Can My Mother Board Support 80 Ohms?

[Darksnow412]

Hey guys i am looking at getting the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 80 Ohms soon but am wondering if my motherboard can support it. my current motherboard is a Prime B350-PLUS board. Is It still worth it buy them or will it effect sound quilty?

 

please help 

Thanks.

[adm0n]

4 minutes ago, Darksnow412 said:

will it effect sound quilty

Yes it will probably. The question is if you will actually perceive/notice the difference it will make or like the headphones regardless.

 

I'd say it is still worth it buying them. In the worst case, you could shell out an extra $10 for an usb-c to 3.5mm adapter from apple (and I guess also a cheap USB-A to C adapter, as your motherboard doesn't have usb-c yet). It should be enough to handle your headphones.

[Spuriae]

Most motherboards actually output the most power at around 80Ω due to a 75Ω output resistor.

 

Impedance as almost no correlation with difficulty to drive in practice, and efficiency/sensitivity is the spec that really matters. In general motherboards can get most headphones loud enough, but the sound quality will be reduced due to the motherboard's high output impedance.

 

 

 

[johnt]

Yes your motherboard will drive the DT770-80ohm just fine.

[Darksnow412]

35 minutes ago, adm0n said:

$10 for an usb-c to 3.5mm adapter from apple (and I guess also a cheap USB-A to C adapter, as your motherboard doesn't have usb-c yet). It should be enough to handle your headphones.

By buying the adapters would that increase the sound quality? sorry if this is a dumb question as I am new to audio 

[Tegneren]

Its not like you will not get sound ot of it, and probably decent enough sound at that. but I noticed a significant uplift in sound quality when using a good sound card or headphone amp with my DT770 Pros

[adm0n]

6 minutes ago, Darksnow412 said:

By buying the adapters would that increase the sound quality? sorry if this is a dumb question as I am new to audio 

You will, as the adapter has a pretty low output impedance. If you still have a phone with a headphone adapter (rip) or access to one, you could try comparing your PC and the phone to each other. Phones also typically have pretty low output impedance.

 

It always depends on the person and the specific setup if you notice the differences in sound. So it is hard to tell you if it is actually going to be worth it, without having listened to the options first.

 

BTW, if you start going down the audiophile rabbit hole, be wary of people claiming things like "buying this DAC / AMP will make your headphones sound 50% (or insert arbitrary percentage here) better". That is usually a pretty subjective remark, while the sound actually doesn't change a whole lot.

[Cocococo]

Your question hinges around some... almost misinformation, headphones/iem's are affected by ohms, but the number you're looking for is Sensitivity, measured in db/mw. The DT770's you're thinking about buying are rated at 96 db/mw, the higher the number the louder your headphones get. Now if you want your audio quality to be somewhat better then either an Apple type-c or Abigail type-c dongle (you want whichever is rated for the most power) now for the final and most important piece of advice on this reply section; do not buy DT770's or any other Beyerdynamic headphones (DT880 are the sole exception to this rule) the bass is overblown and muddies the entire lower midrange, the treble is exceptionally sharp and does make your ears hurt, the recessed mids muffles most vocals, the non-removable cable infuriating and microphonic (cable rubs something you hear the rubbing in your ear) the build quality leaves room to be desired, the headband clamps too hard, the earpads wear out far too quickly because of the excessive clamping and are really annoying to take anywhere because of the super long cable.

 

I'm going to assume you are in america for these recommendations but it's pretty unlikely non of the superior closed headphones are available around you; AKG K361 and K371 both headphones follow the harman target very closely, K361 has a louder top end sound are made a bit cheaper than 371, the 371 has a darker tilt of the harman target, more mellow bass and higher quality materials than the 361 (Both are orders of magnitude better than DT770) There is also the Shure SRH440 and 840, personally i would recommend the 440a and 840a (they were updated to fix the breakage issues with the non "A" models of both) The 440 also follow a very close harman signature with a small treble spike (nowhere near as bad as the DT770's treble spikes) The 840 have an extremely interesting V-shaped sound signature which manages to be both very energetic with some very well detailed mid bass but lacks any harsh peaks and dips (both are frequent in the DT770 and it sucks) Lastly there is the Rode NTH-100, i'd say to avoid buying unless you cannot find any of the alternatives i've listed, they sound like a less detailed and bassier K371 with some interesting quality of life features, the ability to quickly swap cables between either earcup, the integrated boom mic you can buy at a later date and the extremely easy to change earpads/ headband (earpads are easy to swap on basically all moderately decent headphones but the headband is typically difficult to remove) but the adjustment mechanism is very fragile and once it breaks repair is nigh impossible, it's why you see so many broken pairs on ebay. All are within the same approximate price range but you may have difficulty finding some pairs but again it's really unlikely you can buy DT770's but no Shure's/ AKG's

