what headphones do you own thread - i own dt150's :)

Phal said:
Depends if you just want fun/cool sounding games or just wanna hear the important footsteps and other player noises.
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They aren't ideal for that either reportedly, bit of a strange soundstage going by a few reviews. I didn't pay any mind after I realised the basic sq was lacking.

KiiYzOo said:
Well I just bought a fiio e07k for £45 plus postage :D

I may hold out for a couple of days to see if I can get a good deal on some hd598s or something like them :D
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You don't need an amp for either, they're low impedance so it won't improve anything.
 
Phal said:
Don't ask me to explain it since I'm too lazy to go learn exactly why but this is apparently not quite true :P Amps aren't just for high impedance drivers but I'm sure someone will be able to explain it :)
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Any clue as to what you're referring to? There may be some low impedance and low sensitivity headphones, but really almost anything now is designed for portable use and will be properly driven with a good SPL.
 
Stolen from a head-fi post I just googled :P

Again, I could be wrong as I'm no expert in electronics and electrical audio shenanigans but the general gist seems to be that in some cases, there are benefits to amps even for low impedance headphones - not in every case but in some when circumstances described below are present.



How do I know if I need an Amp? Will it be suitable for my headphones ?


Generally, low impedance headphones are made for portable use, so an amp may not be required. But some people consider there are sonic benefits, so there's nothing against using one. Just use this to check:


To find out if the amp fits your requirements, I'll suggest to take a look at these key points:
•SPL / mW from your headphone manufacturer + the max impedance if possible(not nominal).


•Power specs from your amp manufacturer at different impedances.
•If possible, a graph of how the headphone impedance varies with the signal frequency. Some headphones can have wild variations here.


Use this formula to calculate the power needed:
Power = Antilog ( (Desired SPL - SPL per mW)/ 10).

Note that a 3dB increase in SPL will cause a 2x increase in Power.

For reference, 85 dB is considered to be the limit where long term exposure can cause hearing
damage.

Use 85dB to calculate the average power needed.​


If your amp can supply this power, and the headphone impedance falls within the mum/Max load impedance the amp can drive, then go ahead and enjoy your amp.


Also, note that some headphones have higher impedance spikes than others (impedance variation with frequency, remember) as well and then you have the music itself where when certain dynamic passages will require higher transient peaks (higher voltage) here or there once in awhile requesting for more power. Hence its better not to push amps to their limit ( driving 600 Ohms with a portable amp may work, but it can also overload the amp due to its sensitivity and impedance characteristics).


How headphone impedance (vs frequency) affects sound.


In case of MP3 players, where output power is not specified, you can assume that the provided earbuds are already matched. Set the volume to a comfortable level, and now plug in your new headphones. If the volume sounds similar, your headphones are adequately powered.
 
Yes that's referring to sensitivity (SPL/mw). I don't know if you can find any low impedance cans with such a low sensitivity that you need an (additional) amplifier, then again a lot of people like volume levels that damage your hearing.
 
Yeah I think the term 'need' here is used loosely :) No doubt the low impedance stuff would sound fine as intended but I guess some people can hear or think they hear a difference.

It might be mostly a placebo in a lot of cases but as long as you think it sounds better then who cares? :D hehe
 
Phal said:
Don't ask me to explain it since I'm too lazy to go learn exactly why but this is apparently not quite true :P Amps aren't just for high impedance drivers but I'm sure someone will be able to explain it :)
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The main thing is not to use headphones directly from line outs. Almost all PC soundcards have line level outputs, which are designed to go into an amplifier stage (several K ohms input impedance), NOT headphones (a few hundred ohms input impedance).

Portable devices tend to have headphone outputs which these days have plenty of power for most headphones, but are not as good into amplifiers etc. (which is why LOD cables exist).
 
Just bought the Monoprice headphones for £16. They've been getting crazy reviews for something with such a low price so thought I'd see what the fuss is about! Been looking to get portable headphones anyway because my DT770s are a bit clunky to take out. I was looking at the HD25-1 because of the lightness/durability but for £16 can't really go too wrong, and people have been saying that the plastic of the Monoprice seems pretty sturdy, and I won't be chucking them about in any case.
 
I have a pair of AKG 242 K hd's, love them so far.

Im wondering if my titanium hd is driving them fully though, maybe a external headphone amp would improve the cans?
 
marc2003 said:
i managed to break them but i've just ordered some more. currently 20 squids on amazon. bargain.

i just love how comfortable they are. :)
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Nice. So glad you posted this info.

I have been considering getting a pair of MKII to replace my MKI, which have been playing up recently. Last time I looked they were £30, which isn't too bad. £20 is a great price though. :D
 
AbsenceJam said:
It has a proper headphone output and from the specs of both it's easily more than enough.
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Has a proper headphone out but I found out from people here that it's not actually amped so it may be a little too quiet depending on how you like to listen to music :)

Also, due to it being designed by some impractical idiot, if you use the headphone socket then it disables all other outputs so you need to disconnect/reconnect headphones if you want to use speakers too. This was one of the reasons for my headphone amp - it allowed me to use the RCA outs instead and my headphone amp then passes on to my speakers!
 
Phal said:
Has a proper headphone out but I found out from people here that it's not actually amped so it may be a little too quiet depending on how you like to listen to music :)

Also, due to it being designed by some impractical idiot, if you use the headphone socket then it disables all other outputs so you need to disconnect/reconnect headphones if you want to use speakers too. This was one of the reasons for my headphone amp - it allowed me to use the RCA outs instead and my headphone amp then passes on to my speakers!
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That's some terrible design.
 
Yeah it drove me nuts :/ was hoping it was something that later drivers fixed but creative confirmed that this auto switching feature was wired in to the card so that if anything is connected to the headphone port it will disable other outputs >.<

This is what started me down the headphone amp route and for some reason I decided to buy the Beyerdynamic A1 amp instead of something cheap! This gave me the excuse to buy my T1 headphones to go with the amp lol
 
Just ordered some Sennheiser HD 558s for £120 to go with my Xonar DGX. Hope I don't regret this (going from Beats By Dre Studio) as I listen to a lot of hip-hop.
 
Can't remember if i've posted in here before but...

At home:

FLAC > Foobar2000 > Asus Xonar DS > Koss Pro DJ100's

On the move:

MP3 320 > Doubletwist > HTC Sensation 4G > FiiO E7 > Visang R03

Nothing special, but decent enough :)
 
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