Headphone connect direct to Amp

As a follow up to my own post, is this the best way to go? What are the relative advantages in sound quality by plugging: 1) directly into the source? my cd player has a headphone jack with volume control 2)Buying a tubed preamp with a headpone jack 3) dedicated headphone amp 4) intgrated amp with headhone jack 4) speaker posts of SET amp?

I believe that the AKG K1000 headphones connect directly to the speaker post of an amp.

ck out headfi.com any headphones can connect to the posts the problem is that the amps are not made to put out .5w of power it usally takes several whatts to get a rich sound which would blow the headphone. You could put in a resester but that changes the sound. You could try comming out of the pre out. But the best bet is get a headphone amp.

Youu may find a off brand set that could handel a couple of whatts but I do not konw of any "good" phones that will.

Antique Sound labs makes a box for that purpose. Check the web site. Has a switch to direct speaker output to headphone or speakers. Sells for about 150. Just picked up a similar type unit from a fellow AGOer's by Russound, which is no longer in production. Far too many pre amps and amps no longer have a headphone output. Some integrated amps have not even a tape output or aux out in which you could employ the use of a headphone amp.

There are adaptors by Russound, Antique Sound Labs and others that will allow you to do this with headphones for about $100. This way, you can use any headphones.
The other option, if your pre-amp has enough output voltage, is to buy coax to 1/4" or 1/8" adaptors at radio shack so you can hook up your headphones directly to the pre-amp outputs and skip the amp altogether. Beware, some headphones are much easier to drive than others.

AKG K1000s hooked up to a Cary 300b or 2A3 integrated is a combo made in heaven. They are designed to run off the speaker posts, but with a custom adapter can run off the 1/4" jack.

Some of the best Headphones out there are STAX. I have an older pair of STAX SR-80 electrostat head ph. and the set up will not work unless pluged into the binding posts of an Amp. Very nice sounding headPhones but as I am moving to an active set up, my amps will no longer be running in full range. So they will find their way to a new owner whenever I get off my ass and list them.

Several models of Stax electret and electrostatic headphones connected to the speaker posts on the amp. I don't know if Stax headphones are still being made, but I have a 20-year old pair of Stax electrostatics that I still use and enjoy very much.

Hello, I have a similar question about the ideal way to connect headphones to my integrated amp - it is the Portal Audio Panache. I bought it second hand, and therefore do not have the manual, and could not find one online. This amp is supposed to be amazing for driving headphones.

My specific question is, should I use the 1/4" headphone jack on the front of the amplifier, or different outputs on the rear of the amp? The only info I could find online was in the stereophile.com review:

" I especially liked the convenience of being able to connect headphones directly. (This mutes the speaker inputs.) Headphones are driven from the power-amp stage, naturally (since there is no active line stage). A simple device takes the signal straight from the speaker output jacks and converts that signal for headphone use. With my Sennheiser HD600 and Grado RS-1 phones, the sound was exceptional. When you think what some people have paid for outboard headphone amps..."

The only other output on the rear of the Panache says "Record Output" and it looks to be an RCA jack.

Do you think this reviewer was using the 1/4" jack on the front of the amp?