DAC RCA output connect to high impedance Headphones.

[varun88]

Hi all,

I have a noob question, Can I connect an high impedance headphones (300ohm) to RCA output of a desktop DAC and still expect to drive them the same way as a headphone DAC ?

How should one connect such headphones to DAC whene there is no headphones out present on the dac.

I guess the answer is probably no, but wanted to understand more on this topic, on when its possible and when its not. I couldn't find much info on the internet.

Why don't DAC manufacturers add headphones out port on all the desktop DACs ? Is this technically complex to achieve ?

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Hi all,

I have a noob question, Can I connect an high impedance headphones (300ohm) to RCA output of a desktop DAC and still expect to drive them the same way as a headphone DAC ?

How should one connect such headphones to DAC whene there is no headphones out present on the dac.

I guess the answer is probably no, but wanted to understand more on this topic, on when its possible and when its not. I couldn't find much info on the internet.

Why don't DAC manufacturers add headphones out port on all the desktop DACs ? Is this technically complex to achieve ?

Since none answered this yet, let me make my usual dumb attempt at answering things

Voltage = current x resistance

2V = I x 300 ( Most dac or preamps typically output 2V, though there are some that can go to 6V )

I = 2/300 = Sorry the amperage is so small that I need a calculator that i dont have right now

So as we can see we need something that will amplify this tiny bit of amperage to sufficient levels to run your headphones. Thus, you will need a dedicated headphone amp, either inbuilt inside the dac or an external one.

The issue with headphone amps is that, since we are talking about minute signals, the quality of the first few watts is of the most importance. Hence, the complexity of the design and implementation, which prevents manufacturers from including them at times.

 

[varun88]

Hi Manohar,

Thanks for answering, now it makes more sense.

So it is possible for Dacs to drive high impedance headphones via special circuitry because current ratios are small, however the same is not true for Bookshelf speakers and hence we need a another device 'amplifier' to drive those high currents. (Is my understanding correct ? I guess thats why dac have headphones outs, but amplifiers are solely for big speakers, in general)