Headphones out to line out

Benjamin Myklebust · Jul 20, 2005

My mp3 player only has a headphone jack. I suppose that is a current
signal? When I hook it up to the amplifier it sounds fuzzy. I guess it's
because it should be a voltage signal?

Is there a way to transform headphones to line out without turning the
world upsidedown?

Benjamin

martin griffith · Jul 20, 2005

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 23:36:56 +0200, in sci.electronics.design Benjamin
Myklebust <benjaminmyklebust@yahoo.com> wrote:

My mp3 player only has a headphone jack. I suppose that is a current
signal? When I hook it up to the amplifier it sounds fuzzy. I guess it's
because it should be a voltage signal?

Is there a way to transform headphones to line out without turning the
world upsidedown?

Benjamin
MP3== fuzzy audio

martin

Joerg · Jul 20, 2005

Hello Martin,

MP3== fuzzy audio

I don't have an MP3 player but I have heard that before. Why then is MP3
all the rage? Just because of the amount of songs that can be crammed
into a gigabyte?

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Jim Thompson · Jul 20, 2005

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 00:35:27 GMT, Joerg
<notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:

Hello Martin,

MP3== fuzzy audio

I don't have an MP3 player but I have heard that before. Why then is MP3
all the rage? Just because of the amount of songs that can be crammed
into a gigabyte?

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

I have an iPod Mini that I use for "books on tape" so I can "read"
while I fly. Sounds OK to me. But I did copy Rossini's "La Gazza
Ladra" on to it as a first test... sounded great, but what would I
know, I'm gradually losing my hearing ;-)

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice

480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax

Joerg · Jul 21, 2005

Hello Jim,

I have an iPod Mini that I use for "books on tape" so I can "read"
while I fly. Sounds OK to me. But I did copy Rossini's "La Gazza
Ladra" on to it as a first test... sounded great, but what would I
know, I'm gradually losing my hearing ;-)

For speech they must be great. Even with music I am not too critical
since I listen to shortwave and AM a lot. Quality checks I have to do on
one ear since the other got a ding in the army when something went
weeeooouuu-kaboom.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Jim Thompson · Jul 21, 2005

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 01:06:55 GMT, Joerg
<notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:

Hello Jim,

I have an iPod Mini that I use for "books on tape" so I can "read"
while I fly. Sounds OK to me. But I did copy Rossini's "La Gazza
Ladra" on to it as a first test... sounded great, but what would I
know, I'm gradually losing my hearing ;-)

For speech they must be great. Even with music I am not too critical
since I listen to shortwave and AM a lot. Quality checks I have to do on
one ear since the other got a ding in the army when something went
weeeooouuu-kaboom.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

I have the same sort of problem... left ear severely dinged, about 30
years ago, by over-pressure while testing a hearing aid compressor
circuit, by hammering on the bench while the earphone was in my ear...
blew a hole in my eardrum :-(

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice

480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax

Kevin · Jul 21, 2005

Benjamin Myklebust wrote:

My mp3 player only has a headphone jack. I suppose that is a current
signal? When I hook it up to the amplifier it sounds fuzzy. I guess it's
because it should be a voltage signal?

Is there a way to transform headphones to line out without turning the
world upsidedown?

Benjamin

Benjamin,

The most likely reason is that you have the volume of the MP3 player
too high - try setting it lower then putting the volume of the
amplifier up.

Most people find that MP3's encoded at 128Kbits/sec or higher are of
reasonably good quality with rates above 192kbits/s being considered
indistinguishable from CD quality.

I usually use 128K-192K for music and 32K for voice recordings and find
they are perfectly acceptable in the home, in the car and on
headphones.

kevin

Joerg · Jul 21, 2005

Hello Kevin,

I usually use 128K-192K for music and 32K for voice recordings and find
they are perfectly acceptable in the home, in the car and on
headphones.

Cell phone companies seem to think that a fraction of that 32K should be
acceptable :-(

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Jul 21, 2005

Benjamin,

I use the headphone out on my Creative NuVo to drive amplified speakers and
it works pretty good. Remember that the signal out of the MP3 player might
no be large enough to drive speakers directly. Are you running the
headphone out into an amplifier? If so, did you adjust the volume on MP3
player to different levels?

MP3 ain't CD quality, but its as good/or better than most radio to me.

--
machonexyz42@hotmail.com
remove "xyz" to email me directly

"Benjamin Myklebust" <benjaminmyklebust@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:dbmg5q$cp7$1@orkan.itea.ntnu.no...

My mp3 player only has a headphone jack. I suppose that is a current
signal? When I hook it up to the amplifier it sounds fuzzy. I guess it's
because it should be a voltage signal?

Is there a way to transform headphones to line out without turning the
world upsidedown?

Benjamin

Kalman Rubinson · Jul 21, 2005

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 01:47:05 GMT, <machonexyz42@hotmail.com> wrote:

MP3 ain't CD quality, but its as good/or better than most radio to me.

You must have a lousy radio.

Kal

keith · Jul 21, 2005

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 01:42:27 +0000, Joerg wrote:

Hello Kevin,

I usually use 128K-192K for music and 32K for voice recordings and find
they are perfectly acceptable in the home, in the car and on
headphones.

Cell phone companies seem to think that a fraction of that 32K should be
acceptable :-(

Considering that speech is pretty recognizable over POTS at 7-bits by
8KHz (and far less than that usefull for *many* years), 32K should work
with some intelligent compression.

--
Keith

keith · Jul 21, 2005

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 21:50:56 -0400, Kalman Rubinson wrote:

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 01:47:05 GMT, <machonexyz42@hotmail.com> wrote:

MP3 ain't CD quality, but its as good/or better than most radio to me.

You must have a lousy radio.

