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Amps and impedance

Mo5
By Mo5
in Audio
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So if impedance doesn't determine if you need an amp, how do you know if you need it when buying new headphones :blink:

 

this

 

When your music is not loud enough. Pretty straight forward.

Posted

Everywhere on this forum (and in general) I was told that for high impedance headphones I need an amped source and my onboard sound card won't be enough. Right now I'm using/testing a pair of ITT SKH 400 and their rated impedance is 400 Ohm and they work perfectly fine with my onboard audio. They don't require any more "power" then my 24 Ohm Sennheiser HD201. What's the big deal with amps?

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Impedance is not the only determining factor in whether or no you need an amp, pus onboard is getting pretty good nowadays. Do you want all the technical maths and info?

PC Build in LTT Gallery - JBL J88 - Fostex T50RP (Modded) - Pioneer SE-A1000 vs audio-technica ATH-AD500X - Skullcandy Aviator  
audio-technica ATH-T400 - CHC Silverado and Laredo - Clip-On Headphone Roundup - Sony LinkBuds

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Impedance is not the only determining factor in whether or no you need an amp, pus onboard is getting pretty good nowadays. Do you want all the technical maths and info?

So if impedance doesn't determine if you need an amp, how do you know if you need it when buying new headphones :blink:

Asrock 890GX Extreme 3 - AMD Phenom II X4 955 @3.50GHz - Arctic Cooling Freezer XTREME Rev.2 - 4GB Kingston HyperX - AMD Radeon HD7850 - Kingston V300 240GB - Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB - Chieftec APS-750 - Cooler Master HAF912 PLUS


osu! profile

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So if impedance doesn't determine if you need an amp, how do you know if you need it when buying new headphones :blink:

 

this

 

When your music is not loud enough. Pretty straight forward.

PC Build in LTT Gallery - JBL J88 - Fostex T50RP (Modded) - Pioneer SE-A1000 vs audio-technica ATH-AD500X - Skullcandy Aviator  
audio-technica ATH-T400 - CHC Silverado and Laredo - Clip-On Headphone Roundup - Sony LinkBuds

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And not to complicate things, but volume is not the only reason an amp is recommended. If your on board amp, sound cards amp or external amps impedance is to high for your headphones a different amp maybe needed.

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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And not to complicate things, but volume is not the only reason an amp is recommended. If your on board amp, sound cards amp or external amps impedance is to high for your headphones a different amp maybe needed.

 

Better to have not bought a source with a high output impedance in the first place. :P

OP, shoulda given the best answer to the dude that actually gave the best answer.

PC Build in LTT Gallery - JBL J88 - Fostex T50RP (Modded) - Pioneer SE-A1000 vs audio-technica ATH-AD500X - Skullcandy Aviator  
audio-technica ATH-T400 - CHC Silverado and Laredo - Clip-On Headphone Roundup - Sony LinkBuds

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Better to have not bought a source with a high output impedance in the first place. :P

OP, shoulda given the best answer to the dude that actually gave the best answer.

 

We all make mistakes.                      Well.. not me personally of course, I don't know what it's like to make a mistake. :unsure: :lol:

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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