[Youngun]

What do the Ohm values mean as far as headphones go? Specifically, do I need to try to match the headphones to the source (such as an mp3, rated at say 16 Ohm) to avoid problems? Thanks in advance.

 

[South_Korean]

ohm is the resistance i think. the higher the number, the harder to drive. youd need an amp once it gets too hard for the source to drive.

 

[osoucy]

I think the last post well summarized what impedance is.

If you want more info, check on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impedance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_impedance


I know... you must have some notions of eletrical engineering to understand everything, but the first paragraphs should give you a basic idea.

 

[intermezzo]

As far as I know, Impedance is a general term used to refer to any electrical entity which impedes the flow of current... In the headphone world, when speaking of impedance, the expression is most commonly used to denote resistance. You can find the impedance rating of all most every headphone available by looking at the headphone statistics.

Quote:

ohm is the resistance i think. the higher the number, the harder to drive. youd need an amp once it gets too hard for the source to drive

That is basically all you need to worry about, the greater the impedance the more likely it will become that you will need amplification. High impedance headphones without adequate amplification will not function properly and therefore sound flat. As far as I know, when speaking of High Impedance loads, there is no danger of damaging a headphone when using headphone amplifiers.

A 16ohm impedance headphone shouldn't require any amplification. Amps will make the most significant amount of difference the higher the headphone impedance (e.g.: at 32ohm, 80ohm, 250ohm etc).

Incidentally, anything rated over 50ohm I would seriously consider amplifying.

 

[South_Korean]

when you get to like, 600ohms, your MP3 player is in deep trouble. that requires a tube amp or something. BTW, are tube amps stronger than regulars? i dont get the point of the little bulbs.

 

[Kirosia]

Tube amps generaly have a different sound signaturw than SS amps. (often by adding a warmish/full-bodied coloration), at least in the stereotypical sense. Don't quote me on that.

Both SS and Tubes can go high in vloumes, depends on the gain. I use a 300 ohm phone with an sr-71 and nad cd player, going to 9'o'clock with the pot is actually too loud for me.

Phones like grados and portables usually have low impedance, making em easier to drive. But IIRC they need a lot of current.

Higher impedances phones like senns and beyers IMO seem to be more sensitive to the source and amp quality. (as in being less forgiving of bad components)