Input. Take me to school.
Back in the day, consumer headphone amplifiers were sold to improve the sound coming from the portable devices of the day. Walkman. Mobile Phone. Discman. I recall a lot of DIY and homebrew amps being fit into Altoid tins. Most were powered by 2 or 3 AAA batteries. This is the era of the Airhead, and Electric Avenues, and a myriad of other little amps trying to be both small and better than stock sound. 1980-1995 era.
So, what are we supposed to do today with direct output from our phones? Many here point out that today’s better headphone amps expect to be driven from a “line out” of another device, and that “line out” ought to be at 2.0 volts. (I do have a DISCMAN around that has a Line Out, but I’ve never put a meter on it).
When I get my Lyr3, what can I expect connecting it to my iPhone audio out vs running the iPhone through a DAC with a 2.0 line out? (I also have a line out on my PC audio card, and the Mac Mini has a headphone out, but I don’t see a way to configure it as LINE OUT)
Take me to school.