Can Levinson 512 be directly connected to a headphone ?

Assuming the headphones have a standard 1/4 inch plug the adapter shown at the following link would be suitable, as it is designed for two-channel applications:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/222622-REG/Hosa_Technology_YPR_257_Stereo_1_4_Female_to.html

Good luck.  Regards,
-- Al
 

I can’t say at this point what the problem may be, of course. But here are some thoughts:

1)First, are you sure that the adapter is intended for two-channel applications, and therefore keeps the two channels separate from each other and from the ground connection? For example, an adapter such as this one would result in a short circuit between the two channels, and should not be used.

2)If the headphones have particularly low impedance, in the area of say 8 to 24 ohms, it would be more likely that they are responsible for the problem than if they have considerably higher impedance.

3)Assuming you have confidence in the suitability of the adapter, the way to tell whether the use of the headphones is responsible for the problem would of course be to use the player a few times with and without the headphones connected.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

The 512’s specified output impedance of 10 ohms seems low enough to provide results with most headphones that are at least fairly reasonable. You would have to use its variable output capability, of course, to control the volume, and to keep the volume within reasonable limits. You would also have to provide a means of adapting the headphone’s plug to the player’s two RCA outputs, of course.

The issue you are likely to run into, though, is that with most headphones you’ll probably have to set the volume control very low within its range, where depending on how the player’s volume control mechanism is implemented the resulting sonic quality stands a good chance of being compromised to some degree. That issue can probably be minimized if the headphones have relatively high impedance (e.g., hundreds of ohms rather than tens of ohms), and relatively low sensitivity (e.g., 95 db/mW or less rather than 100 db/mW or more).

Regards,
-- Al