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Headphones and Ohms


charic
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I'm curious as to what the prevailing thought is on ohms for headphones at the moment

If you're taking identical headphone sets (lets say Beyerdynamic DT770 as working example) and they are available in 32/80/250Ohm versions, which would you go for and why?

 

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I have those same headphones and went for the 80 ohm version. I've heard reviews saying the 32 ohm version do not sound as good for some reason, and the 250 ohm needs a very powerful headphone amp to drive a decent signal.

I can still get a ok level out of consumer gear like an iPad with the 80ohm. They sound amazing for tracking bass though with a better headphone amp like the PJB Bighead!

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I was always under the impression that, roughly speaking, the higher the ohms the clearer the sound but the harder to drive. 

So in theory, if you've got a powerful enough headphone amp then the 250ohm ones should sound the best. 

I could be, and usually am, wrong though. 

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16 hours ago, charic said:

They'd mostly be driven by my korg kronos, mbox3 and eventually line6 helix

The Kronos would easily drive even a 600 Ohm version, (like they have for the DTX 880) and if your other units have similar headphone outputs (most oftenly with 6 mm jacks), then the 250 Ohm one would be best as to impedance matching.

However, extensive tests I read about all Beyerdynamic models in this range (770, 880 and 990 in all of their impedance guises) indicated that the story doesn't end there, and the different impedance versions have different types of sound they thrive most with - sometimes making an impedance mismatch a reasonable option. These tests are on the web, but I couldn't find my link right now. 

Personally, and broadly speaking, I'd only go for a low impedance one if a battery operated unit like a mobile phone has to drive it. Normally, headphones like that would already come with small jack plugs as standard - normally 3.5 mm, but once I had one with a 2.5 mm jack plug.

I'll update if I find the link.

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I own a set of DT770's @charic. The guidance in this thread is similar to that which helped me make my own choices. However my previous interface wasn't quite up to the job of driving my 80 Ohm model! Looking back though, it wasn't surprising as the device was USB2 powered. Rookie error I suppose. (USB2 simply doesn't have the current to drive and interface and big cans). Thankfully, when the Focusrite Clarett interfaces came out I chatted to our resident expert @Sibob who was able to confirm the the Clarett models have headphone amps' onboard that are designed to power said headphones properly, and that they do. I parted with my cash and have been so pleased with the Focusrite and DT770 pairing.

So, in short I agree with Bass Tractor - low impedance for mobile devices and stuff being powered via the USB 2 standard. 80 Ohms is a nice in-between for interfaces with a decent headphone amp on board (external power supply can often suggest being able to drive a higher output too) and the 250 Ohms where you know that there's a PRO standard headphone amp involved. (In the specification I would expect to see something regarding driving ~300 Ohm ear phones)

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11 minutes ago, dood said:

As a follow up, I've just checked the manual for any pertinent information and unfortunately there's is no mention of what impedance my interface is happily driving. So that might not be helpful.

Interestingly my MBox is usb powered.  I think that's due an upgrade at somepoint too though

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3 minutes ago, ead said:

I have the 32ohm DT770 and drive them with a Fiio E12.  They work very well together.

The DT770s are definitely looking like the preferred headphones :) maybe i'll go for one of the middling Ohm versions for safety sake

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Forgot to add that I picked the 32ohm version in case the preamp died when I was was out and about and I could then plug the 'phones straight into the source without presenting too a big a load for a portablbe music player.

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