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Can I connect my lt3 to a headphone output?


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Hi , I'm using a firehawk fx guitar processor and I noticed while using a small practice amp that using the headphone out jack gave a much nicer sound than using the 1/4 line outs

I want to try connecting to my stagesource lt3 this way to see how it sounds but I don't want to risk damaging the speaker, would I be OK to do this?

 

I would have thought that the headphone out and line out would sound quite similar but the line out has very pronounced treble and much quieter, if something did go wrong is there a protective circuit of some kind in the lt3 or will I just toast the drivers?

Thanks for reading

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Check the Output Mode setting for your 1/4" outputs. It should be set to Amp if you are connecting that output to your practice amp input. If it is set to Line then the output level does not match the expected level at the input of your amp which could lead to reduced sound quality, meaning the output from your headphones might indeed sound better.

 

If you are connecting the 1/4" output to your L3t speaker rear panel input the Firehawk 1/4" output mode should be set to Line. Personally, I would not connect the headphones output to the speaker input. The levels won't match well.

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OK thanks for the help

So yes it is expected that the volume is reduced in the line outs compared to the headphone socket

But the tone should be fairly similar and it's definitely not, although I am only getting half the signal as I don't have any adapters to sum the 2 line outs into one cable

 

Do you think I should hear any difference using the xlr out? Is there any preference over line outs vs xlr when connecting to the l3t?

I was leaving that output free to connect straight to the house pa when possible so haven't tried it, I'll dig out a cable tomorrow and try it

 

It wouldn't be so frustrating were it not for the fact that my headphone tones are literally blowing my mind, everything sounds so warm and lush , but then through the lt3 it's cold and harsh

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You can use the XLR out from the L3 to send to PA, so don't worry about using that output to feed the L3.

 

I would send XLR out from the Firehawk into the mixer inputs on the L3 - this gives you the option of using the EQ if you need to and gives you additional gain controls.

 

There is no reason (as long as the cab simulation in on) for the Headphones and main outputs to sound different.

 

If you go ahead with the idea of using the headphones out is that you should use a splitter to get the separate L+R mono signals and feed them into the two mixer inputs on the L3 as this will mix them together into mono.  A 1/8 stereo to 2 x Phono adapter is pretty cheap and can be used to connect to a stereo system - that can be extended with a pair of phono to 1/4 jack adaptors so that it can link to the L3.

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OK so I plugged into the headphone socket But it didn't fix my problem, it seems the headphone socket sounded the same as the line out only slightly louder, all sounds good at low volume but everything gets harsh when I turn it up loud, guess I'm just gonna have to dial everything in at volume

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This is typical of any device, be it Line 6, Roland, Digitech or even Fractal or Kemper, what you hear in the headphones is never going to sound the same out of loudspeakers.  This has to do with physical laws of nature, so none of these companies are going to be able to overcome this.  I suppose at some point someone may come up with some kind of compensation setting but I think they would have to have a different compensation setting for every brand of headphone out there.  Might be a lofty goal.  But I suppose Line 6 could come up with headphones specifically designed for using with their devices, but they may not sound any good for anything else.

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I don't know why nobody has asked this before (including me), but when you set up the patch to sound great in headphones.... what headphones were you using?

 

If you are setting up patches using headphones you really should be using Studio Headphones - those that try to be as flat as possible; Consumer headphones for use with mp3 players are typically designed to give a nice sound with a well mixed source and can for example be bass heavy.  Setting up your patch with bass heavy headphones will cause you to cut the bass much more than you thought you were, and when you then play the same sound through an L3 which is basically a big flat response Studio monitor the bass end will be absent and it will sound thin.

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It was worth asking - I have never tried a Firehawk as I am still on one of the early HD500 units and the problems I was having getting a good sound originally all came down to a proper FRFR speaker rather than just a PA speaker.  My L2t has fixed that issue  - and learning a few HD500 specific tricks of course.

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