# Question about headphone splitter/amp with audio interface



## musicalweather (Nov 6, 2020)

I'm helping some musician friends buy an audio interface. They want to rehearse live on-line with their classical trio, using Jamkazam. Two of them (the ones needing the audio interface) will be on one end, one will be on the other. They want just the simplest of interfaces -- they'll be using one mic, possibly two at most. This interface will mostly be used for live rehearsing, not recording. They would like _two_ headphone jacks on the interface, if possible. But most of the interfaces I've looked at, in the $150 to $200 range offer just one headphone jack. (BTW, the interface I'm looking at is the MOTU m2.). I'm thinking it may be worth it for them to get a headphone amp. But I have some questions:

How are headphone amp/splitters connected to audio interfaces? Do you need a y-cable (male-to-male, L & R going into one TRS)? Or can you have a male-to-male TRS from the _headphone output_ of the audio interface to the input jack of the headphone amp? 

Do I have to worry about any latency with such an arrangement? I'm thinking not, but I don't know that much about this. I rarely record live musicians for my own work.

Thanks for any help!


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## wst3 (Nov 7, 2020)

It is, generally speaking, a bad idea to use a single headphone output to feed multiple headphones. It can be done, but you need to know how much power the headphone amplifier can provide into a given load, and the load that the pair of headphones, in parallel, will present.

Or you can just try it, but that could get expensive.

It if were me, I'd get the interface that meets all my other requirements, and then get a small headphone amplifier with multiple outputs. Of the bunch I have used the Rolls, and it isn't bad. It is not in the same league as Rane or Stewart, but it is not in the same price range either.

The Rolls HA43 can be purchased new for under $50. 

My two cents, possibly over-priced<G>!


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## musicalweather (Nov 7, 2020)

Thanks for this info. I don't think the headphones being used are high end, so we'll take a chance on using the headphone out connection to connect it to the headphone amp. There will only be two headphones being used. But I guess we could also try a Y-cable from the main outs of the audio interface...?


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## BassClef (Nov 8, 2020)

I think that for rehearsal purposes (not recording) your proposed setup will work fine. This is especially true if the two headphones that are sharing the "phones out" are of low impedance, and there are tons of good sounding headphones with low impedance. These do not need much power. I would think that you should also consider in ear monitors, since they are nearly always low impedance AND will better seal the ear from outside noise than most headphones.


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