Can my phone drive hd 598?

[farhanorakzai]

The sennheiser hd 598 have a 50 ohm impedance. Can my iPhone 6 plus properly drive them?

[Fulgrim]

Not properly, but they will work. Just don't expect to go as loud as they would in a proper soundcard or whatever.

 

Also, your battery will run out faster.

[ShadowCaptain]

The sennheiser hd 598 have a 50 ohm impedance. Can my iPhone 6 plus properly drive them?

 

you might not get full advantage of them but they will work just fine, they might lack a little loudness but will be fine

 

not great for portable headphones, they are quite large

[farhanorakzai]

Not properly, but they will work. Just don't expect to go as loud as they would in a proper soundcard or whatever.

Also, your battery will run out faster.

Will the sound quality be lower?

[ERSCreeper]

It should be okay but if needed you can get a FiiO E06 and that will do the job.

[MrGoat]

I use my HD558 at work through my phone, works fine, I dont even have to turn it up all the way. I have an amp/dac too, it does obviously make it get louder/sound better, but I dont use it on my 558 ever.

[Fulgrim]

Will the sound quality be lower?

It's more a case of the Iphone won't be able to make the headphones go as loud as they could with a proper amp. They'll be loud enough for music etc though.

[ForsakenLive]

They can, but sound won't be as good, you can't go any near loud and the battery will be consumed faster, have you considered a portable amp? I know it can be a hassle to carry another little brick in your pocket, but you are already using a pair of headphones that are massive compared to the portable choices, so you might as well do it.

The Fiio E6 are compact and will get the job done for cheap, the Fiio E11 are more expensive but would get you more battery and power.

[MegaDave91]

They benefit greatly from an amp. They sound much different (in a bad way) plugged directly into my motherboard as appose to my amp.

[Guest]

They iwll work but the sound quality will not be the same as if you where running off of a proper dac or sound card.

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

I have never used an iphone 6 for music, but I would estimate that it will get loud enough for most use. no ear shattering music or head shaking bass, but it would probably do okay.

I have found Iphones are okay for headphone listening in the past.

unfortunately I can't test this, as I only have 32 ohm headphones, but they should be around 3 decibels quieter than they would be with 32 ohm headphones if they have similar sensitivity.

[SSL]

Not properly, but they will work. Just don't expect to go as loud as they would in a proper soundcard or whatever.

 

Also, your battery will run out faster.

 

They will work, and properly. The 598 are very sensitive at 112dB/Vrms.

 

This notion that you need special hardware to drive a sensitive headphone "properly" needs to stop. Bottom line is that if it gets loud enough without clipping then all is good.

[creatip123]

It will run, and not because of the impedance is 50. 300 ohms HD650 can go to ear-deafening volume out of my Ipad 3, while 35 ohms HE400 only got to 'loud enough' and can't go any further. One of the hardest to drive headphone in the market is the 50 ohms HE6, which is way harder to drive than the 300 ohms HD650. 

 

Please guys, do some research around the net to avoid misconceptions like this. It's not about 'how many ohms the impedance is'

 

A (good) amp can potentially make the sound a bit better. Not because of more power, but because of (perhaps) smaller output impedance, better components quality, and better circuit implementation, compared to the source device. 

[Fulgrim]

They will work, and properly. The 598 are very sensitive at 112dB/Vrms.

 

This notion that you need special hardware to drive a sensitive headphone "properly" needs to stop. Bottom line is that if it gets loud enough without clipping then all is good.

An Iphone wasn't built to power 50ohm headphones, it can power them well enough to use, but the battery will drain quicker. Also, i never said that an external amp was needed btw. 

[creatip123]

An Iphone wasn't built to power 50ohm headphones, it can power them well enough to use, but the battery will drain quicker. Also, i never said that an external amp was needed btw. 

 

From the electrical physics point of view, higher impedance would drain less from the battery. 

 

Power (watt) = Voltage (V) x Current (ampere)

 

While

 

Voltage = Current (ampere) x Resistance (ohms)

 

So

 

Power = (current x resistance) x current = current² x resistance

 

While impedance is not exactly the same as resistance, but for simplicity, let's just say impedance = resistance.

 

Higher impedance meaning it requires higher voltage to overcome the resistance

 

From the formula above, put the power as the static (unchanging) variable, you can see if the resistance is higher, than the current will be smaller (to keep the power at the same value), and vice versa, lower resistance means higher current.

 

Soooooo using higher impedance headphone, means it will drain less current out of the phone's battery, and vice versa, lower impedance = higher current drain.

 

That's what I can remember from my high school physics lesson anyway....

