From bw@ashbysolutions.com Fri May 25 07:07:48 2012
Subject:Re: laptop out: earphone or line out?

Generally speaking, yes, the line out is better. Assuming that the
laptop manufacturer is using basic industry standards, a 'line out'
should be able to provide at least 0.5V, probably more; that should be
plenty to drive an amp or effect box.

I know that some players use the earphone/headphone out because it's a)
hotter, and b) sounds 'warmer,' but there can be problems with this,
long-term, in modern solid-state equipment. Back in the days of all
tubes, the basic circuitry was running at hundreds of volts, so driving
a circuit designed for say, 1V with 10V or more might sound awful, but
it wouldn't damage things because the parts had to be able to withstand
large voltages in the first place. Today, though, a lot of electronics
runs at 3V or 5V, and its ability to withstand large inputs goes down.
I'm not saying that *all* low-power gear will be hurt by driving the
input with a headphone level, but there are probably items in your setup
that will.

The other issue is sound quality: Most headphone outputs are designed
to drive several volts or more to headphones, and often trade off the
ability to drive that high power for a little more distortion at low
levels. If you find that you need to back the output down to keep from
overloading your gear -- well, you're moving closer to those 'low
levels' I just described. Whether this trade-off is acceptable or not
to you, the effect is still there.

Regards,

-BW

Bruce Wahler
Ashby Solutions.com^(TM)
bw@ashbysolutions.com
http://music.ashbysolutions.com
877.55.ASHBY (877.552.7429)

On 5/25/2012 9:30 AM, leemodeler wrote: