This may be a silly question, but how does one use the headphone amp on the BHK Preamp? I’ve been using my Ifi Pro Dac for headphone use, but would like to try and listen to vinyl, so thought I can use the bhk pre with my stellar phono-When it’s plugged directly into the BHK pre, I get distortion or buzz-What am I missing?
What are you plugging in to the pre-amp which results in distortion?
That is, what is the “it” in “When it’s plugged directly into the BHK pre?”
My headphones = “it”.
Just to give you a clearer picture. I have my amp into BHK Pre, BHK pre into Stellar phono input 2 and my dac into input 1.
Is your turntable grounded?
It must be a ground loop issue. I do not have a TT and my BHK pre headphone amp is dead quiet with both Focal Utopia and Audeze LCD-4’s.
Turntable is grounded. Theoretically, wouldn’t I be able to also hear my dac via the headphone jack on the BHK preamp, so long as I am in that stage on the preamp? Example-DAC INTO preamp stage 1 with my headphones plugged into the BHK pre. If that’s the case, I do not hear anything on that end either.
Try setting up your system to listen to music through your DAC and BHK preamp so that you have music coming out of the speakers.
Turn down the volume on the preamp.
Plug your headphones into the preamp.
Turn up the volume.
You should now have music playing in your headphones. (When you insert the headphone jack into the front panel headphone connector, the preamplifier will automatically disconnect the preamplifier outputs.)
tried that, it sounds like a machine gun. no music
On the phono end, same outcome with faded unaidable music underneath
Hmm . . .
If the headphones work otherwise I suspect something is wrong with the preamp.
Do you have other headphones to try just to make certain it is not the headphones?
headphones work with DAC Direct. I only have 1 set. I just got into the headphone thing. I tried switching tubes, thought bc I had the Adapter with 6sn7 Shugaung in. Same deal with the 6922s. That may be the extent of my trouble shooting.
This sounds silly, but make sure the headphones are plugged all the way in. Sometimes it takes more force than expected.
I am otherwise out of ideas.
that’s not silly. I will try that next time I have everything powered up. The headphones do have an adapter for different gauges. Appreciate everyones feedback and input.
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have my amp into [BHK Pre, BHK pre into Stellar phono input 2 and my dac into input 1.
That sounds wrong…
Tablet working properly now had to reboot it.
That should be stellar phone out into one of the BHK pre inputs should it not?
The way you describe the setup seeks wrong to me, or I am misunderstanding the words 
It’s just the way I’ve worded it. My Stellar is hooked up properly and sounds as it should thru speakers
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Hi cocobean 1,
Do you get the same buzz when you unplug the headphones and listen out of the preamp into your system? This would presumably be the way you listen to your system when using the Stellar phono and playing records. I would need to know this before we go further. Also, have you listened to the headphones with the BHK preamp with other input sources? Is there a buzz when you do that?
Kind regards,
BHK
Hi BHK,
When normally using my BHK Preamp through my system it sounds great, no issues. It’s only when I plug my headphones in the headphone input do I get what sounds like a machine gun- Interesting enough, All people happen to have different ways of reproducing machine guns. I have stupidly conducted this exercise with a group of people as a joke. Anyway, it goes…popopopopop. When I go thru the input with phono, I can hear the music slightly with the popping/Machine gun. When I am in the the DAC input, no music at all, just the machine gun poppin. I have not listened to the headphones outside of my headphone DAC (Ifi DSD PRO) alone and it works fine. It’s Too bad I can not record the noise. Hope that helps. Again, my preamp regularly sounds excellent.
Another way to describe the noise would be like a helicopter
HI cocobean 1,
This surely sounds like a bad headphone amplifier in the preamp. I am sorry this is the case as you most likely will have to send the unit to PS Audio for repair. Contact them on how to do this.
BHK