RC input low pass filter cutoff frequency

What cutoff value do you guys select when using passive RC input low pass filters? I've heard you need to select it much higher than 20khz for some reason, what's the lowest you can go without affecting the audio range.

This is for a phone headphone output going into a chip amp via a 3.5mm jack.

Thanks.
 
But wouldn't the impedances of the source and amp not matter since the RC values can be adjusted to get the desired corner frequency?

I'm just looking for some ballpark RC cut-off frequencies really, something that'll be good enough.

My current corner frequency is currently 160khz, is that ok?
 
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RC filter is far from brick wall filter. It provides some attenuation at much lower frequencies than its corner frequency. It also introduces some phase shift. 200kHz is perhaps sufficiently high to ensure negligible impact in audio band and it goes even higher in many commercial amplifiers. However, 50-60kHz might be acceptable to, depending on individual taste. Some experimenting is recommendable.

Given corner frequency can be achieved with various combinations of R and C. Higher R and lower C vs lower R and higher C. Output impedance of the preamp adds to R. Therefore higher R/lower C combination depends less on preamp impedance. However, high R might increase noise with bipolar input transistors (JFETs are much less affected). So R should not be too high. Perhaps 1k – 2k2 for bipolars and up to 10k with JFETs.
 
What is the output impedance of the preamp? Is it variable or constant? If it is a passive preamp the output impedance can vary substantially over the volume pot wiper sweep.
Is the 10k pot at the very front end of your power amp? That pot is effectively another passive preamp seen by the 2k2 R.
What is the input impedance of the power amp seen by the shunt C in question, looking into the input stage? Is it much greater than the sum of your preamp output impedance, a 2.5kohm (1/4 of the 10k pot), and 2.2kohm? If it's much greater, like 5-10 times greater, it can be neglected. Otherwise take it as a resistance in parallel with the above mentioned sum of impedance in calculating the total R value.
 
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@nattawa

There is no preamp.
The signal is to take from some signal source.

Here is the schematic.
As with C 100pF bandwidth is 350kHz-550kHz fed in to amplifier with bandwidth upper freq 900kHz.
Is this a good choice?

RC filter 100p.jpg
 
As with C 100pF bandwidth is 350kHz-550kHz fed in to amplifier with bandwidth upper freq 900kHz....
The bandwidth of the amp may have little play here. The amp's slew rate is a lot more in context. The input low pass filter is for minimizing the chances of overly fast signal slew-overdriving the amp. Generally anywhere 150-500KHz for the corner frequency is ok, lower being more robust in protection.
 
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Note it is wise to stop RF at the door, i.e. have a capacitor on the input connector itself, before any of this low frequency stuff. RC filters on the input have to be a compromise as the R introduces more noise - however make R too small and C too large and you risk making it hard to drive by being a capacitive load, so its best to keep R at or above 100 ohms. The input RF cap has to be small for the same reason, but even 100pF will do a lot to combat WiFi, phones and other microwave interference that's now commonplace.

An RCRC filter is also a possibility (well, with the RF cap on the input connector its an CRCRC filter), which gives better ultimate roll-off.