this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2024
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In theory the more you split it the more you degrade the sound quality
Not to mention after the first split they're already working with only left channel audio
That's not a problem the band just plays louder.
Different impedances would play an important part too, or? Some will emit sound, but others are basically mute?
I have no clue, I'm just imagining this as separate electrical cirquits in parallel, and sound volume as the voltage levels.
Depending on the impedance of the headphones it could damage the device. Modern devices are generally more tolerant than old ones in that regard
In a solid state device, the lower the resistance the higher the power given a constant voltage (yes, there are voltage switching circuits based on resistance but I'm just doing the basics here) because P=V^2 /R. When you put resistance in parallel like this it lowers that bottom number.
So you could have far more power going through a circuit than it is rated for. Best case scenario you pop a fuse. Worst case there's a fire.
Relevant but boring story (I'm old, this is what I do): Back when I was cutting my teeth on electronics but before I had any formal education in it, I had a shitty little guitar practice amp. I didn't look at the impedance rating and replaced it with a pair of car speakers in a cabinet (I was just trying things! I was a kid!). Played through it for a few minutes and it was fine. Cranked it up and something inside popped.
Turns out it was expecting 16 ohms. The speakers I replaced it with were 2 speakers at 4 ohms in parallel, so 2 ohms total. Luckily I just removed the chassis and replaced the fuse. I learned a lot that day.
Edit: I have no idea how to fix my formula formatting. So I just added a space. Imagine there's no space, I guess.