[SgtE]

How do you decide whether a MP3-player has enough juice to drive headphones with high resistance? Output mW?

I have a Monolith that just stopped working. It has very high output but I am now considering a Meizu, that doesn't have as high output as the Monolith. Now I am interested in the upcoming shure e500 but don't want to buy a new mp3-player that 1,5 month later turns out to be insufficent?

Or maybe it doesn't have to do with mW at all? Maybe that only gives a hint on how loud the player can go.

Please help me!

 

[SgtE]

bump

 

[nickie]

Check the output frequencies and the headphones resistance high Ohms = Low output i recomend the Iaudio 6 with 30+30mw (16ohms) its more than enough to blow your ears off

 

[facelvega]

of course the best way to check is to try a pair of headphones with a tester mp3 player, but that isn't always possible. The best measure is then output mW up against the headphones' efficiency/sensitivity, and not so much their impedance which can be misleading for this purpose. Here's a thread that lists sensitivities. As a rule of thumb, anything with a sensitivity above, say 100 dB/mW could be driven even with a weakish player, though perhaps not to its full potential, and any 'phones with an efficiency of around 90 or less will leave you wishing for 30 mW at least.

The main thing to keep in mind is that output only matters in relation to the headphones you want it to drive.

 

[facelvega]

heck, 95 or less. And make that WELL above 100. Don't want to get sent to reeducation camp by team amp-police.

 

[The-One]

i've sort of gotten the impression around that any amp will be better than the default ones in mp3 players and they will increase the performance of high end IEMs like the E500 you were saying. Of course i wont' know for sure until my amp PV2^2 maxed arrives next week. I've got Iriver 140 and Shure E4s.