Headphone-ohm question.

[Tempest]

I'm looking into getting some headphones for to use in addtion to my monitors. While I will be using them primarily with my DAW(through my mixer), I also want to use them on occasion with my portable CD player. So I guess my question is: at what ohm rating will I need to to use a headphone amp in order to get enough volume for both my mixer and cd?

Thanks for your help.

[P.T.]

I think it's more complicated than that.

It has to do with sensitivity as well. As with passive speakers where one 8 ohm speaker can be much louder or quieter than another 8 ohm speaker.

Headphones have specs that will tell you their sound pressure level (spl) at so many mv of signal.

[stefancrs]

If not taking anything else into consideration, it's easier for an amp to work with high ohm headphones than low ohm.

But the best thing you probably can do is take a cd and your freestyle with you with some hifi music that you like and know well and go to the store and listen to plenty of headphones.

Me myself, I'd swear by my Sennheiser HD-200. I chose those over headphones that cost way more. Due to their sound and the fact that they have very good sonic isolation. (Good when recording vocals, doing night sessions, dj'ing etc). But it's a matter of taste. Lots of people enjoy "porta pro" from Koss as well. I can't stand them. They are way too loud in the bass for me. I like clarity

[Stupid American Pig]

as has been stated previously, I wouldnt go by specs alone, the impedance of all headphones is usually pretty high. I would go to a place that lets you audition them, as efficiency, driversize, sound quality, and comfort are more important here.

[Tempest]

Thanks for your responses so far guys. I appreciate it.

Headphones have specs that will tell you their sound pressure level (spl) at so many mv of signal.

So looking at the DT 770 Pro/80, they are listed at

Nominal impedance acc. to IEC 60268-7 80 Ω
Nominal SPL acc. to IEC 60268-7 96 dB

Would 96 db be sensitive enough to pick up the signal from a cd player?

If not taking anything else into consideration, it's easier for an amp to work with high ohm headphones than low ohm.

I'm trying to get away without using an amp. So as a rule of thumb, the lower ohmed ones should work better, correct?


S-A-P:You're right, I really should go and demo them, but I'm trying my best to avoid going to that mess of a place Guitar Center. So I was really hoping I could buy them on line without too much hassle. It's probably stupid since I'm going to spend a decent ammount of money on them, but that's just how much I hate going to Guitar Center.

[Lawnmower Of The Damned]

My Etymotic ER-4Ps are great. I work with a lot of loud machinery and the 30+ db of isolation is just astounding. You can stil hear people talk, but they might have to speak up a little.

The response and detail on these things are great. The bass response is good, but not overpowering. If you are going to be listening to rap or techno then you might want to look elsewhere, but if you want an honest reproduction then these things are just great.

They work without an amp, but if you should want an amp later then you can buy a conversion cable to switch them from an ER-4P to an ER-4S which works wonderfully with headphone amps. Of course, it will probably sound better as an ER-4S with an amp, but even as a plain old ER-4P they sound great plugged straight into my Nomad Xtra.

You can find them for $220 USD if you look around.