# Home Electronics Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226 "2003-03-30T16:03:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226/1 "2003-03-30T16:03:04Z")
I have a portable DVD player ( šŸ†’ ) with a headphone attachment. The sound I get from the headphones isnā€™t quite loud enough for my needs. Is there a way to amplify the sound somehow? I donā€™t yet have my degree in electrical engineering (nor am I ever šŸ˜› ), so anything _too_ complicated is going to be out. Is there a gizmo I can buy at Radio Shackā„¢? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226/2 "2003-03-30T16:18:05Z")
Iā€™d be careful about amplifying headphone sound levels. Sound Pressure Levels (SPLs) greater than about 85 dB can cause cumulative hearing loss over extended periods of time. That said, there are headphone amplifiers, such as [this one](http://www.audiocontrol.co.uk/headphone.htm), but RadioShack doesnā€™t currently carry one. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226/3 "2003-03-30T16:28:43Z")
Thanks, **Q.E.D.**. I donā€™t think the sound Iā€™m getting from my portable DVD player through my headphones even approaches 60 dB, but I am by no means an audio expert. By way of comparison, full volume on my DVD player gives me a volume level comporable to that of about 1/3 volume on my portable CD player. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226/4 "2003-03-31T00:42:31Z")
Did these headphones come with the player? If not, make sure the headphone impedance matches the output impedance of the player. (The operating manual should tell you what the headphone impedance should be.) ---
**Author:** ![Chris\_Luongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Chris\_Luongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chris_Luongo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226/5 "2003-03-31T03:43:06Z")
Thereā€™s also a way you can amplify the headphones at home, but i wonā€™t be a portable setup. If you have a good quality home stereo receiver the headphone output is usually pretty strong. Your DVD player has only a headphone output, right? You can easily get an adapter that will turn this into standard, home-type RCA plugs. Connect the RCA plugs to an unused input on your home receiver, and then use the receiver to run the headphones. ---
**Author:** ![Rhum\_Runner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rhum\_Runner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhum_Runner)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226/6 "2003-03-31T04:21:54Z")
What **Crafter** said, see also headroom, they sell a portable headphone amp, or they may be able to hook you up with better headphones that will be more efficient. I havenā€™t ever dealt with them, but I have heard good things. [http://headroom.headphone.com/layout.php](http://headroom.headphone.com/layout.php) ---
**Author:** ![gruntz\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gruntz\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gruntz_1)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226/7 "2003-03-31T06:28:23Z")
Ya, what Crafter said. Or, you can buy some mini speakers, sort of the kind you see with computers. Little less protable, but well worth the sound. ---
**Author:** ![lite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@lite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lite)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226/8 "2003-03-31T07:28:18Z")
what sort of headphones are you using? Youā€™ll normally get a much better sound (bass included) if you use a quality brand that fit inside your ears rather than those that fit over them on a ā€œhead-trapā€. Just donā€™t sue any drivers if you wear them while jogging. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226/9 "2003-03-31T13:33:05Z")
This may be too obvious. Do the headphones you are using have thier own little sliding volume control built into the cord? Make sure that is turned all the way up. I overlooked this feature the first week I owned them ( until a co-worker pointed it out to me).:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226/10 "2003-03-31T13:56:33Z")
Donā€™t be too sure about the (usually) cheap headphones many CD player, MP3 player, or other portable audio equipment manufacturers choose to include with their product, either. I bought an I-rock MP3 player a while back, and with the headphones that came with it, I could barely hear it. Since I worked at RadiShack at the time, I tested with their best portable model, and it worked great. Thereā€™s a lot of factors that affect headphone performance, but generally-speaking, you get what you pay for. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226/11 "2003-03-31T14:05:19Z")
Are you plugged into the ā€œheadphoneā€ jack or might you be in the ā€œline outā€ jack? Makes a huge difference. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-electronics-question/165226/12 "2003-03-31T15:11:32Z")
When buying a new set of headphones check out the specs on the packaging. A set with a higher sensitivity rating (measured in dbs) will sound louder as well as a lower impedence (measured in ohms). The freqency response will tell you what range it reproduces best, a lower Hz number will reproduce better bass and a higher Khz will produce better treble.