Headphone Jack not working?

DRut

DRut

Aug 10, 2013
154
397
5,036
Los Angeles,CA
#1
Hello everyone. I have a fender Rumble 500 head, I love the sound I am getting I run it into a Rumble 210. Tonight I realized hey my amp has a phones jack I can quietly jam into my amp and not disturb the house. However i plugged in my headphones. Nothing. I read somewhere that the Amp can power headphones to 32 ohm impedance. I have Tascam THX 200 headphones that say they are 32 ohms. Do I have to unplug my speaker cable or something. I even heard something about there being a speaker mute Switch? Can Someone help me out please I also have a3.5 mm to 1/4 adapter I considered pugging into the speaker output of the amp
 
#4
DRut said:
I considered pugging into the speaker output of the amp
Click to expand...

just don't. connect only speakers to speaker outputs, nothing more.

you already tried adjusting the 'volume' knob? it adjusts the headphone volume when they're plugged in. maybe they're just too quiet? or maybe the phones are broken and don't work?

if the headphone amp is broken and you're desperate getting it fixed, another workaround is connecting the DI out to an external headphone amp, if you have one.
 
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#5
The headphone output is post master volume, so that needs to be up to work.

It’s possible that the amp is damaged, if so it will need help from a qualified service technician.
 
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#9
I'm not sure I'm clear on the symptoms OP is seeing.

What I expect to happen on a working Rumble:
- With no headphones, Internal speaker controlled by the master volume.
- Plugging in some headphones, internal speaker should go silent, and headphone volume now controlled by the master volume.
- Have not tried the scenario with an external cab attached, but I would expect it to also go silent. In any case, as @Spectre Gunner notes, easy to unplug the external cab.

How does what you are seeing differ from this, @DRut ?
 
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#11
I have three bass amps and each one has a headphone output jack and each one requires removing the speaker cable to the cab when using headphones. If you leave the speaker cable connected, the headphone circuit is deactivated. You'd think the amp would self mute when the headphone jack is plugged in but apparently they aren't wired that way.

Ask me how I discovered this.
 
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#12
Spectre Gunner said:
I have three bass amps and each one has a headphone output jack and each one requires removing the speaker cable to the cab when using headphones. If you leave the speaker cable connected, the headphone circuit is deactivated. You'd think the amp would self mute when the headphone jack is plugged in but apparently they aren't wired that way.

Ask me how I discovered this.
Click to expand...
Not this amp.
 
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#13
SharpCat said:
I'm not sure I'm clear on the symptoms OP is seeing.

What I expect to happen on a working Rumble:
- With no headphones, Internal speaker controlled by the master volume.
- Plugging in some headphones, internal speaker should go silent, and headphone volume now controlled by the master volume.
- Have not tried the scenario with an external cab attached, but I would expect it to also go silent. In any case, as @Spectre Gunner notes, easy to unplug the external cab.

How does what you are seeing differ from this, @DRut ?
Click to expand...

That is is pretty accurate, when I plug in the headphones the speaker goes silent but the headphone volume is really low, I have to max out the gain and the master volume. Can you explain more about the impedance mismatch. The tascam thx200 x is rated @ 32ohms/ The rumble says 16ohms minuimum. Impedance confuses me
 
#16
The headphones should be fine, but there are some knock-off headphones that are not what they seem and can be very low sensitivity.

It’s also possible that there is a problem with the headphone amp circuit. It it mutes the power amp, that’s a good sign.

A qualified service provider should be able to troubleshoot this fairly easily,
 
#17
DRut said:
That is is pretty accurate, when I plug in the headphones the speaker goes silent but the headphone volume is really low, I have to max out the gain and the master volume. Can you explain more about the impedance mismatch. The tascam thx200 x is rated @ 32ohms/ The rumble says 16ohms minuimum. Impedance confuses me
Click to expand...

DRut said:
Ohhhhh noooooo, dont tell me I have to go buy some shiny new headphones. Oh well, explanation to the wife,"hey the guy on talkbass said I need new headphones," :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
Click to expand...

DRut said:
so I take it I will have to find some headphones rated below the number 16. 8 ohms,4 ohms etc? any recommendation
Click to expand...

For headphones you want at least the rated impedance. So as @agedhorse stated, 32 is fine if the Rumble spec says 16.

While I am fine with you throwing me under the bus with your wife to get new headphones I figured you might have/borrow another pair just to try. My experience is that most everyone has old headphones from a phone or cd player or whatever kicking around in a drawer.

Edit: if you do blame me, at least tell her I said you need a new bass too. :laugh:
 
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  • Haha
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#19
Yes, test the headphones somewhere else.

Cycle your headphone jack in and out in rapid succession a dozen or so times. See if that helps. If it makes some difference, it could be corrosion on the jack. This can happen when you use the jack infrequently.

Next, try connecting a source such as a music player to the aux in and see if you can hear it in the headphones.
 
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