Hi
My friend used to link his Sennheiser (don't know which model) headphones directly to the speaker terminals of a Nap 110 via banana plugs.He reckoned the sound quality was excellent and used this arrangement for some considerable time (years) with no problems.

The Nap 110 is faulty and my mate also has 2 X Nap 140's and wondered if anyone has experience of connecting headphones directly to a 140? (he has been advised against this but no explanation given).

If he goes down the Naim headline route I understand a particular cable is required (slic?), does anyone know how much he would expect to pay for one?. Thanks in advance for any advice or sharing your experiences on these matters.
Regards
Jim

I've powered headphones from a Naim pre, but not a power. Surely a recipe for the drivers to be shot into the centre of your head?

Hi
Yes, seemed dodgy to me as well but apparently not as he used this setup exclusively at one time.
Regards
Jim

no dont ! bang - oh too late !

Have you tried asking Naim? Very good customer service from the guys that build the kit.

M

Hi
This post is an update for those interested, as stated before my mate was using headphones direct from a 110 power amp with fine results.
He has now contacted Naim and the reply can be read below.

Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:33:51 +0100

Normally I would expect a connection to the power amplifier for
headphones to include some resistance - to drop the signal levels. If
you have been operating your headphones successfully with the 100 the
140 should work equally well.

If you wish to minimise switch on thump - keeping the preamplifier
permanently powered from the NAPS will help - it might be wise to plug
the headphones in only after the amplification has settled after switch
on - or keep it powered permanently.

Adam Meredith
Customer Services Manager

O ye of little faith
Regards
Jim

This Meredith bloke should do that kind of theing for a living

If you really want to power headphones from a poweramps output, a better way is to build a little 3-resistor circuit like this (one for each channel; fixed-width font reqd):

+ve-100ohm--+--100ohm-o to headphone channel
l
20ohm
.l
0 ----------+---------o gnd

[edit: the 20ohm resistor should appear from the junction of the two 100ohm parts to ground]

This does two things: it attenuates the signal by 80%, which allows better control at the preamp and also protects the headphones. It also sets the 'output impedance' at 120ohms, which is what Sennheisers are designed around (it's an IES headphone standard for source impedance).

It's a very easy little diy project which can be built into a small box with banana plugs one side and a headphone socket on the other. I've used mine to drive sennheisers with a Quad 405/2 for years.

There was a gadget to run headphones off the speaker outputs.
I think it was called a Can Opener?
I guess it was the above circuit in a box.
One went on ebay recently for not too much.

Paul

Does not rhyme OR scan.

If the impedence is high enough then you can run headphones directly from the pre amp output (thats what i do with my HD600's).

In the old days I used to run a pair of Koss Pro4x's from a quantum power amp unattenuated, but a slight accident with the signal (lost ground with big mains buzz) had the headphones in smoke and my ears in recovery mode for a while. Hence not really recommended.

I have an ancient set of Sony ECR500 electret condenser phones -specifically designed t run from the speaker output - currently in use with an Alpha 2 amp to listen to sounds from my pc...they sound ok, but the switch box they use from the speaker outs does degrade the onward sound to the speakers, if you get my drift...

There was a cheap gadget on ebay
A Can Opener thing for the needy
A great scheme of resistors
Made by Taiwanese sisters
Who used to make taps for your bidet

It connected direct to your amp
But would double as a small bedside lamp
It reduced men to tears
When it blew out their ears
For the price of a second class stamp

:D

Hi
My friend used to link his Sennheiser (don't know which model) headphones directly to the speaker terminals of a Nap 110 via banana plugs.He reckoned the sound quality was excellent and used this arrangement for some considerable time (years) with no problems.

The Nap 110 is faulty and my mate also has 2 X Nap 140's and wondered if anyone has experience of connecting headphones directly to a 140? (he has been advised against this but no explanation given).

If he goes down the Naim headline route I understand a particular cable is required (slic?), does anyone know how much he would expect to pay for one?. Thanks in advance for any advice or sharing your experiences on these matters.
Regards
Jim

Hello, my first post here, and it's YOU that i'm helping, lucky you! :p

I own a Headline 2 with I-Supply power supply and Grado RS-1, and i know the little black box well. The Slic cable is used to power up the Headline from any compatible Naim power supply (SNAPS, Flatcap, Hicap... Supercap! in order of goodness) you don't need a Slic if you go with a NAPSC or a I-Supply (H version) to power it up as everything you need is supplied in the box of those 2 power supplies.

Your friend is better to sell his two NAP 140, and get a Headline and the best power supply he could afford (a NAPSC is a very good start) if he's very interested about headphone listening. The main reason for that is because of the special tuning that Naim do with its speaker cable, the electrical properties of the Naca5 are taken in consideration in the tuning of their amps. If you plug something else than a pair of speakers and don't use their Naca5 speaker cable, the amp could start to oscillate, or it will sound... strange.

The Headline 2 will shine with the best source and the best electrodynamic headphones around, and i highly recommend it to your friend. It's available fitted with RCA or DIN connectors, your choice.

Bye.