Just a guess; Are you an Audiophool?

--
Keith

Ben Bradley · Jul 21, 2005

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 00:35:27 GMT, Joerg
<notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:

Hello Martin,

MP3== fuzzy audio

I don't have an MP3 player but I have heard that before. Why then is MP3
all the rage? Just because of the amount of songs that can be crammed
into a gigabyte?

MP3's aren't fuzzy, but I've heard quite a few with a strong
wishy-washy sound (mp3's have many of the same artifacts as FFT-based
noise reduction that audio editor programs use). But yes, mp3's give
'most' of the sound of a CD [it's apparently indistinguishable to many
people] for ten percent of the storage of CD's.

To the original poster, it's not a current vs voltage thing. It's
possible the mp3 player is output too high a voltage for the line
input. Does the fuzziness go down or disappear when you turn down the
volume on the mp3 player? If so, leave it down.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

-----
http://www.mindspring.com/~benbradley

Pooh Bear · Jul 21, 2005

Benjamin Myklebust wrote:

My mp3 player only has a headphone jack. I suppose that is a current
signal? When I hook it up to the amplifier it sounds fuzzy. I guess it's
because it should be a voltage signal?

Is there a way to transform headphones to line out without turning the

There's no such thing as a 'current' signal the way you're thinking it seems
in audio.

In any event all outputs have to have a voltage to make the current flow !

The headphone out *will* be a voltage signal btw. And indeed you can use it
to drive a power amplifier with no modification.

I don't know why you have a problem, other than perhaps the fact that a
decent external amplifier and speaker may accentuate the rather poor quality
of mp3.

Graham

Pooh Bear · Jul 21, 2005

Joerg wrote:

Hello Martin,

MP3== fuzzy audio

I don't have an MP3 player but I have heard that before. Why then is MP3
all the rage? Just because of the amount of songs that can be crammed
into a gigabyte?

More likely because it enabled the download of loads of tracks for free off
the net. And yes, the smaller storage size helped too.

Some ppl also like to be able to fit 50-100 tracks on a CD-ROM.

The detail that mp3 can lose is quite remarkable in some instances.

Graham

Pooh Bear · Jul 21, 2005

Jim Thompson wrote:

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 01:06:55 GMT, Joerg
notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:

Hello Jim,

I have an iPod Mini that I use for "books on tape" so I can "read"
while I fly. Sounds OK to me. But I did copy Rossini's "La Gazza
Ladra" on to it as a first test... sounded great, but what would I
know, I'm gradually losing my hearing ;-)

For speech they must be great. Even with music I am not too critical
since I listen to shortwave and AM a lot. Quality checks I have to do on
one ear since the other got a ding in the army when something went
weeeooouuu-kaboom.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

I have the same sort of problem... left ear severely dinged, about 30
years ago, by over-pressure while testing a hearing aid compressor
circuit, by hammering on the bench while the earphone was in my ear...
blew a hole in my eardrum :-(

...Jim Thompson

Did you get any compensation for that ?

Graham

Meindert Sprang · Jul 21, 2005

"martin griffith" <martingriffith@XXyahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1jktd15psrvuefqgfm21ceqcvtdhhq4ebo@4ax.com...

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 23:36:56 +0200, in sci.electronics.design Benjamin
Myklebust <benjaminmyklebust@yahoo.com> wrote:

My mp3 player only has a headphone jack. I suppose that is a current
signal? When I hook it up to the amplifier it sounds fuzzy. I guess it's
because it should be a voltage signal?

Is there a way to transform headphones to line out without turning the
world upsidedown?

Benjamin
MP3== fuzzy audio

That depeds on the compession of course. I have read about tests where
"audiophiles" got to listen to an top-notch CD player and an MP3 recording.
Many of them couldn't tell the difference and some even chose the MP3
recording to be the best.

Meindert

Meindert Sprang · Jul 21, 2005

"Benjamin Myklebust" <benjaminmyklebust@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:dbmg5q$cp7$1@orkan.itea.ntnu.no...

My mp3 player only has a headphone jack. I suppose that is a current
signal? When I hook it up to the amplifier it sounds fuzzy. I guess it's
because it should be a voltage signal?

Is there a way to transform headphones to line out without turning the
world upsidedown?

Any current source (if it is at all a current source) is transformed into a
voltage source by a simple load resistor. To connect a 33 ohm resistor to
the output as a dummy load and hook up the amp from there.

Meindert

Fred Abse · Jul 21, 2005

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 23:36:56 +0200, Benjamin Myklebust wrote:

My mp3 player only has a headphone jack. I suppose that is a current
signal? When I hook it up to the amplifier it sounds fuzzy. I guess it's
because it should be a voltage signal?

Overdriving the amplifier into clipping because of too much voltage from
the MP3 player, perhaps.

Turn the volume down on the player and see if it sounds any better.

--
"Electricity is of two kinds, positive and negative. The difference
is, I presume, that one comes a little more expensive, but is more
durable; the other is a cheaper thing, but the moths get into it."
(Stephen Leacock)

Fred Abse · Jul 21, 2005

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005 00:35:27 +0000, Joerg wrote:

Hello Martin,

[quoted text muted]

I don't have an MP3 player but I have heard that before. Why then is MP3
all the rage? Just because of the amount of songs that can be crammed
into a gigabyte?

MP1, MP2 and MP3 were originally developed as digital motion picture
soundtrack standards, hence the "MP".

--
"Electricity is of two kinds, positive and negative. The difference
is, I presume, that one comes a little more expensive, but is more
durable; the other is a cheaper thing, but the moths get into it."
(Stephen Leacock)

Headphones out to line out

Benjamin Myklebust

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Joerg

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Jim Thompson

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Ben Bradley

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