Headphone jack vs. Speaker jack...differences?

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Thread: Headphone jack vs. Speaker jack...differences?

  1. 10-31-2002, 07:04 PM #1
    Candyman
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    Headphone jack vs. Speaker jack...differences?

    Hello all. I was thinking about getting a nice pair of headphones (either Sennheiser 212s or 497s) and was wondering: is there any significant difference between plugging them into the headphone jack on my sound card (soon to be an Audigy 2, right now just onboard) and plugging them into the headphone jack on my speaker (Logitech Z340s)? Since I don't exactly have a sound card right now to test with, could any of you provide some advice on the matter?
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  2. 11-01-2002, 02:45 AM #2
    Mrfreddio55
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    hmm no there really shouldnt be too much difference, but if i were you id just plug the headphones into the headphone jack on the back of the card (even onboard)


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  3. 11-01-2002, 03:49 AM #3
    KommisMar
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    Electrically speaking, there would be less degradation of signal plugging straight into the speaker jack, but that may require a proper headphone amplifier for maximum effect.

    Also, generally, headphone connections are cheaper than speaker connections. But there's an exception for every rule.

    Of course, you'd only hear the difference with good headphones. Sennheiser puts out a nice product, from what I've heard.
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  4. 11-01-2002, 01:18 PM #4
    Isezumi
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    Pretty much without fail I would say that you should go straight from the SC. Mainly because of the nature of headphone listening is very very detail oriented and you want to minimize any coloring that might be created by your speakers amp.
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  6. 11-01-2002, 03:37 PM #5
    Candyman
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    Thanks for the advice, folks. Just one more question: I've heard that the headphone jack on a sound card actually uses a different controller than the speaker jack. What would be the main difference between the two? Is the speaker jack unamplified, whereas the headphone is amped? Is the headphone controller just cheaper because they think they can get away with it? Or is it the converse of that...the headphone jack has higher quality output due to the fact that headphones allow for a more detailed listening of the music? Any further help would be greatly appreciated.
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  7. 11-01-2002, 03:43 PM #6
    Isezumi
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    For the most part yes, the Speaker is straight line level, while headphones are usually amped slightly, usually a quarter watt or so.
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  8. 11-01-2002, 04:39 PM #7
    m0rbid
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    what colour is the headphone jack on sb live! value?
    the green is speaker jack i believe
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  9. 11-01-2002, 05:13 PM #8
    LTech221
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    I believe it uses the line/front out same as the speakers.
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