it's own - just an optical audio out socket. Last night I tried a SCART to phono socket adapter that is wired for output as you suggested, but got no sound at all when plugging this in to my neighbour's headphone amp. What would advise the best soloution to be please - connecting the optical socket to a standard amp and then plugging a standard headphone connection into the amp itself?

13-01-2012, 11:26	#4
Dan's Dad Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 6,485	Quote: Originally Posted by Clank007 Any advice gratefully received. Maplin offer this Digital-to-Analogue Audio Convertor which has a headphone output - but its currently out of stock on line. beware : "Connect most audio devices with a digital output (only 2-channel digital audio is supported)" and it requires power via USB. The customer reviews mention LG LCDs!

25-01-2012, 20:34	#5
Clank007 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2,680	Hi, After discussing my headphone requirements with a colleague from work, he recommended me to buy this. One of the reviews says: Just plug in you optical or coax cable in the input end, select the input feed using the switch on the side of the unit and connect your left and right i.e. red and white RCA connector to the output end and the unit will do the conversion for you. If you want to plug in 3.5mm headphones you will need a cable which has the two red and white RCA connectors at one end and the 3.5mm headphone socket at the other end Is this the perfect solution do you think? ie to buy this little gizmo, a headphone amp and the cable which has the two red and white RCA connectors at one end and the 3.5mm headphone socket at the other end? (this one)

25-01-2012, 20:48	#6
grahamlthompson Forum Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Redditch Worcs Posts: 17,293	Quote: Originally Posted by Clank007 Hi, After discussing my headphone requirements with a colleague from work, he recommended me to buy this. One of the reviews says: Just plug in you optical or coax cable in the input end, select the input feed using the switch on the side of the unit and connect your left and right i.e. red and white RCA connector to the output end and the unit will do the conversion for you. If you want to plug in 3.5mm headphones you will need a cable which has the two red and white RCA connectors at one end and the 3.5mm headphone socket at the other end Is this the perfect solution do you think? ie to buy this little gizmo, a headphone amp and the cable which has the two red and white RCA connectors at one end and the 3.5mm headphone socket at the other end? Sounds like your colleague knows what he/she is talking about.

25-01-2012, 21:01	#7
Clank007 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2,680	Hi, I hope he does yes! I've been searching for ages for a relatively cheap way of connecting good quality headphones to my optical audio out only setup on my LG LCD TV so am hoping I might have at last found it

25-01-2012, 21:11	#8
grahamlthompson Forum Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Redditch Worcs Posts: 17,293	Quote: Originally Posted by Clank007 Hi, I hope he does yes! I've been searching for ages for a relatively cheap way of connecting good quality headphones to my optical audio out only setup on my LG LCD TV so am hoping I might have at last found it It converts digital stereo to analogue stereo (the same as you will get from a pair of RCA phono outputs). There is one possible snag, if your TV has a Freesat-HD or Freeview-HD tuner and no way of selecting downmixing ac3 or DD audio to lpcm stereo then the amp won't work. Is there not a scart socket on the TV that outputs the audio for what you see ?

25-01-2012, 21:37	#9
gomezz Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Buckingham Posts: 28,590	Or tell us the make and model of TV?

25-01-2012, 21:45	#10
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	Quote: Originally Posted by Clank007 Hi, After discussing my headphone requirements with a colleague from work, he recommended me to buy this. One of the reviews says: Just plug in you optical or coax cable in the input end, select the input feed using the switch on the side of the unit and connect your left and right i.e. red and white RCA connector to the output end and the unit will do the conversion for you. If you want to plug in 3.5mm headphones you will need a cable which has the two red and white RCA connectors at one end and the 3.5mm headphone socket at the other end Is this the perfect solution do you think? ie to buy this little gizmo, a headphone amp and the cable which has the two red and white RCA connectors at one end and the 3.5mm headphone socket at the other end? (this one) The bit you have put in bold is not correct advice though. The converter box is not designed to drive headphones. The line level outputs are intended to be connected to a high impedance amplifier input not low impedance headphones. This may compromise the sound you get out of it. Plus there is no volume control. The optical out of the TV will almost certainly be fixed level, unaffected by the TV volume control. There is no control on the box for level. So you will need a separate headphone amp connected to this unit. Or alternatively the base station of a pair of wireless headphones.

25-01-2012, 21:51	#11
gomezz Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Buckingham Posts: 28,590	Or any old sterero or radio with an AUX IN and headphone OUT.

25-01-2012, 21:57	#12
Clank007 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2,680	Quote: Originally Posted by chrisjr The bit you have put in bold is not correct advice though. The converter box is not designed to drive headphones. The line level outputs are intended to be connected to a high impedance amplifier input not low impedance headphones. This may compromise the sound you get out of it. Plus there is no volume control. The optical out of the TV will almost certainly be fixed level, unaffected by the TV volume control. There is no control on the box for level. So you will need a separate headphone amp connected to this unit. Or alternatively the base station of a pair of wireless headphones. Hi, thanks for replying. I have to admit though that I am now quite confused. Where you mention connecting the base station of a pair of wireless headphones - again i'm not sure quite what you mean there, sorry

25-01-2012, 22:00	#13
gomezz Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Buckingham Posts: 28,590	Quote: Originally Posted by gomezz Or tell us the make and model of TV? It really would help people help you if you told us this.

