[SemolinaPilchard]

I'm an electrical engineering ignoramus with a newbie headphone question.

I get why you would want low-resistance (say, 32 Ohm) headphones--so you can drive them with a low-powered portable device at a wide range of volumes.

But why do companies also make medium-resistance (say, 250 Ohm) or high-resistance (say, 600 Ohm) headphones? The only reasons I can think of are because low-resistance headphones are too loud when used with a powerful amp, and because (I'm just guessing here) maybe there is some professional equipment that expects headphones to have a certain (higher) resistance, for volume-matching purposes.

I'm sure manufacturers offer different resistances for a reason; I just don't know what that reason is. If a particular model sounds more or less the same regardless of its resistance, why don't they just keep it simple and design all headphones at 32 Ohms? Please help educate a confused beginner.

 

[J-Pak]

32 ohms doesn't necessarily mean easier to drive properly

 

[dominickpalella]

When I considered buying the Beyer DT880 model this year, which could be purchased in a 32 ohm model, I contacted them about this question. Their reply, in broken English, indicated there would be no difference in sound quality compared to their 250 or 600 ohm models. As far as I can tell, these headphones are superior to the other low impedance models that I have - UltimateEars Super.fi 5 Pro, Grado SR225 and Sennheiser HD 280 Pro (64 ohms)

 

[Debaser86]

Doesn't higher impedence provide a better signal-to-noise ratio when properly amped?

 

[E.B.M.Head]

Higher impedence of the coil means usually better control over the driver and less loss on the cable. If your amp can provide enough current then you will have better soundquality with higher voice coil impedance.
250 and 600 Ohm are usually made for studio purposes where the equipment has the needed "oomph". Another thing is that studio headphone amps have the plugs in parallel, so when you plug in more headphones than one the impedance drops with every plugged in.

1/Rall = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/Rx

32 Ohm headphones are usefull for portable sources as they can provide better quality at low power amps like the integrated ones in portable CD and MP3 Player that don't deliver enough current for high impedence headphones. If those devices would be able to deliver more current, then they would drown out the batteries very quick.

So both have their purpose.

 

[shigzeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dominickpalella /img/forum/go_quote.gif When I considered buying the Beyer DT880 model this year, which could be purchased in a 32 ohm model, I contacted them about this question. Their reply, in broken English, indicated there would be no difference in sound quality compared to their 250 or 600 ohm models. As far as I can tell, these headphones are superior to the other low impedance models that I have - UltimateEars Super.fi 5 Pro, Grado SR225 and Sennheiser HD 280 Pro (64 ohms)

what was the point? did that help your argument? nice move, hope it does not come your way ever...

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif what was the point? did that help your argument? nice move, hope it does not come your way ever...

I think the poster was just indicating that he isn't entirely confident in his intepretation of beyer's response given that the writer's native language probably is German.

 

[konish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif what was the point? did that help your argument? nice move, hope it does not come your way ever...

Dude relax. "The Monkey" hit the nail on the head. My wife speaks broken english and at times I have misinterpreted what she has said.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Speaking of Beyerdynamic's broken English responses, here was a reply to my query about something that had thrown me for a loop in a previous email message:

"Excuse me please; my English is not very good.

The last sentence was not for you. Sorry! Currently, you will become your headphone as soon as possible."

Here's another one:

"We will delivering your headset next week.

If we don't receive any feedback of you in the next 14 days so we will
cancel this order."

As it turns out the "order" that they were referring to was the customer service order, which apparently is system generated when you purchase a custom pair of DT770, DT880 or DT990. In that context, it makes sense, but since the only "order" I made was for the headphones themselves, it seemed contradictory.

There are several other examples. It's not terribly hard to interpret their messages, but my point is that I've had the same experience that Dominick refers to (politically correct or not).

 

[depaulhifi]

I'm glad this thread was posted, as I was about to post one asking nearly the same question. Can anyone come up with a reason I would not want to buy the 32 ohm DT880? They will be driven off a 5G iPod 99% of the time.

 

[hashark]

Here again for different purposes people prefer diverse impedances.
Basically differences in impedance are a result of variation in diameters of copper wire used for the moving coil - the core of the headphone system. Less diameter without having a longer wire ends up in higher impedances and less weight for the system of diaphragm and moving coil, what generates a lower damping factor especially for the highs.
So fidelity of impulse and phase are the best with the 600 Ohm version.
The other side is, that with an increasing impedance you need a stronger amplifier providing more power for the headphones.
A little example: you want to use your headphones with your iPod - the best way in this situation is to choose the 32 Ohm model as it appears "louder" with the built in headphone amp inside the device.

 

[depaulhifi]

I know that 32 ohm headphones will seem "louder" when driven from an iPod. The differences in volume between my 21 ohm UE 5pro's and my 64 ohm HD-280's are night and day. But sonically there isn't much noticeable difference in the 32 ohm DT880 to the 250 ohm, are there?

 

[ChaseD13]

the stereo type is usually that germans have great english.

The english spoken in germany is of better quality than that spoken in my high school A level english class (my parents claim), and i wouldnt be surprised if they are right.

Plus, how many *large* companies have customer service that you can understand/is helpful. (though beyer isn't a big company)

 

[Polaris111688]

To drive low-impedance (32 ohm) headphones properly, you need an output that can supply enough current. To drive high-impedance (300 ohm to 600 ohm, I guess), you need enough voltage swing on the output.

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus /img/forum/go_quote.gif "Sorry! Currently, you will become your headphone as soon as possible."

Maybe beyer is on to something. I mean, isn't this the audio nirvana we all seek?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaseD13 /img/forum/go_quote.gif the stereo type is usually that germans have great english. The english spoken in germany is of better quality than that spoken in my high school A level english class (my parents claim), and i wouldnt be surprised if they are right.

Almost every German I have met and conversed with speaks English superbly. Certainly better than most of the English I hear spoken by people born and raised in the US. However, their writing has not been as clear, which I suspect may be true of a lot of languages. I think it is often more difficult to communicate in writing in a second language. Hell, I have a hard enough time mastering my first (and only) language.