DI Box and Headphones

[basskidd]

Hey
So, long story short, I'm gonna be away for a while over the summer without an amp, and wanna keep up on my practicing but unplugged sucks. haha I was just wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a DI box to use that I could plug headphones into. If worst comes to worst I'd just grab a cheap DI box from somewhere, and use a 1/4 to 1/8 adapter to plug my headphones in from there.
Thanks

[Hellbastard]

A D.I Box is not a headphone amplifier, it won't work. Google Vox amPlug.

[jabsys]

I'd go for the Vox amplug purely for the aux in, so you can plug an mp3 player or metronome into it.

[basskidd]

Yeah, I've seen those. I was thinking though, that as long as I'm getting something like this I should just go for the DI box (I was planning on getting one at some point anyway, it couldn't be bad to have around since I only have one amp that I take to gigs). I figured I could just use an adapter to plug my headphones into the line out.

[Crater]

Originally Posted by basskidd

... I figured I could just use an adapter to plug my headphones into the line out.

That won't work - the line out signal isn't strong enough to drive headphones. You could plug the DI boxes input into a small mixer, and then use the mixer's headphone output. I use my audio interface for basically the same thing. One of those little Behringer Xenex mixers would work and they're less than $50.

[DeathFromBelow]

Get a d.i. box and a small mixer.

Problem solved.

[Rodger Bryan]

I settled on a Soundcraft notepad 102 for around $100. It is now discontinued- but the preamp quality far exceeds that on the headphone preamps in the <$75 range. The inexpensive headphone amplifiers I've tried produce too much hiss for my taste. If ultra-portability is a high priority, then the mixer option may not be for you.

I haven't tried the Korg Pandora, but it is compact and seems to have a boatload of built-in practice widgets.

[sethlow3]

I use a Cafe Walter HA-1A. Very compact and sturdy.

HA-1A Headphone Practice Amplifier

[nervous]

This was recently done in detail here:

headphone practice solution

and another source for ideas and options:

The iRig

Good luck.

[JimmyM]

You need a small preamp with a headphone out, not a DI out. As stated, DI out won't work with a headphone. The Amplug is totally the way to go for a summer trip if you're not going to be jamming with others. Or at least it is now...but by next summer there will probably be more stuff out there like that to choose from. So you have plenty of time to shop around

[Joe Louvar]

Or if you want something with a little more bang and you’re not on a really tight budget, checkout the ~ "EBS MicroBass II Bass Preamp Pedal".

[MyMusic]

I favor using something like the G-K MB200 or the Carvin BX250. This way you have a something for cab less practice, practice with a cab, and small venues. Kills three birds with one stone.