The title sums it up. I have a customer who wants his son's video games audio to be on headphones so that he doesn't disturb any one in the next room. He just kicked him out of his theater and bought a 47" Samsung HDTV from me for him to use. The wife insists that he and his friends use headphones while they play. I will use a switchbox for choosing the audio source, because he has an X-Box, a Gamecube, and PS-2. I need a piece of equipment that will take the line level and let me plug up to 4 headphones into it. Any sugestions for equipment or a source?

Furman makes a headphone amp with 6 outputs.
Otherwise look into the recording world. I know there are other manufacturers that do this as well.

You could use wireless which will make the kids happier, just set all 4 headphones to the same channel.

Thats to easy!

CB1

Radio Shack has this, an inexpensive wireless headset. Check your local store to see if additional headphones are available separately.

Another way:

Use a cheap stereo amp, like the tiny Radio Shack unit here, and three 1/8" stereo Y-cords, or make your own little box w/4 jacks on a stereo 1/8" cord.

Here's a neat device, except it has only 3 jacks.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

If you use 4 wireless headphones, you may need to use a bigger wireless sender with a really powerful transmitter, in order to make up for the wireless signal being split 4 ways. Otherwise, the headphone closest to the transmitter may suck all of the signal out of the air, and there won't be enough left over for the other headphones.









































:)

QQQ: thanks. I really am glad you included that :)

The standard approach in the A/V (that means audio/VISUAL) world is to take a power amp output and put 330 ohms in series with each channel of each headphone. I did this for a customer with a powerful Lexicon power amp, and it works like a charm. Take the signal from the TV's speaker output if it has one, or use a small power amp as suggested above.

The resistor limits the current to the headphone, keeping it from blowing; the headphones will still deliver good volume unless they are actually 8 ohms or so 9most are higher in impedance). Also, you can use different models of headphones with this approach because the resistors tend to equalize how the power is split up. You really only need to worry about how the power is sucked if it is NOT in the air.

QQQ, I know that you are very knowledgable, but since you are also very humorous, I don't know weither to take you seriously on your response! :) I am not the kind who is handy enough to build my own black box, so a simple clean solution is what I am after. The client has deep pockets, but I can't see giving him a $1500.00 solution for what seems to be very simple. The RS solution looks workable, maybe Ill try using a splitter to run 2 of them! Thanks for all the responses.!