[boebi0]

So I decided to get myself a new pair of headphones. I have a headset (usb) I always use with my pc and I love it, now I need something portable. Up until now I've always used earphones but I'd like to get into some better headphone equipment.
 
I've been looking into a lot of headphones and after some research it seems that the impedance is quite important.
Now I heard from someone that high impedance is better, highest is best. This is basically my first question, to what extent are high impedance headphones better?
 
Now I'm guessing that high impedance also means you need a suitable amp. Since I'm looking for something portable and usually use my phone (HTC Desire S) this might not work?
I've been trying to find out what the output of my phone is but I haven't been able to find it...
I really don't want to spend money on another amp and it wouldn't really work well on the road.
 
For high impedance I was looking at the Sennheiser PXC 450, 150 ohm.
 
So then comes low impedance. I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) I won't need an extra amp so thats good. 
But then comes the big question, will lower impendance also result in lower quality?
I also read that that if the impedance difference between your device and headphones is too large it would also compromise quality?
 
I was looking at the Pioneer HDJ-1500 with an impedance of 32 ohm, I was planning on getting it until I came across the impedance info.
 
I might just be a bit overreacting but I'd like to make sure everything works before I buy anything ^^
 
Thanks for any help in advance
 
EDIT: Too bad I can't edit the title... Sorry for the spelling mistake there ^^

 

[Slash86]

That might be half a guess since i'm kinda noobish to all of that, so be cautious about what i will say !

IMO, higher impedance doesnt mean better cans... (Ultrasone ed8 get quite low impedance)

This idea might come from the fact that high impedance cans would get more resistive speakers, and you could think the more " resistive" the speaker is the less inertia it gets (and thus it would get a more precise sound..)
But thats kind of gessing here

I own the pxc 450, and even with 150ohm, you dont "need" an amp. However, you'll never get a headache because of the volume... With max sound on ithing, its stays quite low but its still more sound than enough

 

[boebi0]

Quote:

That might be half a guess since i'm kinda noobish to all of that, so be cautious about what i will say !
IMO, higher impedance doesnt mean better cans... (Ultrasone ed8 get quite low impedance)
This idea might come from the fact that high impedance cans would get more resistive speakers, and you could think the more " resistive" the speaker is the less inertia it gets (and thus it would get a more precise sound..)
But thats kind of gessing here
I own the pxc 450, and even with 150ohm, you dont "need" an amp. However, you'll never get a headache because of the volume... With max sound on ithing, its stays quite low but its still more sound than enough

 
Do you use your set with a smartphone as well? That's my biggest fear, that the high impedance ones wont run (loud enough) since I will mostly use them when traveling which means loud surroundings in many cases.

 

[Slash86]

I've been using them for 2 yrs every day or so (well truely 1 year, i take them only on winter for ear covering : p)

It is suitable for iphone , thats the least i can say.
However, i recomand you use something like Fiio amp which would be small enough, and leave all the restrictions behind !

Without noise canceling, the volume is fair. Even in the transports.
With noise canceling i feel like its really not enough for noisy places. (Sometimes need to set up the gain to 2.0 on the eq... And you dont want to do that !)

So yes, you'll be able to use them, with a fairly decent sound. But youll get more comfort with a lill amp. Cuz those few situations when you want to turn it up a little could be very frustrating ....