Output quality difference between headphone and amp

e-Van · Post by **e-Van** » Mon Aug 05, 2013 9:00 pm

Hi All,

I'm a kinda newbie in the workstation land, so please excuse me if I ask very basic questions.
I recently bought a Krome-61 and I'm quite happy with what it provides to me (even if I did not learned yet how to use the editing features, oh poor me).
For the moment my main concern is about the output quality difference between what I've got in the headphone and what comes from my amp.
In the headphone, the sounds are warm, harmonic and the release setting is exactly what you set.
From the amp, it's APITA to define the correct settings.
Is it due to my amp or is it by design ?
I know that Krome is a WS and this is why I bought it but Korg describes it as a machine usable in live session.
Your feedback is welcome.

e-Van

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Mon Aug 05, 2013 9:51 pm

Sounds like your headphones are a lot better than your amp.

KromeCity · Post by **KromeCity** » Mon Aug 05, 2013 10:27 pm

In my experience, there is a discernible difference between headphone quality and main out quality. I have top of the line Adam monitors in a treated studio and high end headphones and to my ears, the Krome sounds much better in headphones than through monitors. To be clear, by "better" I mean there is content in the headphones that is not present in the monitors. I don't have any scientific evidence to back this theory up (yet), but to my ears there is definitely a discernible difference. Several people have emailed me to say they agree.

Best,

Mark

www.kromecity.com
<a href="http://www.kromecity.com/order-book-now/">Commanding the Korg Krome book just released! ONLY $19.99 and includes 60 days of support!</a>

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Mon Aug 05, 2013 10:47 pm

Several people have emailed me to say this is nonsense.

The first part of your claim was instantly refuted when you said it sounds better through headphones than it does through speakers.

Quite obviously, headphones are more direct. But to test the actual output quality you would have to hook both outputs up to a mixing desk, compensate for gain difference, and listen to them through the same speakers or headphones. If anything, you might find slightly more harmonic distortion on the headphones. But practically speaking, you won't be able to tell the difference.

Anything else you're comparing just means that your speakers are inferior to your headphones (at least for your purposes). Which really isn't all that strange, considering high end headphones are only a fraction of the cost of high end monitors and an appropriately treated room.

michobo · Post by **michobo** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 4:40 am

I agree

This is not possible. Krome uses only one D/A converter. Both outputs -HP and Line-Out uses only simple buffer circuts with VOLUME level setting

summers2 · Post by **summers2** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 2:04 pm

I have pretty good amps and a pretty good set of headphones, and I always hear more and more clearly with my headphones. They are right directly to my ears and the stereo separation is absolute. I am not surprised at the difference. My speakers sound good too, and I really prefer listening to them. I only use my headphones if I really want to hear something in particular, or I don't want to bother with turning on the amp, or I don't want to disturb others.

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't think you can compare headphone sound to amp sound directly. Its just going to be different. You just have to get your amp to sound like you want it to, even to the extent of trying other amps. Of course, now, that's just the way I see it.

e-Van · Post by **e-Van** » Fri Aug 09, 2013 9:31 pm

SanderXpander wrote:Sounds like your headphones are a lot better than your amp.

It's a 25 € headphone ! my amp cost was around 150 €. I know these devices may look really basic and cheap If you are pro
but that's not my case and I didn't want to spend to much money for this return to synth world (I played on Roland 25 years ago !).

For the moment, I don't have any intention to gig, just composing and discovering this huge universe. Would you recommend me
a better amp, or 2 times the same amp for stereo, or monitors ?

In which manner would a mixing desk bring me enhancements to produce a better output quality ?

I already spend 1500 € for the krome, amp, headphone and the stand.
I still have a 500 € budget, what can I afford me with that ?

Thanks to all for quick and precise answers and for your expertise !

I write this here cuz I did not find how to write a general message, poor me I told you

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Fri Aug 09, 2013 9:57 pm

Depends on your purpose I suppose. Judging from you first post, you want to perform live? Do you really need to bring your own amps? Otherwise perhaps in-ear monitoring would be a good option for you. Basically a pair of earbuds with pro quality sound and good isolation from surrounding noise.

Of course, that won't work if you also need to supply sound for the band or audience. In that case, stereo is definitely better than mono for keyboards. Many people on this forum swear by QSC K10s but they're like a thousand bucks a piece. Possibly a small system with a sub would work for you. Having a sub gives you much fuller lows which is especially nice if you're amping towards the audience. Not so great if it's just for the band cause you'll be in the bass player's range.

In other words, it depends a lot on what you're planning to do...

flyingace · Post by **flyingace** » Fri Aug 09, 2013 10:28 pm

Keep in mind different headphones have different Impedance.

My AKG K240s semi-open back that I use for mixing have 55 ohms impedance, the AKG K44II closed back that I use for tracking rated at 32 ohms.
They both sound great but the difference in volume levels on each are different. I'd have to go downstairs and test to remember which one is louder.

I use a headphone amp (so I can have 4 sets of headphone outs while tracking multiple musicians) made by Samson that helps me regulate these things.

Oh, and at home I monitor thru a set of M-Audio BX5a powered monitors. They sound great and are about $300 for the pair. If I was playing solo live, i'd play thru either a stereo Roland keyboard amp or I'd prefer to get a bose system with sub (like SanderXpander mentioned)

I'm not sure if i'm helping you issue or not but this is what I know. I hope it does.

flyingace · Post by **flyingace** » Fri Aug 09, 2013 10:33 pm

duplicate posting

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:16 pm

I'm sorry, I only just saw that you said you're NOT intending to gig soon. In that case you should either go for a good set of studio headphones (think around the 200 bucks range with offerings from AKG, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic), or a basic set of studio monitors. Yes, definitely two identical ones, for good stereo sound. I think many people on this forum like the KRK Rokit series. If you're not so interested in pure accuracy but more in playing enjoyment a cheaper system with a small sub might be preferable. I played a Samson Resolve system with a sub a few times long ago that was kinda nice.

shaneblyth · Post by **shaneblyth** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 2:43 am

headphones always sound better than speakers. Its the room your in that colors the sound the smaller it is the worst, hard surfaces placement of your speakers sit them beside your head like headphones they sound better. thats why studios use specially designed acoustically correct rooms and spend megabucks to make them then use hugely expensive studio monitors placed super close to you. Head phones and in ears eliminate all that outside acoustics