[jonathan c]

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[sygnus21]

300ohm basically requires 3x more power to drive them vs my 100ohm Momentum 3s?

No! A 300 Ohm headphone would NOT need 3x more power to drive vs. a 100 Ohm headphone. That's not how it works.

I have both the Sennheiser HD700 phones (150 Ohm) and the HD800S phones (300 Ohm) and the volume difference between them is maybe a click or two. So, using a 10-scale, if the HD700 are on 5, the HD800S is maybe 6 - 6.5.

Also, there's this thing called Sound Pressure Level (sensitivity) so it is possible that a 300 Ohm phone play louder than a 100 Ohm phone if the 300 Ohm phone is more sensitive.

Anyway, I no expert in this area, but I do know a 300 Ohm phone does NOT require 3 times more volume power versus a 100 Ohm phone. You can see this yourself by simply observing your volume knob when checking one headphone against the other.

If you do see that drastic a change, I would say there's something wrong with your headphones.... some type of cable issue (short) or headphone driver (ear cup) issue.

Peace

 

[Bassheadd]

No! A 300 Ohm headphone would NOT need 3x more power to drive vs. a 100 Ohm headphone. That's not how it works.

I have both the Sennheiser HD700 phones (150 Ohm) and the HD800S phones (300 Ohm) and the volume difference between them is maybe a click or two. So, using a 10-scale, if the HD700 are on 5, the HD800S is maybe 6 - 6.5.

Also, there's this thing called Sound Pressure Level (sensitivity) so it is possible that a 300 Ohm phone play louder than a 100 Ohm phone if the 300 Ohm phone is more sensitive.

Anyway, I no expert in this area, but I do know a 300 Ohm phone does NOT require 3 times more volume power versus a 100 Ohm phone. You can see this yourself by simply observing your volume knob when checking one headphone against the other.

If you do see that drastic a change, I would say there's something wrong with your headphones.... some type of cable issue (short) or headphone driver (ear cup) issue.

Peace

Thanks. This makes sense now. Never had a 300ohm headphone before but these 660s2’s are magical going into 20 hours now of playback. They have really opened up now and I’m expecting them to open up even more as I get to 40 hours playback on it. Sites have said 40 hours is a good length of time to burn in these cans.

I believe the C-200 is a great amp for these cans. Just seeing what other options I have so I know for sure that Im going with a great setup before my 30 days return policy is up.

 

[Gradostax fan]

No! A 300 Ohm headphone would NOT need 3x more power to drive vs. a 100 Ohm headphone. That's not how it works.

I have both the Sennheiser HD700 phones (150 Ohm) and the HD800S phones (300 Ohm) and the volume difference between them is maybe a click or two. So, using a 10-scale, if the HD700 are on 5, the HD800S is maybe 6 - 6.5.

Also, there's this thing called Sound Pressure Level (sensitivity) so it is possible that a 300 Ohm phone play louder than a 100 Ohm phone if the 300 Ohm phone is more sensitive.

Anyway, I no expert in this area, but I do know a 300 Ohm phone does NOT require 3 times more volume power versus a 100 Ohm phone. You can see this yourself by simply observing your volume knob when checking one headphone against the other.

If you do see that drastic a change, I would say there's something wrong with your headphones.... some type of cable issue (short) or headphone driver (ear cup) issue.

Peace

From what i read , high ohm headphones need high voltage swing while low ohm headphones thrive on high current output.
This is quite evident from the accounts of 300ohms senn headphones perform well on OTL tube amps while low ohm grado headphones tend to do well with solid state amps using opamps that have high current output , for eg. grado ra1

 

[sygnus21]

From what i read , high ohm headphones need high voltage swing while low ohm headphones thrive on high current output.
This is quite evident from the accounts of 300ohms senn headphones perform well on OTL tube amps while low ohm grado headphones tend to do well with solid state amps using opamps that have high current output , for eg. grado ra1

Please understand in headphone terms there are 3 categories of Impedance (Ohms) ratings - Low (up to 32 Ohms), Mid (between 32 - 100 Ohms), and High (100 and up).

Here a 100 Ohm headphone sits at the end of mid moving to high, and thus is NOT a "low impedance" headphone. And the difference between a 100- and 300-Ohm headphone is not all that significant.

