M-Audio 2496 - needs a headphone pre-amp ! Ugh !

[jibberish]

I've just written to m-audio coz I bought an audiophile 2496 which I love, but.........there's no headphone out on it.

Now, on my crappy old 5 squids card, I used to use a 3.5 mm jack splitter, and direct one output to my amp, and the other to my headphones. It all worked really nicely.

I can't just use my amp all the time coz I do my missus's nut in once I've been working on the same loop for like 3 days in a row. M-Audio wrote back and told me I need a headphone pre-amp. Can anyone recommend one here ? Or.......should I just get an RCA splitter and hope there's enoguh signal, or......should I buy a cheap DJ mixing desk, and use that ?

p.s. My amp doesn't have a headphone out, it's a cambridge audio a500.

Any help much appreciated.

[Antinoise]

if you want to do it right.. a minimal mixing desk will be the best.

[Basil Rush]

I''ve managed for years with the old DAT machine in record pause mode and usin ghte headphone monitor on that. Any half decent old bit of hi-fi recording technology usually works.

[DJZeMig_L]

lol I've donne the same some years ago with my soundblaster Live!! ... I was using the digital out into the dat .. in doing this I was trying 2 avoid the SB "trademark" sound as much as possible...

Z

[jibberish]

Thanks for the replies.....I think a mixer might be the way to go.....I might even have a bit of fun borrowing a mates turntable, and see if I can get reason going on one chan, and the turntable on the other...