[johnt]

7 hours ago, Tegneren said:

uplift in sound quality when using a good sound card or headphone amp with my DT770 Pros

That's the 250ohm variant, right?

[Darksnow412]

4 hours ago, Cocococo said:

Your question hinges around some... almost misinformation, headphones/iem's are affected by ohms, but the number you're looking for is Sensitivity, measured in db/mw. The DT770's you're thinking about buying are rated at 96 db/mw, the higher the number the louder your headphones get. Now if you want your audio quality to be somewhat better then either an Apple type-c or Abigail type-c dongle (you want whichever is rated for the most power) now for the final and most important piece of advice on this reply section; do not buy DT770's or any other Beyerdynamic headphones (DT880 are the sole exception to this rule) the bass is overblown and muddies the entire lower midrange, the treble is exceptionally sharp and does make your ears hurt, the recessed mids muffles most vocals, the non-removable cable infuriating and microphonic (cable rubs something you hear the rubbing in your ear) the build quality leaves room to be desired, the headband clamps too hard, the earpads wear out far too quickly because of the excessive clamping and are really annoying to take anywhere because of the super long cable.

 

I'm going to assume you are in america for these recommendations but it's pretty unlikely non of the superior closed headphones are available around you; AKG K361 and K371 both headphones follow the harman target very closely, K361 has a louder top end sound are made a bit cheaper than 371, the 371 has a darker tilt of the harman target, more mellow bass and higher quality materials than the 361 (Both are orders of magnitude better than DT770) There is also the Shure SRH440 and 840, personally i would recommend the 440a and 840a (they were updated to fix the breakage issues with the non "A" models of both) The 440 also follow a very close harman signature with a small treble spike (nowhere near as bad as the DT770's treble spikes) The 840 have an extremely interesting V-shaped sound signature which manages to be both very energetic with some very well detailed mid bass but lacks any harsh peaks and dips (both are frequent in the DT770 and it sucks) Lastly there is the Rode NTH-100, i'd say to avoid buying unless you cannot find any of the alternatives i've listed, they sound like a less detailed and bassier K371 with some interesting quality of life features, the ability to quickly swap cables between either earcup, the integrated boom mic you can buy at a later date and the extremely easy to change earpads/ headband (earpads are easy to swap on basically all moderately decent headphones but the headband is typically difficult to remove) but the adjustment mechanism is very fragile and once it breaks repair is nigh impossible, it's why you see so many broken pairs on ebay. All are within the same approximate price range but you may have difficulty finding some pairs but again it's really unlikely you can buy DT770's but no Shure's/ AKG's

Thanks for the advice. I live in New Zealand and some types of headphones are hard to come by, you said the DT880 are the exception to the rule? are they a good quality sounding headphones? and with that they come in 32, 250 and 600 ohms versions what would be the best one to work with motherboard audio? or would you recommended trying to get a AMP/DAC anyway?

(again thanks for your reply I am quite  new to this)

[saintlouisbagels]

1 hour ago, Darksnow412 said:

Thanks for the advice. I live in New Zealand and some types of headphones are hard to come by, you said the DT880 are the exception to the rule? are they a good quality sounding headphones? and with that they come in 32, 250 and 600 ohms versions what would be the best one to work with motherboard audio? or would you recommended trying to get a AMP/DAC anyway?

(again thanks for your reply I am quite  new to this)

The problem with audio is that it is very subjective.

