Audio outputs are used to transmit audio signals analog or digital audio signals into the input of other audio devices. However, using the wrong audio output for your audio connection can affect the quality of sound you get from your system.
It can lead to weak signal output, poor audio quality, or completely unusable audio. In extreme cases, using the wrong audio output can even result in damaged hardware due to too much voltage being sent across.
The only solution to this is to get to know more about the different audio ports that come with audio devices. Therefore, in this article I am going to talk about two of the audio outputs that get most people are confused about; headphone and speaker outputs.
A Speaker Out is an amplified, stereo output that is designed to send audio to speakers whiles a headphone Out sends a slightly amplified audio signal that is capable of driving headphones.
With that out of the way, let’s explore these two outputs in detail and learn more about them.
Table of Contents
What is Speaker Out?
An audio Speaker Out is a port that is designed to send out audio signals to a speaker. This output is typically labeled as Speaker Out on audio devices they are found on.
The label of this output makes its intended purpose as a port meant to carry audio signals to speakers quite clear. Thus, a speaker out on any audio device is where speakers are meant to be connected.
Due to the fact that speaker out ports are meant to carry audio signals to speakers, they transmit speaker-level audio signals that are capable of driving loudspeakers. These speaker-level signals are audio signals that have been amplified to a level capable of driving loudspeakers.
The reason why this output is designed for this application is that speakers have specific requirements regarding audio input.
Speaker Out ports came to replace ¼” speaker jacks, and are typically found on power amps and amp heads. However, mixing consoles that have built-in amplifiers may come with speaker output ports as well.
What is Headphone Out?
A Headphone out is designed to output or transmit audio to headphones. This output is the port into which headphones are plugged. It is also referred to as a headphone jack or phone jack.
Headphones are unique audio devices that are usually unpowered, but require very stable and steady audio delivery. As headphones are unpowered, they require an audio signal that is amplified to useable levels to drive the speakers within the device.
This stable and steady audio delivery is what is required to produce very high-quality audio. Headphone outs enable you to transmit stable and steady audio from an audio source to headphones.
This means that Headphone Out sends audio signals amplified to a level that is usable for the headphones. The exact amplification of the signal and the output level from each headphone out port varies depending on the device.
Headphones also require a stereo signal for left and right, and both signals are amplified to the correct level for driving headphone speakers.
It is worth noting that, using this type of output for other listening devices may not work well, as though the signal is already amplified, it is only amplified enough for headphone speakers. Unfortunately, headphones are typically small and do not require a high level of amplification.
This means that an audio signal for headphones is ideal for driving headphones and producing great-quality audio. However, the signal may sound weak and terrible through speakers, as the signal is not strong enough to drive the larger units.
Headphone outs can be found on audio interfaces like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (on Amazon), the Arturia Minifuse 2 (also on Amazon), and many others. This port can usually be found in mixers and portable audio devices as well.
Differences Between Speaker Out and Headphone Out
Headphones and speakers are two very different outputs that have different audio requirements. Now that we have established what these outputs are, let’s highlight the most important differences between them.
The most important difference between a Speaker Out and a Headphone Out lies in their signal strength and amplification.
The audio signal from a speaker out is stronger and more powerful than the audio from a Headphone Out is amplified. This is because a speaker out transmits speaker-level audio signals.
Speaker-level audio signals are audio signals that have been amplified to a level capable of driving loudspeakers.
On the other hand, headphone outputs transmit amplified line-level audio signals. These audio signals from a headphone out are relatively weaker and less powerful.
You should note that most headphone outputs are usually not powerful enough to drive loudspeakers. However, some few headphone outputs are known to generate enough watts of output power capable of driving powerful speakers. However, this is very rare.
Can You Plug Speakers into A Headphone Out?
In general, a Headphone Out is an audio output that has been designed primarily to amplify audio signals to a level that is strong enough to drive the speakers in a set of headphones.
Due to this, the signal it transmits is not as powerful as speaker-out signals. However, can you use a Headphone Out to send audio to speakers?
The only type of speakers that can be plugged into headphone out are powered or active speakers. These speakers have a built-in amplifiers that will boost the signal from the headphone into a speaker-level to drive the speakers. Other than that, you can’t use headphone out with passive speakers.
Due to the fact that active speakers are designed to have built-in amplification, they are able to amplify the relatively weak headphone out signals to a level that can be heard by listeners.
What this means is that technically, you can send audio from a Headphone Out to speakers, so long as the speakers are powered and have 1/8” plugs that can be connected to the headphone out ports.
However, even if a speaker comes with a 1/8” plug yet is passive, the speaker will not output audio when connected to a headphone out. In addition to not outputting the audio, the speakers themselves will draw too much current from the output, which may damage the hardware.
In the event that the audio from a headphone out is able to be played through passive speakers, they can sound bad if the impedance of the speakers is too low or too high.
Thus, in most cases, audio from a headphone out will not sound good when played through passive speakers.
Therefore, though such speakers can be connected to headphone outputs, you should not expect to receive speaker-level sound quality when they are connected to headphone outputs.
Can You Plug Headphones Into A Speaker Out?
It is not ideal to plug a headphone into a speaker out port. You risk damaging the headphone because audio signals from speaker outputs are too powerful for many headphones to handle.
This power is meant for driving loudspeakers that have larger drivers and input voltage than headphones do. Thus, the power generated by amplifiers is usually larger than what most headphones are capable of receiving.
Therefore, I would not advise you to plug your headphones into a speaker out. This is because the power generated by amplifiers can fry most headphones completely when they are plugged into a speaker out.
However, if you are bent on using headphones with the speaker out of your amplifiers, you will achieve better success with a decent monitoring headphones. Therefore, you should do this with only high-quality headphones. That notwithstanding, it is not a good idea to do so.
The only way to use headphones with a Speaker Out and generate good audio is to send the signal to a headphone amp first and then send the audio to the headphones. This will produce very good, high-fidelity audio and may even be better than using a standard Headphone Out.
Conclusion
Headphone Out and Speaker Out are designed for different purposes. The audio signals from both output types are very different and should only be used for their intended purposes.
These output types are not interchangeable, even though they may send audio successfully to other devices. It is always best to use these outputs strictly according to their labels and primary function.
Hello, I’m Elijah. A writer on Geek Musician, based in Ghana-West Africa. I am a writer with a passion for research and reading. I usually spend my free time playing chess or watching movies. For more info, check out my about me page. Or read more of my articles here.