How does a headphone amp work?

[yabberdo]

I've just inherited a Muscial Fidelity A3.2 pre/power combo. The pre-amp doesn't have a headphone socket on the front.

Can someone tell me the options I have to listen via headphones with this setup. Do I need a headphone amplifier? If so, does this connect to an input on the pre-amp?

Grateful for your help

[henders]

The only option really is to buy a separate headphone amp.

You would connect the pre-out sockets on the back of the pre-amp to the input sockets on the headphone amp.

On your A3.2 you could use the tape-out sockets, which aren't level controlled, but the headphone amp will have a volume control on it.

Suitable headphone amps for every budget from £50 to a few thousand pounds(!) are easy to find, but as a guide, the Creek is pretty decent in the £100+ bracket, then you have the Graham Slee, Earmax, Amber, etc in the next bracket up to £500 and above that.

You would also need to consider what headphones you would use, and how much overall you wish to spend, and also if you would think of things like the Stax range of electrostatic headphones.