The DT770 Pro (80ohm) is my favourite pair of headphones because the bass sounds amazing and IMO it is not overblown and does not overpower any of the other audio frequencies. I've owned $800 and $1600 headphones in the past, so I trust my ears.

The ATH-M50X is also my least favourite headphone ever because the bass sounds like sh** and everything else sounds very underwhelming. Despite my experience, EVERYONE seems to own a pair including Luke/Linus on WAN Show, and MKBHD and crew on Waveforms podcast.

 

Generally you want lower Ohm value if you're using a normal source like a phone or a computer. 80ohm is acceptable but you will find yourself increasing the volume level higher than normal to achieve the same amount of volume that you'd normally hear.

 

edit:

The Beyerdynamic DT770, DT880, DT990 are all different types of enclosure and have their own sound signature.

DT770 is closed-back and bassy. So no sound leakage and you can't hear what's happening around you.

DT880 is semi-open-backed and naturally between both types

DT990 is open backed so the sound is more wide and airy. But I find the treble on these piercing and tiring after a while. Again, this is my own opinion.

[Darksnow412]

2 minutes ago, saintlouisbagels said:

The problem with audio is that it is very subjective.

The DT770 Pro (80ohm) is my favourite pair of headphones because the bass sounds amazing and IMO it is not and does not overpower any of the other audio frequencies. I've owned $800 and $1600 headphones in the past, so I trust my ears.

The ATH-M50X is also my least favourite headphone ever because the bass sounds like sh** and everything else sounds very underwhelming. Despite my experience, EVERYONE seems to own a pair including Luke/Linus on WAN Show, and MKBHD and crew on Waveforms podcast.

 

Generally you want lower Ohm value if you're using a normal source like a phone or a computer. 80ohm is acceptable but you will find yourself increasing the volume level higher than normal to achieve the same amount of volume that you'd normally hear.

I've been doing some research and people say that the DT 990s are a better sounding and overall higher quality headphone, compered to some of the other headphones suggested on this topic what do you think?, aswell as that they have 32ohms and 250 ohms, is 32ohms too low? would 250 ohms be better or would it not really work with just motherboard audio?

[saintlouisbagels]

6 minutes ago, Darksnow412 said:

I've been doing some research and people say that the DT 990s are a better sounding and overall higher quality headphone, compered to some of the other headphones suggested on this topic what do you think?, aswell as that they have 32ohms and 250 ohms, is 32ohms too low? would 250 ohms be better or would it not really work with just motherboard audio?

250 Ohms is far too much and you would be strongly advised to buy an external headphone amplifier.

Most options nowadays are combo DAC/headphone amp which is good because sometimes you're just unlucky and a motherboard produces a noisy signal at the headphone jack and you end up needing a DAC anyway.

 

FYI soundcards are just a generic term for a DAC/amp.

All sources have a built in DAC (digital to analog converter) and an amplifier (to bring the analog signal to an audible level)

[Darksnow412]

14 minutes ago, saintlouisbagels said:

250 Ohms is far too much and you would be strongly advised to buy an external headphone amplifier.

Most options nowadays are combo DAC/headphone amp which is good because sometimes you're just unlucky and a motherboard produces a noisy signal at the headphone jack and you end up needing a DAC anyway.

 

FYI soundcards are just a generic term for a DAC/amp.

All sources have a built in DAC (digital to analog converter) and an amplifier (to bring the analog signal to an audible level)

ok from what I've been hearing online and around this topic is that the DT770 are the ones to go with(mainly cuz I like hearing base and I like it having a closed back so I cant hear my surroundings and just focus the sound from the game, music ect. ) do you think that I should go with the cheaper 80ohms version or the more expensive 32 Ohm version?

[saintlouisbagels]

16 minutes ago, Darksnow412 said:

ok from what I've been hearing online and around this topic is that the DT770 are the ones to go with(mainly cuz I like hearing base and I like it having a closed back so I cant hear my surroundings and just focus the sound from the game, music ect. ) do you think that I should go with the cheaper 80ohms version or the more expensive 32 Ohm version?

I like the 80 0hm version because it's actually the "bassy" one compared to the other Ohm models lol, and it has the nice velour ear pads.

The 32 Ohm one has a shorter headphone cable (this can be a pro or con), and it uses pleather ear pads.