 

In other words:

 

The least draining headphone would be one with high efficiency and high impedance (providing the iphone can output the proper voltage to overcome the impedance)

 

The most draining headphone would be one with low eficiency and low impedance

[Fulgrim]

-snip-

The Sennheiser HD 598's will draw more power than the standard Apple earphones.

 

High impedance headphone:  requires more voltage but less current

Low impedance headphone:   requires less voltage but more current

Amplfier output impedance: the lower the better for any impedance headphone

higher efficiency (for example:  102 dB/1 mW) less power required

​lower efficiency: (for example: 91 dB/mW) more power required

[Lutkeveld]

Almost correct @creatip123. I=U/R, not U*R, so P=U^2/R. To increase power; increase voltage or decrease resistance/impedance.

[creatip123]

higher efficiency (for example:  102 dB/1 mW) less power required

​lower efficiency: (for example: 91 dB/mW) more power required

 

 

Yes, so now you're beginning to get the grip of 'it's not so much about the impedance, but the efficiency/sensitivity'. 

 

IEMs' power drain can't really be compared to headphones, because IEM is so much closer to eardrums, with better isolation too. Meaning, to get the same perceived volume, IEM won't have to go as loud as headphones, thus take much less power to operate in the same perceived loudness.

 

So, in what category are we comparing the 598 with? If compared to standard apple's earphone (IEMs), doesn't have to be 598. 99% of headphones in the market will require more power to get the same perceived loudness, compared to standard apple's earphone, thus draining the battery more. 

 

It's like saying, 'my Ninja bike can go 30 miles/gallon, how many MPG can your Ferrari go?', it's just not comparable, because they're of different categories.

 

 

Almost correct @creatip123. I=U/R, not U*R, so P=U^2/R. To increase power; increase voltage or decrease resistance/impedance.

 

Eh? I know R = resistance. What is I and U? I = current?

 

Because what I got is, I = V/R, or V=IR

[Lutkeveld]

I(A), U(V) and R(ohm).

Power = voltage * current

Current = voltage / resistance

So Power = voltage * (voltage / resistance)

In short Power = voltage^2/resistance

Even shorter P=U^2/R

[creatip123]

I(A), U(V) and R(ohm).

Power = voltage * current

Current = voltage / resistance

So Power = voltage * (voltage / resistance)

In short Power = voltage^2/resistance

Even shorter P=U^2/R

 

Ahhhhh I see what you meant. I was going for Power = current^2 x R, while you went for the voltage approach, eliminating the current in the formula. 

[Lutkeveld]

@creatip123 Ah I see now, but P=I^2*R is almost never used, because the known values are often voltages and impedance.

 

What I don't get is that with audio the formula for max output is P=U^2/2R. 

Maybe something to do with 2 sides of the waveform? Dunno, can somebody tell me?

[creatip123]

@creatip123 Ah I see now, but P=I^2*R is almost never used, because the known values are often voltages and impedance.

 

What I don't get is that with audio the formula for max output is P=U^2/2R. 

Maybe something to do with 2 sides of the waveform? Dunno, can somebody tell me?

 

Perhaps from converting impedance to resistance (Z to R) ? Assuming the audio signal is to be calculated as AC. Z got some kind of phase angle or something. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/acohml.html#c1

 

Just throwing random stuffs tho, I don't really have a clue.

[SSL]

An Iphone wasn't built to power 50ohm headphones, it can power them well enough to use, but the battery will drain quicker. Also, i never said that an external amp was needed btw. 

 

Let's test that theory, shall we?

 

HD 598, 50 ohms 112 dB/V requires 13 mW to reach 110dB

Apple Earpods, 23 ohms 109 dB/V requires 55 mW to reach 110dB

 

Fun fact, a higher sensitivity, higher impedance headphone will draw LESS power than a lower sensitivity, lower impedance headphone.

 

I never said that you said an external amp was needed. What you did say was that the iPhone would not be able to power the 598s properly, implying that an external amp would at least be beneficial.

 

Getting back to the OP's question: Yes, the iPhone 6 will drive the HD 598.

[Fulgrim]

I never said that you said an external amp was needed. 

 

O rly, you implied it here.

 

This notion that you need special hardware to drive a sensitive headphone "properly" needs to stop. 

 

Either way, the headphones will work on an Iphone. 

 

Also, found this (not an iphone 6, but it's worth a read tbh) http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/02/iphone-vs-rivals-audio-tests/

[SSL]

O rly, you implied it here.

 

That was a statement in general as much as a response to your comment. Either way, feel free to explain what you actually meant. I'm going to interpret the words you write, not what you think in your head.