• WARNING: Tube/Valve amplifiers use potentially LETHAL HIGH VOLTAGES.
    Building, troubleshooting and testing of these amplifiers should only be
    performed by someone who is thoroughly familiar with
    the safety precautions around high voltages.

Tube amp to drive 4 ohm headphones?

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regal

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Joined 2004
ChrisA said:
At 4 ohms he is going to be using an output transformer. (or as you say solid state.) A tube based OTL is just a "circus stunt". Seriously I don't know what else I'd call a pair of EL34 (or like) tubes driving headphones. .
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Some headphones require 2-6 watts, do the calculations and you will find that driving 70db/mW 50 ohm headphones require a tube even more powerful than an EL34. Even audionote as a PSE EL34 headphone amp kit, no circus experiement basic physics.

Anyway for the OP with 4 ohm highly sensitive phone you definaely don't want an OTL. Your biggest issue will be noise. A good headphone amp has zero hum or noise, that's right against the ear at listening level playing a silence track. true black background is your goal. Several of us have built SSHV Spud SETs to good results, that's the direction I would pursue.
 
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