DI vs Headphone out.

[L00katthatbass]

I am new to bass and I need an amp.
More importantly, I need it to make almost none or no sound.

My setup would be:
Laptop.
Focusrite USB interface with live monitoring.
Amp head or DI pedal into the line in of the interface.

Is the headphone out of a DI pedal or amp usually the same sound as a DI, but amplified for headphones?

I want to buy a nice head ideally to have the option of a cab when my son will be older.

Would it sound bad since there won’t be a speaker involved?
Are headphone outs cabinet simulated?

Thanks everyone, for tone, I play punk and rock.

 

[pravus]

The output from the headphone jack and the DI should be nearly identical although they might sound a little different when using the interface. You might also check the manual of any amp you are looking at to see if the headphone output is affected by any pre/post preamp switches as these are pretty common on DIs.

As far as comparing to a cabinet what you will get with a DI or headphones is a purer, cleaner representation of the preamp. Cabinets can have a pretty drastic effect on tone, especially in both the high and low frequencies. They will both sound good, just in different ways. If the amp supports loading cabinet IRs then it should mix that into the headphone output and most equipment I've seen with this feature has an on/off switch for the cab sim. Again, just check the manual to verify. Another option is going with something like the Darkglass Element which was designed for this but that's also additional cost.

Since you are using a laptop you can do all of this with your DAW and VST plugins as well. Technically you don't need an amp since there are simulation plugins available but in your case you could run the DI/effects send from the head unit into your Focusrite and do the rest of the processing on your laptop. This not only allows cabinet IRs but additional effects like reverb, delay, chorus, compression, eq, etc. The only limit is the CPU processing power and I've seen pretty complicated setups with multiple amp simulators, plugins, and 20+ tracks all going at once.

 

[jellymax]

the DI output is noise low impedance, and noise cancelling. the headphone out
is high impedance, subject to noise interference, so for recording, i suggest DI.
for practicing, either way is fine.
you can plug the bass straight in to the FR, and use your tone knob for simplicity.

 

[Lammchop93]

I’d sell your interface and get a darkglass element headphone amp/DI/interface. And then get a good preamp of your liking, and you’ll have everything you need. And then you can get a head and cab down the road when you’re ready.

 

[agedhorse]

the DI output is noise low impedance, and noise cancelling. the headphone out
is high impedance, subject to noise interference, so for recording, i suggest DI.
for practicing, either way is fine.
you can plug the bass straight in to the FR, and use your tone knob for simplicity.

this is not correct, the headphone output is lower impedance than the DI output.

unless otherwise stated in the owner’s manual, headphone outputs should be limited to headphones only.

Headphone outputs should not be used to drive 1/4” balanced line level inputs as the signal on a headphone output is common mode and the line input is expecting a differential mode signal. The input is designed to REJECT anything common mode.