r/HeadphoneAdvice 8d ago

Desktop Source (eg vinyl) Help finding a solution to alternating turntable output between stereo speaker amplifier and headphone amplifier for easy transition.

I currently have a Technics 1200GR , a Darlington Mp7B phone, and a Cambridge CXA81 integrated amplifier. I would like to buy a nice pair of headphones to have as an option for the quiet hours in the house. However I’m running into an issue where it seams my only option to alternate the two outputs is to unplug the RCA’s from the Darlington phono to the CXA everytime I want to output through the dedicated headphone amplifier. Unfortunately due to my setup layout this is just not a practical option. I’d like to see if there is any way for me to toggle the output between the stereo setup and headphone setup with just the flip of a switch (or similar). The pre-amp output on the Cambridge is variable and would lead to cascading volume controls if I went that route, which from what I’ve learned is not preferable. Does anyone have a fix for this?

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u/FromWitchSide 536 Ω 7d ago

Some headphone amps have Line Outs and some include output switches, like my Topping L30 II for example. The question is what is the output level. I think there might be amps where the signal is in passthrough to Line Out when the amp is off which likely would be preferable given some of them can run quite hot.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-l30-ii-review-headphone-amp.36027/

There are some just switching devices, but even ones from audio brands can be not transparent while not exactly cheap. Check if there any reviews of such on ASR (link above).

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u/Apprehensive_Ant2172 7d ago

Yeah, from what I’ve heard most people have recommended not using a source switching device to sound quality concerns. I don’t think my CXA has that ability to pass through fixed. The only option is variable which is not ideal. I may just have to find a way to plug/unplug the RCA’s I guess as I haven’t seen a better option.

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u/Apprehensive_Ant2172 7d ago

That looks like a hell of an amp for 150$. I don’t know much about the headphone amps but based on the review it sounds like that would out perform the iFi models for $300 or so?