I think some are getting caught up in "numbers" and thinking that's the end all where loudness is concerned, but it's not; neither is it that simple as you also need to understand Sensitivity...

Low-impedance headphones are generally louder than high-impedance headphones, for a given source voltage. But impedance isn’t the only spec that determines how loud your headphones can get — sensitivity also plays a big role. Just as in loudspeakers, sensitivity measures how efficiently your headphones convert power into sound. Sensitivity ratings are measured in decibels SPL (Sound Pressure Level) per milliwatt. They vary from low sensitivity (around 85 dB SPL/mW), to very high sensitivity (around 118 dB SPL/mW.) If you want your headphones to get very loud, look for sensitivity of 100 dB SPL/mW and up.

Source: Headphones Ohms Ratings Explained.

At the end of the day Ohms alone doesn't necessarily tell the whole story of how loud a headphone may get.

My two cents.

 

[Quadfather]

From what i read , high ohm headphones need high voltage swing while low ohm headphones thrive on high current output.
This is quite evident from the accounts of 300ohms senn headphones perform well on OTL tube amps while low ohm grado headphones tend to do well with solid state amps using opamps that have high current output , for eg. grado ra1

The HD660S2 headphones sound amazing from my Lotoo Paw Gold Touch, but eventually, I will try tubes. When a had the HD650, I liked LPGT and Bottlehead Crack equally.

 

[Bassheadd]

Since this is a 660s2 thread, I figured it would be the best place to ask it. How many hours of music playback did you put on before you really noticed your headphones to sound fully open and at its max potential? Just curious. One review said 40 hours.

I may give it 50 hours before I crank it up, just to be safe.

 

[sygnus21]

Since this is a 660s2 thread, I figured it would be the best place to ask it. How many hours of music playback did you put on before you really noticed your headphones to sound fully open and at its max potential? Just curious. One review said 40 hours.

I may give it 50 hours before I crank it up, just to be safe.

There's zero reasons preventing you from "cranking" up your headphones. Not that you should, but "burn-in" isn't a prevention. And while I don't have the HD660S2, I do have both the Sennheiser HD700 and HD800S, and mine took about 50 before opening up. So might say longer, but about 50 should work.

 

[Bassheadd]

There's zero reasons preventing you from "cranking" up your headphones. Not that you should, but "burn-in" isn't a prevention. And while I don't have the HD660S2, I do have both the Sennheiser HD700 and HD800S, and mine took about 50 before opening up. So might say longer, but about 50 should work.

Thanks, I figured 50 hours should be safe. I am playing it louder now but the first 20 hours I kept the volume on low just to be safe. At the start I played mostly vocals and songs with a lot of instrumentals, then I got into music with more bass as I put on more hours. I just started playing heavier bass music and ones with faster bass notes. I just hit 40 hours.

 

[chesebert]

Since this is a 660s2 thread, I figured it would be the best place to ask it. How many hours of music playback did you put on before you really noticed your headphones to sound fully open and at its max potential? Just curious. One review said 40 hours.

I may give it 50 hours before I crank it up, just to be safe.

A couple of hours. You are suppose to crank it up in the first couple of hours - just leave it cranked up.

 

[PopZeus]

I don’t know enough about electrical engineering to speak intelligently about the current and voltage, but the S2 likes power. It just doesn’t need a lot of gain. Any basic desktop gear can run it fine. The question is can it help scale the S2 to its fullest potential.

 

[sygnus21]

Thanks, I figured 50 hours should be safe. I am playing it louder now but the first 20 hours I kept the volume on low just to be safe. At the start I played mostly vocals and songs with a lot of instrumentals, then I got into music with more bass as I put on more hours. I just started playing heavier bass music and ones with faster bass notes. I just hit 40 hours.

A couple of hours. You are suppose to crank it up in the first couple of hours - just leave it cranked up.

Not recommending that for any headphones at any amount of burn-in. But you do you.

 

[chesebert]

Not recommending that for any headphones. But you do you.

I guess we have different definition of "cranked up" - SPL 80-85db A weighted for me.

 

[sygnus21]

I guess we have different definition of "cranked up" - SPL 80-85db A weighted for me.

Perhaps you don't understand the definition of "cranked up"?

 

[fidgeraldo]

I guess we have different definition of "cranked up" - SPL 80-85db A weighted for me.

That's an average number for me. Actually, it's more 85-90 and spikes to 100

Cheers!