[Music Alchemist]

You don't add that on top. It would be somewhere in the middle. We add peaks above the average volume to the desired listening level. This is why 15db above the listening level is usually considered more than enough for the very, very large majority of music.

One of the problems, of course, is that most people have no idea of what their typical listening volume is.

 
Ah, I see. Since the dynamic range involves the softest and loudest parts in the music, I assumed too much and believed the info I parroted from elsewhere. Got any links that explain this whole "add it from the middle" phenomenon in more detail?
 
I should get an SPL meter to find out how loud I normally listen. Won't be surprised if it's louder than most people!

 

[Sonnycz]

Me X3: So does it mean that even 600Ω headphones are still going to perform 6,25 worse with the Yamaha than with ANY average or better headphone amplifier ??
Above you wrote that you used Fiio E10 to feed your Yamaha. So if I get that thing, I can reduce the output impedance of my Yamaha and make the sound better too ?

 

[MwAvGuy]

Grados or Mad Dogs

 

[Me x3]

  Me X3: So does it mean that even 600Ω headphones are still going to perform 6,25 worse with the Yamaha than with ANY average or better headphone amplifier ??
 
No, far from that.
The DT880 will perform pretty much the same in the big scheme of things, main difference will be a very slight boost in the bass, which might probably appears not as perfectly controlled as if you were using an amp with less than 100 Ohm output impedance.
Just that, and those effects are subtle, even using the 250 Ohm version that is (in theory) a worse match.
  Above you wrote that you used Fiio E10 to feed your Yamaha. So if I get that thing, I can reduce the output impedance of my Yamaha and make the sound better too ?
 
I've used the Fiio E10 only as a DAC to feed the Yamaha A-S500 with a clear/ transparent analog signal. So the E10 takes the job of your current Xonar DX. This has no effect on the headphone jack's output impedance.

 

[cel4145]

Ah, I see. Since the dynamic range involves the softest and loudest parts in the music, I assumed too much and believed the info I parroted from elsewhere. Got any links that explain this whole "add it from the middle" phenomenon in more detail?

I should get an SPL meter to find out how loud I normally listen. Won't be surprised if it's louder than most people!

Peaks and dips are above and below average, right?

You can get an SPL meter pretty cheap. I have the old analog Radio Shack one that used to be popular: http://www.amazon.com/RadioShack-7-range-Analog-Display-Sound/dp/B000A1EHGM/. I understand that there are some newer cheap models on Ebay that can work as well, including some digital ones. Easy enough to use some speakers to see how loud you like to listen.

Now if you ever want to get into using one to map out the frequency response of a speaker setup, you need one that has calibration files.

 

[Sonnycz]

Me x3: You say the effects are subtle. Then how big difference does the damping factor really make in % by your estimation ? I mean by how much % less controlled the sound would be with a 32Ω headphones compared to 600Ω ?? I am trying to find out what my real options are at this point.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Peaks and dips are above and below average, right?

 
When I mentioned adding the dynamic range to your listening level, I meant your average listening level for that song. So could we perhaps already have been in agreement?

 

[Me x3]

  Me x3: You say the effects are subtle. Then how big difference does the damping factor really make in % by your estimation ? I mean by how much % less controlled the sound would be with a 32Ω headphones compared to 600Ω ?? I am trying to find out what my real options are at this point.

 
From my experience with the headphone jack on my A-S500:
 
The 27 ohm Fidelio L1 sounded pretty bad.
The 31 ohm Sony MDR-1R sounded pretty bad as well, probably worse than the Fidelio.
The 60 Ohm K702 sounded very diffuse in the lower end (vs amps with much lower output impedance)
The 250 Ohm DT880 sounded very well to my ears, less coldish and more musical, although not as ultimately precise in the mid bass region.
The 250 Ohm DT990 sounded well too, but this is a bassy headphone, the added bass wasn't a good thing in the long run.
 
Some people even prefer coldish hedphones like DT880 paired with dedicated amps with quite high output impedance.

 

[cel4145]

When I mentioned adding the dynamic range to your listening level, I meant your average listening level for that song. So could we perhaps already have been in agreement?

No. (lol)

 

[Music Alchemist]

No. (lol)

 
I'm so confused! Just explain it mathematically for me then.

 

[Sonnycz]

  The 60 Ohm K702 sounded very diffuse in the lower end (vs amps with much lower output impedance)

 
Actually, K701 was the only high category headphones apart from HD650 that I had. It was prior to getting HD650. I bought them, let them burn in for some 40 hours but there was literaly NO bass at all. When listening I could have only imagine the lower end of the music. So I returned them. And probably thanks to this experience I reached for the HD650 to ensure that bass was always going to be there. So yeah, I agree about this one.

 

[cel4145]

I'm so confused! Just explain it mathematically for me then.

You said that the dynamic range of most music is 30db. So peaks would be +30 db, dips 0db.

So with your average listening volume, +15 db is generally considered sufficient to over the peaks.

 

[Music Alchemist]

You said that the dynamic range of most music is 30db. So peaks would be +30 db, dips 0db.

So with your average listening volume, +15 db is generally considered sufficient to over the peaks.

 
I said the most dynamic classical music has at most 30 dB of dynamic range. Most music has far less DR than that.
 
If the peak is 30 dB, would it be 30 dB on top of the softest parts in the music, 30 dB on top of the average SPL in the song, or something else?

 

[Sonnycz]

I'm just doing some browsing through the forums and reviews and I'm starting to worry if the DT880 is truly the best choise for me who listens to 99% of rock and metal music. There's pretty frequented claim that the DT990 600Ω has more impact and weight of bass than the DT880 600Ω which has lack of it. What do you think about this comparison ??

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I'm just doing some browsing through the forums and reviews and I'm starting to worry if the DT880 is truly the best choise for me who listens to 99% of rock and metal music. There's pretty frequented claim that the DT990 600Ω has more impact and weight of bass than the DT880 600Ω which has lack of it. What do you think about this comparison ??

 
I do not recommend the DT 880 for rock and metal. I only loved it with acoustic music.
 
But you said you heard it yourself and liked it, right?