25-01-2012, 22:02	#14
Clank007 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2,680	Sorry, Its a 32 Inch LG LCD TV. I'm not sure of the model number though Edit: Just checked - its an LG 32LB76

25-01-2012, 22:13	#15
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	Quote: Originally Posted by Clank007 Hi, thanks for replying. I have to admit though that I am now quite confused. Where you mention connecting the base station of a pair of wireless headphones - again i'm not sure quite what you mean there, sorry The digital to analogue converter linked to in your post is not designed to be used with headphones of the type you linked to in the first post. ie those types with a bit of wire coming out of the ear pieces to a jack plug. Wireless headphones as the name suggests dispense with the bit of wire from the earpieces and instead use radio signals. The base station is the bit that plugs into the source of the audio and transmits that audio to the headphones. It can be plugged into either a headphone socket or a line level output like that on the converter box. Without the problems that plugging a wired pair of headphones in involve.

25-01-2012, 22:30	#16
Clank007 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2,680	Quote: Originally Posted by chrisjr The digital to analogue converter linked to in your post is not designed to be used with headphones of the type you linked to in the first post. ie those types with a bit of wire coming out of the ear pieces to a jack plug. Wireless headphones as the name suggests dispense with the bit of wire from the earpieces and instead use radio signals. The base station is the bit that plugs into the source of the audio and transmits that audio to the headphones. It can be plugged into either a headphone socket or a line level output like that on the converter box. Without the problems that plugging a wired pair of headphones in involve. Ah, thanks Chris I think I now understand. So basically the solution would be to buy the Digital to analogue convertor and connect that to the optical audio out socket on the back of the TV with an optical cable. Then buy a set of wireless headphones.and plug those into the line level output of the convertor. Is that the jist?

25-01-2012, 22:40	#17
gomezz Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Buckingham Posts: 28,590	You would do better to connect the wireless headphone base station to the second SCART socket (marked AV2) using a suitable SCART converter lead.

25-01-2012, 22:41	#18
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	Quote: Originally Posted by Clank007 Ah, thanks Chris I think I now understand. So basically the solution would be to buy the Digital to analogue convertor and connect that to the optical audio out socket on the back of the TV with an optical cable. Then buy a set of wireless headphones.and plug those into the line level output of the convertor. Is that the jist? That would be one solution certainly. Or if you want to use wired headphones then plug the converter into a headphone amplifier. Though one advantage of wireless headphones is the possibility to buy additional pairs of headphones so you can run as many pairs off the one base station as you like. Handy if there is more than one of you in the house. And no wires lurking to trip you up when you get up to make a cuppa! In fact you could probably wear the headphones all the way to the kitchen or the loo if you wanted. For example http://cpc.farnell.com/sennheiser/rs...110/dp/AV10375 http://cpc.farnell.com/sennheiser/hd...are/dp/AV13126 OK not the cheapest around but I have a lot of time for Sennheiser and haven't yet found a bad set of headphones from them.

25-01-2012, 22:48	#19
Clank007 Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2,680	Quote: Originally Posted by chrisjr That would be one solution certainly. Or if you want to use wired headphones then plug the converter into a headphone amplifier. Though one advantage of wireless headphones is the possibility to buy additional pairs of headphones so you can run as many pairs off the one base station as you like. Handy if there is more than one of you in the house. And no wires lurking to trip you up when you get up to make a cuppa! In fact you could probably wear the headphones all the way to the kitchen or the loo if you wanted. For example http://cpc.farnell.com/sennheiser/rs...110/dp/AV10375 http://cpc.farnell.com/sennheiser/hd...are/dp/AV13126 OK not the cheapest around but I have a lot of time for Sennheiser and haven't yet found a bad set of headphones from them. Thats awesome - many thanks Chris for taking the time to help me it is much apprceciated Now all I have to do is find a way to con the missus into letting me spend some money

25-01-2012, 22:55	#20
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	Quote: Originally Posted by gomezz You would do better to connect the wireless headphone base station to the second SCART socket (marked AV2) using an suitable SCART converter lead. That is certainly an option. Provided the SCART out is able to feed audio from whatever source is being used. Not all can. Sometimes you only get the tuner output, not so good if you are watching a DVD or a Sky box. The manual available online doesn't seem to mention what is output over SCART as far as I can see.

26-01-2012, 10:14	#21
grahamlthompson Forum Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Redditch Worcs Posts: 17,293	Quote: Originally Posted by chrisjr The bit you have put in bold is not correct advice though. The converter box is not designed to drive headphones. The line level outputs are intended to be connected to a high impedance amplifier input not low impedance headphones. This may compromise the sound you get out of it. Plus there is no volume control. The optical out of the TV will almost certainly be fixed level, unaffected by the TV volume control. There is no control on the box for level. So you will need a separate headphone amp connected to this unit. Or alternatively the base station of a pair of wireless headphones. Clank007's last statement is substantiallly correct he acknowledges he needs The DAC and a headphone amplifier. If he uses Wireless Phones he can dispense with the amplifier.

DS Forums

Headphone amp advice required please

27-01-2012, 04:19	#22
pocatello Inactive Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 8,622	Head over to headfi site, they have more info. Closed headphones work better than supposed noise canceling for noisy neighbors.