2. amps-preamps
  3. 1185200873

Headphone outlet on SET amplifier

Hi,

I have an A.E.S.(Cary) 300B SET amplifier which has a headphone outlet. This is a secondary amp & hence is not connected to a pair of speakers.

I would like to to listen to my headphones through this amplifier using the second pre-out of my main preamp to run this amp. I don't want to remove & reconnect my speaker cables every time I want to listen to headphones.

My question, since the amp sees no load, will it be harmful to the amp in anyway, listning WITHOUT any speakers connected?

Thanks in advance,
dilly

Showing 2 responses by loonytunz

loonytunz's avatar
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loonytunz
164 posts
 
It very well could be harmful. Most tube amps will object strongly to being fed an input signal without being connected to a load.

I would definitely contact Cary about it before taking a chance. Maybe connecting your outputs to a dummy load would suffice?
loonytunz's avatar
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loonytunz
164 posts
 
For the sake of expedience, try this.

A headphone jack is usually an afterthought and will often have its own separate amplifier. In looking at the owner's manual of a Cary 300 SEI, I see that unit has a switch used to connect the main amplifier to the headphone jack. How that relates to your unit, I don't know. Just be sure that the main amplifier outputs are indeed connected to the headphone jack, or a load of some kind, before using it.
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