[jcmoods]

Hi;
 
I've owned a pair of DT880s going on about 8 years now (ballpark). I received them as a gift and, until now, have never been interested in purchasing an amplifier for them. Unfortunately a few years back the cord going into the left side became loose, and I had to send the cans in to be repaired. When they got back, the usual molding on the jack that gives the impedance of the headphones wasn't there anymore, because they apparently replaced the entire cord. Is there any reliable way for me to figure out the impedance of these headphones? I understand the higher ohmages will be less loud than the lower ohmages with the same power, but any info that's a bit more precise would be helpful.
 
Thanks.

 

[Zombie_X]

Hi,
 
If you have access to a multimeter you can easily determine the Ohm rating of your headphone. Simply set the meter to 2000Ohm, then apply the black probe to the sleeve on the plug. Then apply the red probe to either the ring or tip of the plug. You should get a reading then.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hi;
 
I've owned a pair of DT880s going on about 8 years now (ballpark). I received them as a gift and, until now, have never been interested in purchasing an amplifier for them. Unfortunately a few years back the cord going into the left side became loose, and I had to send the cans in to be repaired. When they got back, the usual molding on the jack that gives the impedance of the headphones wasn't there anymore, because they apparently replaced the entire cord. Is there any reliable way for me to figure out the impedance of these headphones? I understand the higher ohmages will be less loud than the lower ohmages with the same power, but any info that's a bit more precise would be helpful.
 
Thanks.

What source(s) do you normally plug the headphones into?

 

[jcmoods]

Not sure I have a multimeter handy, but I'll look around this afternoon.
 

What source(s) do you normally plug the headphones into?

 
Typically my iPod, or a laptop.

 

[Zombie_X]

Hi,
 
From an Ipod you should notice clipping or audible distortion. Also the volume would be over half or near max. This is an easy way to tell if they have a higher Ohm rating, but it is in no way accurate. 
 
With 600Ohm headphone, you should have a much shorter battery life on your Ipod as they are draining the battery much faster. They really do strain portable devices a lot.

 

[PurpleAngel]

You can get a digital multi-meter shipped to you for $7, model # DT830.

 

[stv014]

Quote:

With 600Ohm headphone, you should have a much shorter battery life on your Ipod as they are draining the battery much faster. They really do strain portable devices a lot.

 
Did you actually test this ? Battery life is a function of current drawn. So, in theory (assuming that the device itself is efficient enough) a higher impedance headphone with the same efficiency would drain the batteries less.

 

[Zombie_X]

Hi,
 
With my Zune, my past 600Ohm DT880 seemed to drain the battery really fast. Even my DT990 drained my Zune fast. Their 250Ohm counterparts drained the battery slower, but still faster than 32Ohm headphones.
 
Quote:

 
Did you actually test this ? Battery life is a function of current drawn. So, in theory (assuming that the device itself is efficient enough) a higher impedance headphone with the same efficiency would drain the batteries less.

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zombie_X /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
With my Zune, my past 600Ohm DT880 seemed to drain the battery really fast. Even my DT990 drained my Zune fast. Their 250Ohm counterparts drained the battery slower, but still faster than 32Ohm headphones.

 
It is possible for the current draw to be higher with the 600 Ω version than with the 250 Ω one if there is less than 1.5 kΩ total "parallel" impedance (i.e. everything on which a voltage proportional to the headphone output falls) with the headphones in the player itself. This is a realistic possibility. However, for the 32 Ω version to be the most battery efficient, the "parallel impedance" would need to be less than 170 Ω, which makes less sense, but is not impossible. Or are you referring to other 32 Ω headphones, that are more efficient than the DT770/880/990 series ?