People mention volume loss or not?
- just one aspect
Remember that 250 ohm is at 1 kHz, so what is output on 10 kHz or 15 kHz?
- frequency curve with be seriously affected unless high enough voltage on headphone amp
- coils like in speakers give you most probably 5-10 000 ohm impedance in hi end
output watts=U*U/R
30 mW=0.03 W max recommended for headphones and ears is often mentioned.
5V on headphone amp can give you 25/250=0.1W at 1 kHz
- already at 2500 ohm you get 0.01W at whatever frequency
- at 5000 ohm you get 0.005W at higher end capability
Will your output give you that over full spectrum?
I ditched my DT880 250 ohm because of it, probably wrongfully, because I did not think about getting a headphone preamp at first.
So when I got HD650 and same issue I got a Pro-Ject Headbox S and that fixed everything.
- this runs on 18V internally and cope with full range content
- so at 5000 ohm still get 65 mW or 0.0648W and cope well
- even at 10 000 ohm you get 30 mW with 18V
- so have a couple of those amps now and mixes translate very well to later do speaker monitors
Look out that newer Headbox use usb power 5V, so not the same thing. I would avoid those and look at amps that specify voltage or power and various impedance.
- I did not read in specs they use voltage doublers or something
Don't just listen for getting enough volume, that is only part of the story.
- how much hi end drop is there
This is also why hi end headphone amps cost more, capacitors in power supply are more expensive for higher voltages etc. You might need to go €300 and up, but look at specs more than anything.
In the end it's about your mixes turn out great on first attempt saving you a lot of time.
- just one aspect
Remember that 250 ohm is at 1 kHz, so what is output on 10 kHz or 15 kHz?
- frequency curve with be seriously affected unless high enough voltage on headphone amp
- coils like in speakers give you most probably 5-10 000 ohm impedance in hi end
output watts=U*U/R
30 mW=0.03 W max recommended for headphones and ears is often mentioned.
5V on headphone amp can give you 25/250=0.1W at 1 kHz
- already at 2500 ohm you get 0.01W at whatever frequency
- at 5000 ohm you get 0.005W at higher end capability
Will your output give you that over full spectrum?
I ditched my DT880 250 ohm because of it, probably wrongfully, because I did not think about getting a headphone preamp at first.
So when I got HD650 and same issue I got a Pro-Ject Headbox S and that fixed everything.
- this runs on 18V internally and cope with full range content
- so at 5000 ohm still get 65 mW or 0.0648W and cope well
- even at 10 000 ohm you get 30 mW with 18V
- so have a couple of those amps now and mixes translate very well to later do speaker monitors
Look out that newer Headbox use usb power 5V, so not the same thing. I would avoid those and look at amps that specify voltage or power and various impedance.
- I did not read in specs they use voltage doublers or something
Don't just listen for getting enough volume, that is only part of the story.
- how much hi end drop is there
This is also why hi end headphone amps cost more, capacitors in power supply are more expensive for higher voltages etc. You might need to go €300 and up, but look at specs more than anything.
In the end it's about your mixes turn out great on first attempt saving you a lot of time.
Statistics: Posted by lfm — Tue Jun 04, 2024 4:33 am