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Who knows? I think you're more likely to kid yourself than hear an objective difference but, should you hear an objective difference in resolution, I don't see how it would be explain by of the power of the amp. But what do I know?

You're more likely to get more details out of other headphones anyway. See sunk cost fallacy.

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It could be dBs if they imply some sort of standard. But it should be dB/mW or some such really. I think Grado uses dB/V. You get the idea.
I think straight dBs are more likely to be the rated maximum SPL which is not a very useful spec.

Unless of course you mean ericj's "sensitivity"...

I think we should stick with the headphone specs sensitivity!

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Isn't DB related with how loud the sound is?
I'm sure it has to do with a pressure level but...sensitivity!!

if my eardrums get blasted by too high DBs, I would not care much about sensitivity.

well maybe afterwards when I wont be able to listen much.

I have difficulty making heads or tails of what you're saying, sir.

Would you perchance have greater command of another language? If not then kindly review the hypertext link I have provided.

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The hypertext is explicative enough!
Thanks

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I just look at it like a car; the larger the car the more power full engine you need to get good performance out of it. Headphones with with higher ohms need a more powerful amp to get better performance out of it. Would this be a correct analogy?

No. Again, ohms have no bearing on power (watts) requirements... not directly anyway.
Ohms have a bearing on voltage requirements and, arguably more importantly, on sound quality issues (see above). But even as far as voltage is concerned, there are other factors some of which are much more important than impedance such as how loud you want to listen to begin with.

There's something else to consider. Amps aren't like cars engines: it's trivial (and cheap) to make really powerful ones. What's more difficult is to make amps that aren't sloppy and will sound good. Raw power isn't good enough. But even that's not very difficult... what makes or breaks a product in my opinion is stuff like features, looks, the volume control, coloration, marketing, and so forth.

There's a page on the Meier Audio website that has an explanation including some bit about frequency dependent impedance

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No, this is Not a correct analogy.

And neither was the weight analogy.

For anything you plug into the wall, building a power supply for more voltage is as easy or easier than building a power supply for more current.

What's more, short of chip voltage limits (most opamps are limited to voltages between 23 and 36 volts), voltage limitations are easier to overcome while maintaining qualify in amplifiers than current limitations. Fortunately, even a 2000-ohm HD414 from 1970 doesn't need more than that.

With enough voltage, a 2000-ohm load is gloriously easy to drive.

"Power" is a term that causes more confusion than enlightenment on this forum.

Power handling for headphones is rated in milliwatts. A watt is equal to one joule of energy per second. In order to calculate wattage, you have to know the impedance of the load and the voltage being applied to it.

Thus, 300mW is applied to a 32-ohm load with more current and less volts than it is to a 600-ohm load - which needs more volts and less current.

And unless you run on batteries, volts are easier than amps.

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Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Thus, 300mW is applied to a 32-ohm load with more current and less volts than it is to a 600-ohm load -                                                                                                                                                                                  which needs more volts and less current.
              
 
 
 
 
So is this why i was told by some other users that it wasn't really necessary to purchase an amp to use with my 38 ohm Audio-Technica ATH-M50's? They're 1600 mW also if it matters. 
 
Also, i have seen the reference to having more current and less voltage, or vice versa. I don't really understand this, can anyone clear it up for me? 
 

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