[Darksnow412]

2 minutes ago, saintlouisbagels said:

I like the 80 0hm version because it's actually the "bassy" one compared to the other Ohm models lol, and it has the nice velour ear pads.

The 32 Ohm one has a shorter headphone cable (this can be a pro or con), and it uses pleather ear pads.

with gaming does having an open back or closed back matter too much as online and seeing 50/50 people saying that open backed is better and vice versa. I feel having a closed back would be nice as I can experience the sound more but having an open back people say means you can hear things like footsteps better but also it bleeds into your mic

[saintlouisbagels]

1 minute ago, Darksnow412 said:

with gaming does having an open back or closed back matter too much as online and seeing 50/50 people saying that open backed is better and vice versa. I feel having a closed back would be nice as I can experience the sound more but having an open back people say means you can hear things like footsteps better but also it bleeds into your mic

I particularly love the DT770 series because despite being closed-back design, the soundstage is very wide like open-backs.

It's really up to you if the quality of footsteps from the headphones are good enough for you.

[Darksnow412]

21 minutes ago, saintlouisbagels said:

I particularly love the DT770 series because despite being closed-back design, the soundstage is very wide like open-backs.

It's really up to you if the quality of footsteps from the headphones are good enough for you.

Ok I think you've convinced me, thank you for your advice and help!!

[Cocococo]

3 hours ago, Darksnow412 said:

Thanks for the advice. I live in New Zealand and some types of headphones are hard to come by, you said the DT880 are the exception to the rule? are they a good quality sounding headphones? and with that they come in 32, 250 and 600 ohms versions what would be the best one to work with motherboard audio? or would you recommended trying to get a AMP/DAC anyway?

(again thanks for your reply I am quite  new to this)

DT880 are just the only good sounding headphones Beyerdynamic has ever made. I assumed you were just looking to buy closed headphones so i gave closed recommendations, ohms really don't matter in headphones, sensitivity is the number you want to look for. 32, 80 and 250 DT770 really don't have much of a perceptible difference. An AMP/DAC isn't really something i'd look at getting unless the jack on your PC doesn't get your headphones loud enough (but ngl AKG K361/371 sound so much better and are so much easier to power that just buying better headphones is the smart play here

[Tegneren]

16 hours ago, johnt said:

That's the 250ohm variant, right?

No, they are 80 Ohm. I dont think the DT770 comes in a 250 Ohm variant

[johnt]

11 hours ago, Tegneren said:

No, they are 80 Ohm. I dont think the DT770 comes in a 250 Ohm variant

It do indeed. They are on my head right now

 

[adm0n]

On 10/23/2023 at 10:08 PM, Darksnow412 said:

with gaming does having an open back or closed back matter too much as online and seeing 50/50 people saying that open backed is better and vice versa. I feel having a closed back would be nice as I can experience the sound more but having an open back people say means you can hear things like footsteps better but also it bleeds into your mic

This also comes down to preference and your own situation.
The main argument why open backed headphones are better for gaming is their more open sound stage (basically how far away from you sounds seem to be. With closed backed headphones, they usually seem to come from inside your head). This still depends heavily on the model of headphones and the EQ you decide to use, but it can make it easier to locate sounds specially.

 

As soon as you have any background noises, open backed headphones are plain worse. I've never had the problem of sounds being bled to the mic though. I think you'd get hearing loss at that stage too. Probably depends on the headphones too though.
That being said I do prefer the open backed headphones I've used so far.

[cmndr]

On 10/23/2023 at 12:08 AM, Spuriae said:

Most motherboards actually output the most power at around 80Ω due to a 75Ω output resistor.

 

Impedance as almost no correlation with difficulty to drive in practice, and efficiency/sensitivity is the spec that really matters. In general motherboards can get most headphones loud enough, but the sound quality will be reduced due to the motherboard's high output impedance.

Touching on this (since you covered most of what I was going to say)

Efficiency/sensitivity is the main factor in play. It does correlate with resistance but resistance isn't in and of itself the thing that needs to be worried about. 


The 80Ohm DT770s are kind of on the border of what a lot of systems can drive. It'll probably be fine.