[money4me247]

  So can anyone please explain the question - Why would a higher impedance be an easier load to drive?
 
These headphones sound too interesting to pass, though I'm using a tube amp atm, it would be interesting to see if I should continue with tubes or go solid state (Rag)

you might wanna go otl tube for super high impedance headphones.

 

[Rem0o]

  So can anyone please explain the question - Why would a higher impedance be an easier load to drive?
 
These headphones sound too interesting to pass, though I'm using a tube amp atm, it would be interesting to see if I should continue with tubes or go solid state (Rag)

Mainly, high impedance load = better damping factor, minimal loading effect on the amplifier and maximum amplitude of the signal into said load.

 

[Jones Bob]

you might wanna go otl tube for super high impedance headphones.

That's precisely what I do with my 145k ohm Stax.

 

[wuwhere]

  Ahh this is the thread I wanted to be subbed to.
 
You guys still don't have the other picture posted in this thread though?

 
That's a nice aluminum headphone stand by Copper Colour.

 

[SilverEars]

  Since planar have almost perfectly flat impedance response, you may already drive an LCD-X from a high Z-out OTL amp without altering frequency response...no ?

Ali

For planars it isn't the issue of altering the frequency response with an amp of high output impedance. It's power delivery.  Since it's 1.2k ohms, even with very high output impedance, relatively the headphones will have high enough load for more power delivery to the headphones although the loudness would depend on it's impedance since it's V^2/R.  For very high output impedance amps, it's beneficial to have much higher impedance heapdhones.  Is there an OTL amp with significant ouput impedance to warrant a 1.2kohm headphone?
 
As for speaker taps, you would only have to worry if you use a lower impedance load for amps that rated higher which would burn out the amp.  Like using 4ohm load speakers for 8ohm amp.

 

[XVampireX]

  Mainly, high impedance load = better damping factor, minimal loading effect on the amplifier and maximum amplitude of the signal into said load.

Do you speak English?
 
No seriously, for me it's magic. I'd love to know how it works for sure.

 

[Rem0o]

  Do you speak English?
 
No seriously, for me it's magic. I'd love to know how it works for sure.

Let's try something else.

The higher impedance is the load, the more "distinct" the headphones is to the amplifier. Both the amplifier and the headphones are a distinct system. On their own, they act a certain way. Now, when you plug both together, you get a new bigger system, where the two sub-systems interact with each other. In this case, the output of the first system (amp) goes into the input of the second system (headphones). However, when plugged together, the individual behavior of each sub-system changes a bit (loading effect) because its new neighbor disturb its usual "perfect" individual response. A high impedance in that scenario makes the headphones more RESISTANT to these small disturbances, making it more like it wasn't linked to anything, just receiving the input signal without any neighbor disturbance in the process.

Hope it's a little bit clearer now.

 

[daniel_hokkaido]

  Let's try something else.

The higher impedance is the load, the more "distinct" the headphones is to the amplifier. Both the amplifier and the headphones are a distinct system. On their own, they act a certain way. Now, when you plug both together, you get a new bigger system, where the two sub-systems interact with each other. In this case, the output of the first system (amp) goes into the input of the second system (headphones). However, when plugged together, the individual behavior of each sub-system changes a bit (loading effect) because its new neighbor disturb its usual "perfect" individual response. A high impedance in that scenario makes the headphones more RESISTANT to these small disturbances, making it more like it wasn't linked to anything, just receiving the input signal without any neighbor disturbance in the process.

Hope it's a little bit clearer now.

 
So likewise is a lower output impedance into a sensitive iem also about avoiding neighbor disturbance? 

 

[reddog]

Subscribed.

 

[Rem0o]

   
So likewise is a lower output impedance into a sensitive iem also about avoiding neighbor disturbance? 

Pretty much. In this case, a lower output impedance makes transfering the signal form the amp to the IEM much easier, without hassle.

An amp is a really dumb device. Like a guy, it can't focus on two things at once, or at least, do two things right at once. Also, it always focus on the bigger thing. "Big = get my attention" kind of logic.  The "things" in this scenario are loads (resistances/impedance). By itself, an amp has a real small thing to exclusively focus on, its output impedance. It will drive all of its attention (voltage) to it. When you show him a bigger load (headphone), it will shift its attention to this new huge thing.  However, he will always focus also a little bit on its poor and lonely little output impedance, making him work on two things at once, hence bad (remember, it's like a guy).  As it tries to drive two things, it will lose focus and mess with both, doing poorly. The trick here is to make either:

A -> The headphone load so much more interesting (making it BIG like the new Audeze) than the output impedance so the amp will almost exclusively focus on the headphones.

or...

B -> Make the output impedance boring and not interesting (making it small) so whatever else you show the amp (your IEM), it will exclusively focus on that.

And that's how an amp work.

(you get bonus points if you find all the innuendo in this post).

 

[money4me247]

  Pretty much. In this case, a lower output impedance makes transfering the signal form the amp to the IEM much easier, without hassle.

An amp is a really dumb device. Like a guy, it can't focus on two things at once, or at least, do two things right at once. Also, it always focus on the bigger thing. "Big = get my attention" kind of logic.  The "things" in this scenario are loads (resistances/impedance). By itself, an amp has a real small thing to exclusively focus on, its output impedance. It will drive all of its attention (voltage) to it. When you show him a bigger load (headphone), it will shift its attention to this new huge thing.  However, he will always focus also a little bit on its poor and lonely little output impedance, making him work on two things at once, hence bad (remember, it's like a guy).  As it tries to drive two things, it will lose focus and mess with both, doing poorly. The trick here is to make either:

A -> The headphone load so much more interesting (making it BIG like the new Audeze) than the output impedance so the amp will almost exclusively focus on the headphones.

or...

B -> Make the output impedance boring and not interesting (making it small) so whatever else you show the amp (your IEM), it will exclusively focus on that.

And that's how an amp work.

(you get bonus points if you find all the innuendo in this post).

hahah!!! funny analogy to describe watsup

 

[sling5s]

subbed

 

[Steve Eddy]

Or current amps

No, not current amps. Current amps want to drive low impedances (ideally zero ohms), not high impedances.

se

 

[Steve Eddy]

Basically, keeping all else equal, you can increase a driver's sensitivity by either using a stronger magnet, or by putting more turns of wire on the voice coil. It seems like Audeze has gone for the latter, with their "ultra-high-density voice coil." That would increase the sensitivity as well as the impedance of the voice coil, which appears to be the case her given their 106dB sensitivity. All in all a good thing. A planar with the sensitivity usually reserved for dynamic headphones. And that 1,200 ohm impedance would indeed be a godsend for OTL amps.

Good on Audeze.

se

 

[citraian]

No, not current amps. Current amps want to drive low impedances (ideally zero ohms), not high impedances.

se

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/canjam-rmaf-2014-audeze-prototype-z-high-impedance-planar-magnetic-headphone

What about the handout that states: The Prototype-Z can be driven with any regular voltage-mode amplifier, but better results can be achieved with high quality current-mode amplifiers like the BAKOON. Current-mode amplifiers work very efficiently into this type of load and will be louder at the same volume setting than any other headphone. Voltage-mode amplifiers will require the volume knob to be higher to generate proper driving power into such high impedance modes.