Driving the HD201

[nabwong]

Hey people,

I just got the HD201 today. They are going to be my winter ear muffs

Anyway, is it just me or are the 201s not easy to drive. I'm using Rio Carbon and Pa2v2. Seems that my HF-1 and 595s are easier to drive. Can't be because it's not burned in right?

Nab

 

[trains are bad]

I have heard that they are hard to drive. They are the only full size cans I have, but I was surprised how little headroom I have with my Total Bithead when running off USB power.

 

[guvnor]

that's a surprise. they're only 24 ohms and have fairly high sensitivity...plus they're closed. I would have thought even the 50 ohms 595 would be harder to drive.

 

[fewtch]

A headphone with weak bass can seem harder to drive... maybe the HD201s are a bit light on the bottom end.

 

[nabwong]

Well, I also experimented boosting the bass with the EQ but overall, the volume is still lower on the 201s than the others. This test was also done in my room, which is quiet.

 

[saint.panda]

Definitely hard to drive considering it's probably supposed to be used as a portable headphone. Most of my portable players have to be turned to Max volume and if the headphone out is not so strong, it won't even be enough. And it depends on the gain of a particular song. My Emu 1212 soundcard had some problems driving the Hd 201 even using the +4dB pro audio standard line output. With quieter tracks I had to apply some extra gain, which even my Hd 650 doesn't need, but there might have been some impedance issues as well. It could be that higher impedance headphones are easier to drive from soundcard line outs in general, I'm not really sure.

 

[piperfect]

After reading previous posts on the HD201 recommended them to a friend that wanted cheap headphones to use in his cube at work powered by his crappy buisness computer. Thanks, I should recommend different cans.

 

[saint.panda]

Actually, for office and indoors applications the volume level should be sufficient unless he listens at really loud volumes.

I should revise my comments a bit. Most of the time, there's sufficient volume but depending on personal preferences, varying gain of music tracks and varying power output of portable players, it can become a bit of a gamble. Compared to to many other headphones, the HD 201 is hard to drive but I suppose it's still within acceptable parameters although more flexibility on top would have been better.

Right now, I'm sitting in front of the computer driving the HD201 from a vintage Philips AZ6831 discman with the volume at 8.5/10 and it's good enough for 6am ears. Might not be enough for 6pm ears though.

 

[jagorev]

I am going to disagree with a lot of people here. I'm listening to my HD201 right now out of my teensy little flash MP3 player, unamped. It has sufficient volume. Sure, it's obviously not as sensitive as earbuds, but in exchange for that you get a much more civilized sound. I really don't see the problem - maybe everyone expects to listen to music at ear blasting level? These are great cans with a real refined sound for the price, and I've never felt a need to use an amplifier with them. Perhaps the Sandisk just has a powerful headphone out? At max volume, it is certainly not loud enough to blow out my ears or anything (as it would be if plugged into my home rig at max vol.), but it's certainly louder than would be advisable or comfortable for extended listening.

EDIT: And this is with classical tracks with soft instruments and quiet passages. With pop or rock, it is much louder than I need, especially in the bass.

 

[nabwong]

Let me give a better description. I din say there wasn't enough volume, just that it's harder to drive. There's a difference.

The rio carbon's volume goes to 30. Usually, with the 595s, HF-1 or even K26p, all i need is about 19-20. When i add the pa2v2 with volume at 7-8 o'clock position, then the carbon's volume goes to 15-16. But for the 201s, with the pa2v2, i need to push the volume up to 20 to be on par. This is plenty for me, at 2/3 of the volume on the carbon.

I'm just making an observation that the 201s are harder to drive. At least harder than 595, HF-1, K26p and er4p.

 

[Tobias Hobson]

I just got a pair of HD201's, and I agree that they are difficult to drive. Out of my home receiver (too broke for an amp) my DT-770's sound good between 24 -26, my SR80's at 30-34, and the HD201's need to be over 40. That's the opposite order you would think based on the impedence.

 

[nabwong]

Does the cable length make a difference or the type of cable? I'm thinking of recabling to make it more portable.

 

[saint.panda]

The cable doesn't affect the headphone's efficiency but I think a shorter one would be more portable in some practical ways.