[ggops]

 i own a Cowon J3 and im really looking forward to buying a pair of FA 011 by fischer audio. But it has high impedence, so can the j3 drive the 011's ( 160 ohm impedence) ? or would it actually make a difference in sound and soundstage if i bought an E11 from fiio and use it with my j3? im a newbie and im not sure how effective an amp is on the sound of headphones. more specifically how would it affect the FA011?

 

[sabatar]

I'll cut it short for you. J3 will not power those headphones. It will FULLY power headphones whose ohm is not beyond 40. The more the ohm is the less the power you get from the cans. Portable amps will NOT power those demanding cans. You'll need a set top amp to give you the potential of theirs as they are meant to be.

 

[Riverback]

You never know, the Corda 2Stepdance has enough juice for the DT880's
 
Being hard/easy to drive just doesn't rely on impedance. I've had some 80 ohm phones that run off an ipod/D2 just fine

 

[Justinicus]

My E7 does a decent job on my FA-011s, and my E9 does it louder.  They both SOUND good though. Moderate impedance, yes, but still relatively sensitive.  I don't think they're too tough to drive, though I'm not an expert.

 

[scuttle]

Quote:

I'll cut it short for you. J3 will not power those headphones. It will FULLY power headphones whose ohm is not beyond 40. The more the ohm is the less the power you get from the cans. Portable amps will NOT power those demanding cans. You'll need a set top amp to give you the potential of theirs as they are meant to be.

It's very nice that you have an opinion, but what makes you believe this? And why should anyone believe you? My J3 will drive 60 ohm Koss Portapros to an unbearable level, and Joker's huge multi-headphone tests are done with a J3. Based on my experience I'd expect the J3 to go well beyond 100 ohms and still to be able cause ear damage. I've seen posts about using it to drive 250 ohm phones without quality problems - you lose the ability to go to volume levels that will damage your hearing, but nothing else.
 

 

[Riverback]

They'll power it, but I don't believe they'll power it fully.
 
The battery on the J3 can't pull a big enough voltage swing to power high impedance headphones.
It'll probably be able to go until 80 ohm, but that's only for sensitive phones.

 

[ZARIM]

The Fiio E11 with J3 can easily drive FA 011 to loud volume but not extreme because it (FA011) has relatively low sensetivity.