[xthugking]

hi,
what do all those specifications on a headphone/earphone really mean. boxes mean? What do the ratings mean? Higher the better or lower the better. Please help. I would be really happy if someone thoroughly xplain these to me.

1. Frequency response
2. impedance
3. Sensitivity


sorry if this question has been asked before.

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

Originally posted by xthugking hi, what do all those specifications on a headphone/earphone really mean. boxes mean? What do the ratings mean? Higher the better or lower the better. Please help. I would be really happy if someone thoroughly xplain these to me. 1. Frequency response 2. impedance 3. Sensitivity sorry if this question has been asked before.

1. Frequency response, if stated as something like 10hz-20kHz is pretty meaningless with regards to headphones. Don't worry about it.
2. Impedance: A low impedance headphone (less than 100 ohms) is usually easier to drive as it presents an easier load to the amp. Has basically nothing to do with sound quality. There are good sounding high impedance and low impedance headphones.
3. Sensitivity: Usually stated as something like 100 dB/1 mW. That is a very efficient headphone. This means that it will acheive greater volume with less power than a 'phone rated at 88 dB/1 mW.
Hope this helps. Those here who are more technically inclined can elaborate further......or correct my mistakes.

 

[Davie]

To elaborate a bit, most headphones that can be driven by a portable are rated as 32 to 64 ohms impedance.

Sensitivity seems to vary depending on how it is measured. A sony phone that I have that is rated at 103db does not produce as much volume as a similar Koss model rated at 101db. But in general, in my experience a Sensitivity specification of 98db is a minimum for use with a portable, and well over 100db is a preferable.

 

[MadDog]

Hey, these are spec which I have always beeen wondered. Thanks for the great info!

 

[lini]

Quote:

Originally posted by joelongwood Hope this helps. Those here who are more technically inclined can elaborate further......or correct my mistakes.

Well, ok...

1.) The pure frequency response alone is indeed rather worthless - but if you get additional info on its precision (i.e. something like "25 Hz - 22 kHz +/- 3 dB"), it can be quite helpful...

3.) Sensitivity and efficiency get mixed up rather frequently. Of course, both are similar - but basically, sensitivity is sound pressure per voltage (dB/mV), whereas efficiency is sound pressure per power (dB/mW). As the impedance of a headphone is usually stated, it's not difficult to transfer efficiency to sensitivity and vice versa, though...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[PeterR]

Quote:

2. Impedance: A low impedance headphone (less than 100 ohms) is usually easier to drive as it presents an easier load to the amp.

Actually a high impedance phone is the easier load. Current demands are lower and the damping factor of a given amp will be higher. But a lower impedance helps with portable sources because of their limited voltage swing (low supply voltage).

Quote:

Has basically nothing to do with sound quality. There are good sounding high impedance and low impedance headphones.

Absolutely.

 

[xthugking]

hi, thanx y'all for the info.

I will be using my headphones most of the time (95%) with my portable md recorder.

What ratings as far as specifications are concerned should I go for imagine I use it without an amp.... just the md and headphone.