[gibbyisace]

Hi,

I really like the idea of you guys nerding out over this music stuff. It’s you guys who get the best. I take a lot of pleasure within it myself. I’m rather an (avid) hedonist than a details kind of guy, though. I like and respect the best of things. I understand that it takes a lot of effort and I appreciate that. I can get it wrong though, not knowing everything. And this leads me to asking you, and – the extensive forum.

I’m looking to buy some more headphones and stumbled on the, Beyerdynamic DT 990 600 Ohm. Who wouldn’t want to try a 600 ohm pair of headphones? The open back is new to me as well. I’m wondering if my amplifier can even power them, never mind get a decent sound out of them?

The amplifier is a Yamaha R-N803D. I bought it for Spotify and the turntable. In the user manual, it says that the headphone socket is (8 Ohm load) 470 mV/470 Ohm. It doesn’t make any sense to me. I can’t get my head around the ohms and the impedance (etc...) without asking questions. The numbers in the manual do not seem to add up with anything online. When 8 ohms is mentioned as the load, it doesn’t match this with the headphones impedance. How does 8 ohms load go with 600 ohms impedance?

I understand that there are other things to consider as well. I can’t understand why the manual gives the number 470 mV when everything online mentions watts? I’d need the amps as well, to get the watts?

And then again, what is the last 470 ohms at the end?

Thank you.

 

[GREQ]

https://europe.yamaha.com/files/dow...1/web_AV16-0039_R-N803_R-N803D_om_G_En_A0.pdf

It is strange that they say "8 ohm load" on the left, and then "470 mV/470 Ohm" on the right.

I think it's safe to assume the "PHONES (8 ohm load)" bit on the left is a copy/paste job that doesn't fit in context here.
So, 470mV with a 470 ohm load is probably closer to the true spec... although it's equally disturbing that the mV and ohms are the same value.... that's just seems too convenient... like a very lazy copy/paste.
It could also just be a fantastic coincidence.

In any case, if those specs are to believed, it should be powerful enough to make a very decent sound through the DT990.
That's actually considerably more powerful than all entry-level amps.

 

[gibbyisace]

So the information doesn’t even make sense itself. Wow...

This world of music and electronics is a lot.

That it works and works well is quite enough for me. I know I’m not in the major leagues - with budgets and such...

Thank you for your reply.

 

[PurpleAngel]

The 8-Ohm rating is for the speaker jacks on the back of the R-N830D and has nothing really to do with the headphone jack.
The R-N830D uses the same speaker amplifier(s) to drive both the speakers (which is what the amp is designed to do) as well as drive the headphones (which the amplifier(s) were not designed to do).
It's cheaper to build a speaker amplifier that uses the same amplifier(s) for both the speaker and headphones, then having to add in a separate (dedicated) headphone amplifier.
Your better off getting a dedicated (external) headphone amplifier and connect it to the line-output (RCA) jacks on the back of the R-N830D.
Also would suggest not getting 600-Ohm headphones, you can get something like the 32-Ohm Soundmagic HP200 headphones, which are like an improved DT990.
But if you really wanted to plug headphones directly into the R-N830D, 600-Ohm would be the best choice.

 

[gibbyisace]

There aren’t exactly many shops in the UK which are dedicated to things – to anything, other than vaping and mobile phones, it seems. And, for what the specialist shops sell, you get a very limited range.

Ideally, I’d like to be trying the headphones on. But, I’d be splashing out major money to get what I want. The shops which specialise, they seem to get the high-end, mid-range, and low-end sorted. And then, they must feel satisfied with that. They don’t really give any kind of choice or variety. I’m stuck in the mid-range. But, I want the best.

I’ve been going on the reviews, only. And you can’t get much from the reviews these days. Yet, I haven’t found anything more positive than the reviews for Beyerdynamic – as a whole. Unless, you spend a lot more money. The SoundMagic HP200 look good from where I’m at. Yet, this is the thing. I’ve seen 5 star reviews for £14 headphones, now selling at £35. I know the SoundMagic aren’t in that arena, but, I think I’m sold (obsessing) on the 600 ohms. It’s meant to be another kind of sound? Softer, smoother, natural and grounded? And the supposed neutral sound with the Beyerdynamics as well...

I’ve done a lot of looking and I’m pretty much stuck on the Beyerdynamic. It looks very much hit-and-miss, though... Every pair of headphones seems to be 5 stars these days. And then, ultimately, personal choice.

I still don't know if the amp is sufficient? Would I be under powering the phones or over powering the amp?

Thanks.

 

[buke9]

Since I don’t have your equipment it is hard to tell. Looks like the 600 ohm 990’s are 96 dB in sensitivity which I think means more in the ability to drive them. They are not very low in sensitivity so means they are not extremely hard to drive. I only have 2 pair of 600 ohms headphones and both are AKG K240’s one is Monitors and the other are Sextetts and they both are 88 dB in sensitivity so very hard to drive . I have some amps that don’t have too much problem with them but they are high powered headphone amps . I have a OTL tube amp (Bottlehead Crack) and it also doesn’t have a problem with them because of the high output impedance as it actually has more power for the higher impedance cans but truly sucks with low impedance ones like my planars because of the dampening factor as they just sound bloated as hell but with anything over 150 or better yet 300 ohms are just a joy to listen too. Yes I know I’m rambling on but first listen to them with what you got and then if you need a different setup then come back and again ask for suggestions.