[Paul K]

Hi,
I have been looking for a simple amp to take the output of a TV and
drive headphones with volume, treble/bass and balance control.

I tried a small unit from Radio Shack (like the RCA sa-155) but the
quality of the output was terrible.

Another option was a headphone amp from APT, the Xenos, but they are no
longer made.

I even considered something like a 'boombox' or other portable stereo,
but few have the required controls.

Any suggetions for something like this?

Thanks
--Paul

[jakdedert]

Paul K wrote:
Hi,
I have been looking for a simple amp to take the output of a TV and
drive headphones with volume, treble/bass and balance control.

I tried a small unit from Radio Shack (like the RCA sa-155) but the
quality of the output was terrible.

Another option was a headphone amp from APT, the Xenos, but they are no
longer made.

I even considered something like a 'boombox' or other portable stereo,
but few have the required controls.

Any suggetions for something like this?

Thanks
--Paul

I'd do a little more experimenting with the box that you bought from the
Rat Shack. What was terrible about the quality? I suspect that the
output from the TV overloaded the input of whatever is that box you
bought. Try it again, this time turning the TV volume control all the
way down, setting the level of the adapter box to about 1/4 up from '0',
and then slowly raising the TV volume.

All the above assuming that you are using some sort of device which
expects to see line level input; and that you are feeding it from the
headphone jack of the TV....

If the TV has RCA line level outputs, try using those (using the
appropriate connecting cable for the box you have).

Report back....

jak

[Paul K]

In article , jakdedert
wrote:

Paul K wrote:
Hi,
I have been looking for a simple amp to take the output of a TV and
drive headphones with volume, treble/bass and balance control.

I tried a small unit from Radio Shack (like the RCA sa-155) but the
quality of the output was terrible.

Another option was a headphone amp from APT, the Xenos, but they are no
longer made.

I even considered something like a 'boombox' or other portable stereo,
but few have the required controls.

Any suggetions for something like this?

Thanks
--Paul

I'd do a little more experimenting with the box that you bought from the
Rat Shack. What was terrible about the quality? I suspect that the
output from the TV overloaded the input of whatever is that box you
bought. Try it again, this time turning the TV volume control all the
way down, setting the level of the adapter box to about 1/4 up from '0',
and then slowly raising the TV volume.

All the above assuming that you are using some sort of device which
expects to see line level input; and that you are feeding it from the
headphone jack of the TV....

If the TV has RCA line level outputs, try using those (using the
appropriate connecting cable for the box you have).

Report back....

jak

I did use the line level RCA outputs from the TV, so it sould be clean.
The sound was distorted, controls seemed defective, I guess the
amp was just a bad unit. It might have been a floor unit since it
was the last of that model, and they were clearing it out of the store.
It was similar to the RCA SA-155, but was under the Optius label
and had slightly different controls. If ti worked it would have been
exactly what I wanted.
--Paul

[jakdedert]

Paul K wrote:
In article , jakdedert
wrote:

Paul K wrote:
Hi,
I have been looking for a simple amp to take the output of a TV and
drive headphones with volume, treble/bass and balance control.

I tried a small unit from Radio Shack (like the RCA sa-155) but the
quality of the output was terrible.

Another option was a headphone amp from APT, the Xenos, but they are no
longer made.

I even considered something like a 'boombox' or other portable stereo,
but few have the required controls.

Any suggetions for something like this?

Thanks
--Paul
I'd do a little more experimenting with the box that you bought from the
Rat Shack. What was terrible about the quality? I suspect that the
output from the TV overloaded the input of whatever is that box you
bought. Try it again, this time turning the TV volume control all the
way down, setting the level of the adapter box to about 1/4 up from '0',
and then slowly raising the TV volume.

All the above assuming that you are using some sort of device which
expects to see line level input; and that you are feeding it from the
headphone jack of the TV....

If the TV has RCA line level outputs, try using those (using the
appropriate connecting cable for the box you have).

Report back....

jak

I did use the line level RCA outputs from the TV, so it sould be clean.
The sound was distorted, controls seemed defective, I guess the
amp was just a bad unit. It might have been a floor unit since it
was the last of that model, and they were clearing it out of the store.
It was similar to the RCA SA-155, but was under the Optius label
and had slightly different controls. If ti worked it would have been
exactly what I wanted.
--Paul

Like this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/OPTIMUS-SA-155-INTEGRATED-STEREO-AMPIFIER_W0QQitemZ320215393104QQihZ011QQcategoryZ3 9783QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Which inputs did you use? I don't see any reason why it should have
been distorted. Are the line level controls on the TV varied with the
volume of the speaker? How did you mute that speaker?

I'm still thinking you've got an issue with level matching, or perhaps
you're hearing things the internal speaker doesn't reproduce, but you
can hear in your headphones.

For the record, come out of the line outs on the TV and plug into either
the 'CD' or 'Tuner' inputs on the amp. Turn the volume on the TV to
zero. Turn the amp a quarter of the way up. Slowly bring up the volume
on the TV (all the preceding based on variable volume output on the TV set).

If you need to mute the TV speaker(s), put a dummy plug into the
headphone jack. Make one by cutting the plug off an old set of cheap
headphones. Make sure none of the wires are shorted.

jak

[Paul K]

In article , jakdedert
wrote:

Paul K wrote:
In article , jakdedert
wrote:

Paul K wrote:
Hi,
I have been looking for a simple amp to take the output of a TV and
drive headphones with volume, treble/bass and balance control.

I tried a small unit from Radio Shack (like the RCA sa-155) but the
quality of the output was terrible.

Like this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/OPTIMUS-SA-155-I...0QQitemZ320215
393104QQihZ011QQcategoryZ39783QQssPageNameZWDVWQQr dZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Yep, that was the one. I say WAS because I failed to mention in my
initial post that I returned the unit within a week of the purchase. So
I cannot try your suggestions to see what the problem might have been.


Which inputs did you use? I don't see any reason why it should have
been distorted. Are the line level controls on the TV varied with the
volume of the speaker? How did you mute that speaker?
I used line out, this did not affect the speakers or was influenced by
volume or mute. The TV did not have a phone jack , that would have been
the ideal solution for me.


I'm still thinking you've got an issue with level matching, or perhaps
you're hearing things the internal speaker doesn't reproduce, but you
can hear in your headphones.

For the record, come out of the line outs on the TV and plug into either
the 'CD' or 'Tuner' inputs on the amp. Turn the volume on the TV to
zero. Turn the amp a quarter of the way up. Slowly bring up the volume
on the TV (all the preceding based on variable volume output on the TV set).

If you need to mute the TV speaker(s), put a dummy plug into the
headphone jack. Make one by cutting the plug off an old set of cheap
headphones. Make sure none of the wires are shorted.

jak
Thanks for your suggestions to solve the problem.
Do you have any suggestions for other product ?
--Paul