Help me buy my first good pair of headphones.
Feb 25, 2011 at 10:26 AM Post #46 of 60


Quote:
thejackhammer said:
so what exactly dose impedance mean and whats better high or low. and I'm now eather going to buy the 2200 or the 2400 is the difference of 5 noticeable?
Click to expand...


Nominal impedance(which is measured in ohms) is a measure of electrical resistance, meaning the higher the impedance rating the more current is needed just to overcome the electrical resistance of the item or in this case headphones.  This is why higher impedance headphones like Beyerdynamic's DT 880 600 Ohms for example, are much harder to drive then a pair of 16 Ohm Apple ear buds.  Very little current(in comparison to the DT880) is needed to overcome the electrical resistance of the Apple ear buds, which why an ipod can get much louder with these than the DT 880.  With the limited output of portable devices like the ipod, an external amplifier is needed to help produce the current to properly power hard to drive headphones.  Just keep in mind that while nominal impedance is a good indication of how difficult or easy a headphone will be to drive, it's not the only factor as there are low impedance headphones(take Denon's D7000 rated at 24 Ohms) that are a bit harder to properly drive without an external amplifier, then things like size of the driver, sesitivity, voice coil mass, etc. factor in as well.
 
I would think that there's most likely not really much of a difference, terms of drivability, between the HFi-2200 and the HFi-2400.  You'll most likely need an amp for both regardless.
 
Feb 25, 2011 at 10:27 AM Post #47 of 60


Quote:
thejackhammer said:
 


 so what exactly dose impedance mean and whats better high or low. and I'm now eather going to buy the 2200 or the 2400 is the difference of 5 noticeable?
Click to expand...


The speaker is driven by a voice-coil - a tightly wound wire. Current through the wire alters its interaction with a magnet attached to the voice coil, creating the movement that you hear.
 
Lots of times, thinner voice coils reduce moving mass, which is a good, but increase "impedance", which is basically the wires resistance to the current flowing through it. So yeah, ALL THINGS EQUAL, higher impedance means it will benefit from an amp more as it needs more voltage or current. Don't be fooled though, this isn't everything and there are some LOW impedance phones that sound AUDIBLY better well-amped. Example - my Denon D2000 is only 25ohms and you will hear people, left and right, saying that because they are 25ohm there is absolutely no reason to amp them. Well, off a Heed Canamp vs regular headphone outs, *I* can hear plenty of difference, no one is going to talk me out of that.
 


Quote:
canadian411 said:
Beyerdynamic DT990, DT880, DT770 (32 or 250 ohm)
AKG K701 or K702
 
are the "best valued" headphones for money.
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All great, but I haven't listened to any 32ohm Beyers - I know I strongly prefer the 250ohm variants to the 80ohm Pro's. The AKG's are good, but I feel like they, more than many headphones, need a strong amping solution.
 
Feb 25, 2011 at 10:29 AM Post #48 of 60

Beat me to it by seconds! Good thing we agree :D Especially on the D2k/D5k/D7k series. I wanna slap someone when they say "just buy the D2k - it's 25ohms, no amp needed!"
Quote:
digital-pride said:
Nominal impedance(which is measured in ohms) is a measure of electrical resistance, meaning the higher the impedance rating the more current is needed just to overcome the electrical resistance of the item or in this case headphones.  This is why higher impedance headphones like Beyerdynamic's DT 880 600 Ohms for example, are much harder to drive then a pair of 16 Ohm Apple ear buds.  Very little current(in comparison to the DT880) is needed to overcome the electrical resistance of the Apple ear buds, which why an ipod can get much louder with these than the DT 880.  With the limited output of portable devices like the ipod, an external amplifier is needed to help produce the current to properly power hard to drive headphones.  Just keep in mind that while nominal impedance is a good indication of how difficult or easy a headphone will be to drive, it's not the only factor as there are low impedance headphones(take Denon's D7000 rated at 24 Ohms) that are a bit harder to properly drive without an external amplifier, then things like size of the driver, sesitivity, voice coil mass, etc. factor in as well.
 
I would think that there's most likely not really much of a difference, terms of drivability, between the HFi-2200 and the HFi-2400.  You'll most likely need an amp for both regardless.
Click to expand...



 
Feb 25, 2011 at 3:48 PM Post #51 of 60
The E5 is functional, even a cMoy has more power and I am serious. The K702 as a portable headphone, outdoors? I would not do that.
 
Why a K702? You can take the gamble but you should know that studio oriented headphones can make or break a lot of music you like to listen too, just be aware of that.
 
Good luck...
 
Feb 25, 2011 at 4:24 PM Post #52 of 60
I'd give the K702 a thumbs down.. they are more music-specific than a lot of stuff and most of their big fans are people putting as much or more into their amp than the headphones. And yeah, if portable is a concern - they are wide open.. not what you want.
 
Feb 25, 2011 at 4:56 PM Post #54 of 60
Click on add to cart, reach for the wallet and never look back!
 
Feb 25, 2011 at 5:10 PM Post #56 of 60
Haha, I hear you!  Rest assured the Ultrasone is LEAGUES ahead of the Bose in both overall build and sound quality.  If I may ask, was the problem that your Bose broke down or was there another issue?
 
Feb 26, 2011 at 12:12 PM Post #60 of 60
If you want bass without sacrificing the sound of the rest of the spectrum I would strongly suggest having a listen to the Denon DN-HP700. Here is a review I did of that headphone. It's price is low enough you can then afford to buy a $200 amp to go with it. Something like the Fiio E7 would probably suffice.
 
From the FA-003 and Ultrasone reads I have done I believe you will an amp to make them sound their best. The model I have mentioned will also sound better with an amp but does not "need" one to sound good.
 
BTW |Joker| has also reviewed the DN-HP700, the only change I would have to his review is the scoring, I would give these a 9 for sound and 9.5 for value since they offer such a solid sound for their price.
 
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