DT770 (Beyerdynamic) 250 ohm. Will a CMOY power it?

[Andy80F]

My local store has the DT 770 available in 250 ohm guise and from searches so far it seems that some sort of amping will be needed.  I have a low end Fiio, the E5, which I know will be useless but also an older but well made CMOY, Penguin Caffiene, amp which runs from a 9v PP3 battery.  Will the CMOY do any sort of justice to the DT 770's or should I swerve the deal and hold out for an 80 ohm version?
 
Andy

 

[fabio-fi]

Well, this little amp drives the HD600/650 (300 ohm) on high gain, it should be fine with the 250ohm headphones. 

 

[dukeskd]

It should be no problem, have you considered the O2?

 

[Andy80F]

No I had not considered the O2 but have just had a look and it seems very interesting at least for home use with one review suggesting its a bit heavy for portable use but I suppose the DT 770's are hardly an out and about kind of headphone anyway.  
 
Andy

 

[Catharsis]

My DT770 250ohm runs loud (no clipping) out of my X-Fi Extreme Sound Card OR a Sansa Clip + with an E5. 
 
I was a bit worried that I would need something dedicated, but I've got plenty of volume, no clipping and what sounds like a consistent frequency response between sources. 

 

[hodgjy]

One of the biggest causes of confusion is the difference between impedance and sensitivity. 

 

[Catharsis]

The DT770 are 96db/mW I believe which is pretty good.  You'll need about 20mW of juice to get to ~110dB peaks if memory serves. The higher impedance does mean that I have to set the volume knob higher but it's nothing that even a cheap E5 can't handle.