[lazure]

Just got my Samsung YP-30SH MP3 player today! Still waiting on my Senn MX500s, though. I'm stuck testing it with the stock cans - which aren't as bad as other stocks - and my old Senn HD-56, which sound okay but can't seem to be driven real loud by this tiny thing.

Which brings me to a question from my player's spec sheet, if someone would indulge me with an answer: the specs say the earphones jack output power is 5mW @ 16. Is that good or bad?

I read in some HD-56 reviews that the impedence of these cans is 100 Ohm and that that might explain the low volume. Hopefully the situation will be better with the MX500s at 32 Ohm...would you think? Thanks to all.

 

[redshifter]

hmm, would that be 2.5 watts per channel into a 32 ohm headphone? if so, that's ain't so great. i bet the mx500 will sound fine anyway, though.

 

[lazure]

Pardon my ignorance, but am I to understand that for a given power output, volume is a function of headphone impedence? In other words, I'd probably get more volume out of 16 Ohm Shure e2c than out of 32 Ohm Senn MX500s ?

 

[ServinginEcuador]

A max output of only 5mW at 16 ohms?? Man, is that low! And, like redshifter said, it will be half of that or slightly less for 32 ohms. Let's hope that this is a typo and they really meant more like 500mW or something.

Depending on the sensitivity of those new MX500s, it might be a problem if you want lots of sound. You won't get tons of volume from them as it will probably clip the output and sound horrible. If you use this combo, experiment and see hwo loud it will safely go without distortion. Then, make sure not to go above that level.

 

[PodMan]

I have a Samsung Yepp mp3 cd player with a power rating of 5.5mw per channel @ 16ohms. It drives a Koss KSC-50 and a Sennheiser HD497 pretty well. My normal listening level with the KSC-50 (60ohms) is like a 3.5/10 and the HD497 (32ohms) is like a 2.5/10, well below clipping. Actually, I've never tried to clip it since I rarely go above a 5 in volume. My mp3cd player does sound a little dull though when compared to higher quality sources but I don't think volume is a problem.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Judging from your listening tastes, it should not be a problem. Just let us know how they work with your cans after you get them. That way we'll know for sure and can pass the info on to others.

 

[Rpell]

Quote:

A max output of only 5mW at 16 ohms?? Man, is that low! And, like redshifter said, it will be half of that or slightly less for 32 ohms.

This is only true if you assume that the given power rating reflects both the player's maximum current and maximum voltage output capability--i.e., about 18 mA and 0.28 V, respectively. However the player may well be capable of higher voltages into higher-impedance loads. For example, the same 18 mA output into 32 ohms corresponds to a voltage output of 0.56 V, which I think is pretty typical of most portable devices. This would mean a respectable 10-mW output capability into 32 ohms.

 

[lazure]

Well, finally got my MX500s and listened to them in the bus this morning and am VERY impressed. With sound quality - which I'll discuss elsewhere - and sound quantity! I found myself quite content listening at two-thirds of my player's output power, with more juice on tap. This is not to say that it's deafening at maximum volume...not at all, I can certainly handle it, but I would prefer not as loud, so this little setup will do the trick quite nicely. Thanks to all for their replies...