Headphone Distribution
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 Furman HDS 6 Headphone Distribution System  US $299.95
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 FURMAN HDS 6 HEADPHONE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM MIXING HDS6 US $219.95
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 Behringer HA8000 headphone distribution amp US $213.50
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 ART Headamp 4 Channel Stereo Headphone Distribution Amp US $30.00
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A Glance At Some Of The Latest Wireless Gizmos
Latest wireless audio gadgets such as iPods, wireless headphones and cell phones support new wireless protocols. These protocols are supposed to eliminate the cord and deliver perfect high-fidelity audio. I will look at some of the latest gizmos and technologies to discover how well they operate and in which conditions they operate best.
These devices fall into 2 categories. The first type of devices already has wireless built in. Second-category products, including a few streaming audio devices, have optional wireless functionality. Usually they have a slot to add a wireless LAN card. Newest generation iPods and cell phones already come with built-in WiFi and Bluetooth support.
The Bluetooth protocol is a fairly low-cost option. Yet, its limitations have an impact on high-quality audio applications and are often ignored.
1) Limited range
Bluetooth devices generally merely have a 30-foot range which restricts Bluetooth to single-room applications.
2) Audio compression because of restricted data rate
Bluetooth will use audio compression since it does not reliably offer a high-enough data rate for uncompressed audio. This is less critical however for compressed audio such as MP3 audio but excludes Bluetooth from use in high-quality audio applications.
3) Signal latency
As a consequence of audio compression, Bluetooth will introduce a signal delay of at least 10 ms which will cause the audio to be to some extent out of sync in case of video and real-time applications. This is again less of a dilemma for MP3 players.
4) Lacking multi-headphone support
Bluetooth cannot stream to multiple headphones at the same time. This may be a problem in cases where numerous people like to listen to the same Bluetooth transmitter.
Uncompressed audio streaming is supported by WiFi. WiFi is a very widespread protocol. Yet, WiFi also has pitfalls regarding simultaneous transmission to several receivers. As a consequence of the relatively high power consumption it is hardly ever utilized in wireless headphones though. WiFi is convenient for streaming audio from a PC however since almost all PCs have WiFi access.
Wireless speakers and wireless amplifier products for home theater speakers usually employ their own proprietary protocol. Entry-level wireless headphones and speakers usually still use FM transmission which offers low cost but is susceptible to noise and audio distortion.
Modern wireless audio protocols eliminate audio degradation by using digital transmission. These frequently also come with mechanisms like forward error correction to deal with interference from other wireless devices.
Newest-generation wireless amplifiers allow streaming to an infinite number of receivers and support uncompressed audio transmission.
Some of these protocols support low-latency audio transmission which assures that the audio of all speakers will be in sync in a multi-channel application. These wireless audio transmitters generally work at 2.4 GHz. There are also some devices including Amphony’s line of wireless audio products which operate at 5.8 GHz. Products that work at 5.8 GHz have less competition from other wireless devices than those using the crowded 2.4 GHz frequency band.
Wireless amplifiers are available with different levels of audio quality, power consumption and standby power. Getting a high-quality low-distortion amplifier is critical for good sound quality. Digital Class-D amplifiers offer high power efficiency of at least 80%. They also have low standby power, usually less than 5 Watts. This reduces heat and keeps them cool during operation. Some digital amplifiers, on the other hand, have relatively high harmonic distortion. It is important to select a wireless amplifier with low audio distortion. This will make sure good sound quality. High-quality amplifiers have audio distortion of 0.05% or less.
Question about a HeadPhone amplifier?
Me and my cousin both play the electric guitar, his amp recently broke, and we always come to my house to play. My question is instead of buying a new amp can we buy this http://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringer-POWERPLAY-PRO-XL-HA4700-HEADPHONE-AMP-102302130-i1125804.gc I'm a complete noob when it comes to electronics like this. I believe it is a distribution amp. So what i'm asking is can me and him plug our guitars into this while it is plug to my amp and can we both get the same features from my amp through this and edit it individually. Like he would be playing clean and me distorted. Of course while wearing the headphones.
Danny - The headphone amp will not work because it does not have a guitar input. You need a headphone amp that is designed for guitar:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/C-Tech-Pocket-Rock-It-S1-Standard-Guitar-Headphone-Amp-104383096-i1321939.gc
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Rockman-Guitar-Ace-Headphone-Amp-100305327-i1124980.gc
OSP HPA-400 4 Channel Headphone Line Zone Distribution Rackmount Mixer
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