[jay628]

I see DT 880 25 ohm, 880 80ohm, and 250 ohm. What do they mean? What are the differences? I only know they can be units for Impedance for IEMs?
 
thanks a lot.

 

[KG Jag]

  I see DT 880 25 ohm, 880 80ohm, and 250 ohm. What do they mean? What are the differences? I only know they can be units for Impedance for IEMs?
 
thanks a lot.

If the sensitivity ratings are equal, the higher the Ohms, the more difficult you can expect the headphone is to drive.
 
If you’re looking for headphones to use with a portable player or laptop, stick to the range of 16 – 32 ohms with a sensitivity (efficiency) rating of at least 100 dB/mW. There are some higher impedance headphones, up to 80 ohms or so, that are efficient enough to work well with at least some portable gear—especially if you don’t like it very loud. But, in general, the lower the impedance (Ohm rating) the better the match with battery powered devices.

 

[jay628]

thx for the explanation.
So what is the point of making high impedance models with the same headphones??what are their advantages becuase being harder to drive is considered a disadvantage i assume? and why are their differences so huge? 
 
thanks im really new to all this

 

[Claritas]

There are higher impedance IEMs, such as Etymotic Research ER4S and ER4B (100 ohms). One could use a resistor to increase impedance, but that's probably even less common.

 

[KG Jag]

  thx for the explanation.
So what is the point of making high impedance models with the same headphones??what are their advantages becuase being harder to drive is considered a disadvantage i assume? and why are their differences so huge? 
 
thanks im really new to all this

Short and simple: the best dynamic headphones tend to to have higher Ohm ratings.  Even within the same model the DT 880 (for example) 600 Ohm version is superior to its lesser Ohm rated "twins".

 

[PurpleAngel]

  thx for the explanation.
So what is the point of making high impedance models with the same headphones??what are their advantages because being harder to drive is considered a disadvantage i assume? and why are their differences so huge? 

I believe high impedance headphones have advantages when used in a studio when you are plugging several headphones in to a system (At least that's what I heard).
Also a receiver's headphone output jacks usually have a high impedance, so you want to use a headphone with much higher impedance, then the jack the headphone is being plugged into.
My 250-Ohm and 600-Ohm headphones work great plugged into my Yamaha RX-V671 A/V receiver,
where as my 40-Ohm headphones do not do as well.
 
Portable devices (mp3 players, phones, etc) do better with headphones (& IEMs) that have a very low impedance. So it's worth it for companies to R&D good sounding headphones with low impedences.
Guess when someone spends $400 for a portable device, it's easy to sell them $200 headphones (IEMs).

 

[KG Jag]

If you want to get deeper into the weeds, you should give this a look:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/comparison-beyerdynamic-dt-880-32-ohm-dt-880-250-ohm-and-dt-880-600-ohm-headphones

 

[Claritas]

This, http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/comparison-beyerdynamic-dt-880-32-ohm-dt-880-250-ohm-and-dt-880-600-ohm-headphones, uses a pendulum as an analogy to explain impedance by relating it to damping. (Damping is worth being familiar with too, especially if you ever need to mod.)
 
Edit: KG Jag beat me to it.

 

[jay628]

thx guys
so can i simply say headphones with higher impedance are usually better but are required to match with high impedance amp/source?

 

[jay628]

wait...so the higher damping the better? by better it means better SQ but lesser volume?

 

[Claritas]

  so can i simply say headphones with higher impedance are usually better but are required to match with high impedance amp/source?

 
I might change that a little: better headphones often have higher impedance ratings and result in less distortion when they are properly matched.
 

  wait...so the higher damping the better? by better it means better SQ but lesser volume?

 
Not higher so much as the proper amount in relation to the specific driver and housing (though mods more often increase damping). Damping will lessen the sensitivity so more amplification might be needed, and without adequate amplification you won't get the volume you want.

 

[jay628]

thanks alot  Claritas！

1.  

 

[PurpleAngel]

  thx guys
so can i simply say headphones with higher impedance are usually better but are required to match with high impedance amp/source?

I think more in the past higher impedance headphones were the best, but companies now a days are willing to also build good sound headphones with lower impedances.

 

[tomb]

  I see DT 880 25 ohm, 880 80ohm, and 250 ohm. What do they mean? What are the differences? I only know they can be units for Impedance for IEMs?
 
thanks a lot.

 
The voice coil is what drives the headphone driver.  A very light voice coil can move with the driver with less inertia (lower mass), meaning its response is more linear and can reproduce more detail.  To make a voice coil light in weight (mass), the wire must be very small.  Smaller wire has more resistance because there's not as much substance to provide as many electrons needed to pass the electrical current.  So, all things being equal - the lightest, most linear voice coils will also have the highest resistance (or impedance when AC voltage is involved, as in music).

 

[BonzerKeith]

Excuse my ignorance, but can you reduce the Impedance of a pair of Headphones to improve the volume( without resorting to an External Amplifier)?