[U-3C]

Hello all! Just a confused noob here. o(0-0)o
 
A person wanted to know before purchasing an amp if it can damange IEMs. For example, if an amp can output 100 mw of power at 16 ohms, and a pair of IEMs is rated at 10 mw, can the amp damage the IEM, and how?
 
I can't seem to find a solid answer so I thought I'd ask the SS forum.
 
Thanks in advance!
 
>v<

 

[castleofargh]

  Hello all! Just a confused noob here. o(0-0)o
 
A person wanted to know before purchasing an amp if it can damange IEMs. For example, if an amp can output 100 mw of power at 16 ohms, and a pair of IEMs is rated at 10mw max.
 
I can't seem to find an answer so I thought I'd ask the SS forum. Can an amp damage an IEM, and how?
 
Thanks in advance!
 
>v<

the power values given in specs are max power, not actual power delivered at all volume levels.
 
to make it simple, yes you can damage an IEM with a powerful amp if you're not careful and blast super loud music into it. the simple and foolproof plan against that is to lower the volume setting of any amp before using a new IEM/headphone with it.
that way you start at zero, then rise the volume level of your amp for you preferred loudness, and never have to worry about damaging anything. because if something can damage your IEM, be very sure that it also damages your own ears. reasonable loudness setting for yourself is a perfect way to know you're not killing your IEM.

 

[U-3C]

I see. Thanks for clearing that up.
 
I believe the person was worried that s/he might accidentally bump up the volume knob and damage a pair of IEMs. When I was looking into it, I read somewhere that a person claims the iem is the one drawing power from the headphone amp, so it's really hard to damage them. I found that bizarre so I wanted someone to verify/disprove that.
 
Cheers!
 
\(^o^)/

 

[U-3C]

Say, can I refer to your answer?
 
The person who originally asked the question still didn't get an answer yet.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Perhaps the more pertinent questions would be, what would be the source feeding the amp (or the IEMs directly, if he didn't buy the amp), what's the amp he's proposing to buy, and whether it makes sense to buy that particular amp for his IEMs (or any amp at all, given the particular source).

More technically, an amp can damage sensitive IEMs in other ways than playing too loud--especially if it wasn't designed with sensitive IEMs in mind. To list two examples, an amp could have poorly controlled on/off transients (sometimes audible as a big *clack* through the earphones when you turn on the amp with the earphones connected) or an uncorrected DC offset, both of which can kill IEMs without the user doing or hearing anything out of the ordinary. Although such defects are rare and usually enough cause for recalling the product for redesign.

 

[U-3C]

Perhaps the more pertinent questions would be, what would be the source feeding the amp (or the IEMs directly, if he didn't buy the amp), what's the amp he's proposing to buy, and whether it makes sense to buy that particular amp for his IEMs (or any amp at all, given the particular source).

More technically, an amp can damage sensitive IEMs in other ways than playing too loud--especially if it wasn't designed with sensitive IEMs in mind. To list two examples, an amp could have poorly controlled on/off transients (sometimes audible as a big *clack* through the earphones when you turn on the amp with the earphones connected) or an uncorrected DC offset, both of which can kill IEMs without the user doing or hearing anything out of the ordinary. Although such defects are rare and usually enough cause for recalling the product for redesign.

I see. Thanks for the detailed response!

Well, the source/amp in question is the CEntrance DACport Slim. The IEMs are a pair of unknown 16 ohm IEMs. The person asked the question on the product's Massdrop discussion section two days ago, but nobody answered the person yet.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

That should be a fine choice for IEMs. Just keep the gain switch to Low.

 

[U-3C]

That should be a fine choice for IEMs. Just keep the gain switch to Low.

Okay, thanks!