How Do I Listen to My Record Player With Headphones?

Whether you live in a small apartment with thin walls, stay up late unlike your housemates, or simply like to experience music from within, these or other reasons can be a powerful argument when choosing a listening record player with headphones. I have prepared a review of the three main ways of connecting. Moreover, I will also tell you the benefits and drawbacks of listening to vinyl with headphones. Let’s go!

How to connect headphones to my turntable?

Connecting your vinyl player to headphones is easier than you may think, and you will definitely handle it. Let’s take a closer look at how to do this.

Option 1: Headphone amplifier

The first way is to use a special external headphones preamp, which converts the sound waves into the optimal sound waves for the speakers.

I think it is the most appropriate way of listening to records on headphones because the preamp’s only purpose is to maximize sound quality. The amplifier will also allow you to adjust the sound on your headphones.

So how do you hook up a preamp? It’s easy. You connect your headphone amplifier to your vinyl record player using an RCA cable. Then you just plug the headphone cable into the amp through a special input.

Option 2: Integrated amplifier or receiver with headphone output

If an amplifier is integrated into your turntable, you can use a stereo receiver since most of them have a headphone jack. This way is as simple as the previous one. You just connect the RCA cable between the receiver and the turntable, and then you connect the headphones straight to the stereo receiver. This method will also allow you to adjust the volume of your headphones.

Pay attention to the receiver plug first, as sometimes you may find that the plug and the headphone plug do not match. In that case, you will have to purchase an additional adapter/converter.

Option 3: Bluetooth headphones

A third and very easy way to connect headphones to the record player is via Bluetooth. If your turntable supports this option, all you need to do is to pair the devices following the instructions.

But what should you do if the turntable doesn’t have this feature, and you really want to use headphones for vinyl listening? Here, a Bluetooth transmitter will come in handy. You connect the transmitter to the phono preamp or, if it has a built-in phono preamp, directly to the record player with an RCA cable.

If you ask me, I am not a fan of this method because there are two strong cons. Firstly, not all Bluetooth headphones have volume control; thus, you listen to music at maximum volume without being able to change this. Second, keep in mind that these headphones digitize the analog sound.

Benefits and drawbacks of listening to vinyl with headphones

There’s no doubt that headphones are a great way to immerse yourself in your introverted world. Being a true audiophile, I like to immerse myself in music, to feel it enveloping me, penetrating to the very core. With good, close-fitting headphones, the sound does not disperse; it reaches my eardrums directly from the turntable. And as I have mentioned before, the headphones will “save” you from conflicts with those who don’t share your musical tastes. You can listen to music whenever you want, at whatever volume you want, for as long as you want.

Also, I would include cost savings in the benefits because most headphones are cheaper than speakers or stereo systems. After all, everything depends on your budget and your preferences.

You will find the drawbacks of listening to records through headphones if you like to listen to music as a background or play your favorite records for your friends. No headphones will allow you to fully share your music with others. Plus, they restrict your movement – you must be close to the player within cable length, and even Bluetooth won’t help you since its range is also limited. And finally, I believe some of you can consider too precise, detailed sound as the drawback, especially if the records in your collection are quite old.