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Are Beyer T-1s designed for 120 ohm headphone amp outputs?

post #1 of 5
11/13/10 at 12:39pm
Thread Starter 

I read from time to time - mostly from Jan Meier - that Beyer headphones are generally designed to be driven by a 120 ohm output impedance from a headphone amp, and not the more conventional 0 ohm. I also understand that the Beyerdynamic headphone amp has a 120 ohm output impedance. Does anyone know if the T-1s are also intended to be used with a 120 ohm output? Has anyone tried listening to them this way, and is there an improvement?

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Beyerdynamic Tesla T1
post #2 of 5
11/13/10 at 6:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ross View Post

I read from time to time - mostly from Jan Meier - that Beyer headphones are generally designed to be driven by a 120 ohm output impedance from a headphone amp, and not the more conventional 0 ohm. I also understand that the Beyerdynamic headphone amp has a 120 ohm output impedance. Does anyone know if the T-1s are also intended to be used with a 120 ohm output? Has anyone tried listening to them this way, and is there an improvement?


i brought this up in the big T1 thread but adding a 120ohm adaptor but this doesn't seem to be a popular thing to do here.  i've thought about building one for my AKGs.  

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post #3 of 5
11/14/10 at 11:38pm

Beyerdynamic's own A1 amplifier has 100 ohm output impedance. While I have not yet tried the T1, I have heard and own many other their other models. For the 80 ohm DT770 Pro I prefer a low output impedance driving them, but for their 250 and 600 ohm headphones I prefer how they sound when driven from 120 ohm output impedance.

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post #4 of 5
11/15/10 at 7:37pm
Thread Starter 

I decided to answer my own question, and found an old 120 ohm adapter I got with a Meier portable amp years ago. My initial impression is that the T-1 sounds much better with the adapter - smoother, warmer, and the slightly metallic top end is now much sweeter, although there is a slight loss of three-dimensionality. On balance, it appears to be an improvement, but I will have to do some more serious listening.

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post #5 of 5
5/21/11 at 8:19am

Necromancing an old thread, but I was researching this subject on the t5p. It's early days in the burn-in process, and for my main rig I prefer them from the 120ohm output by a long way. Thank goodness for not selling the Corda! :)

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Beyerdynamic Tesla T1
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