Electrical Engineering - Headphone impedance mismatch

Author

Headphone impedance mismatch

Dan Hinsley

2007-03-02, 5:25 pm

I've got a multi-track recorder whose output impedance is 30 Ohms, and
I can't find any headphones with that type of impedance. Using normal
(8 ohm) headphones really makes the sound crappy. Is there a way I
can match the 8 ohm impedance of a set of headphones to the output
impedance of this device? If not (or if that's going to be hard) is
there some other solution?

If you could send me email at danhi@exmsft.com, that would be great
because it's easy to miss a post.

Thanks,

Dan

Todd H.

2007-03-02, 8:25 pm

Dan Hinsley <danhi@exmsft.com> writes:

> I've got a multi-track recorder whose output impedance is 30 Ohms, and
> I can't find any headphones with that type of impedance. Using normal
> (8 ohm) headphones really makes the sound crappy. Is there a way I
> can match the 8 ohm impedance of a set of headphones to the output
> impedance of this device? If not (or if that's going to be hard) is
> there some other solution?
>
> If you could send me email at danhi@exmsft.com, that would be great
> because it's easy to miss a post.

Could just get an external headphone amp. Behringer sells one for a
song with 4 output no less.

--
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | Todd H
\ / | http://www.toddh.net/
X Promoting good netiquette | http://triplethreatband.com/
/ \ http://www.toddh.net/netiquette/ | http://myspace.com/mytriplethreatband

Mark D. Zacharias

2007-03-03, 9:25 am

Todd H. wrote:
> Dan Hinsley <danhi@exmsft.com> writes:
>
>
> Could just get an external headphone amp. Behringer sells one for a
> song with 4 output no less.
>
> --

I would think Sennheiser or AKG phones would work - my old AKG K-240's were
30 ohms, my old Sennheiser HD-440's were 600 ohms. Models like this should
be compatible.

Mark Z.

Engineer

2007-03-04, 1:25 pm

On Mar 3, 8:10 am, "Mark D. Zacharias" <spamme...@nonsense.net> wrote:
> Todd H. wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> I would think Sennheiser or AKG phones would work - my old AKG K-240's were
> 30 ohms, my old Sennheiser HD-440's were 600 ohms. Models like this should
> be compatible.
>
> Mark Z.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I suggest 8 ohms is not normal for Hi-Fi headphones. My Sennheiser
HD-570's have a DCR of abut 70 ohms (I've not checked the nominal AC
impedance as I've mislaid my specs file!)
Cheers,
Roger

Jerry G.

2007-03-18, 5:25 pm

The best solution is an external headphone amplifier.

--

Jerry G.

"Dan Hinsley" <danhi@exmsft.com> wrote in message
news:99ahu21r2lk118j7mbu8gofllaaq8jkhnn@4ax.com...
I've got a multi-track recorder whose output impedance is 30 Ohms, and
I can't find any headphones with that type of impedance. Using normal
(8 ohm) headphones really makes the sound crappy. Is there a way I
can match the 8 ohm impedance of a set of headphones to the output
impedance of this device? If not (or if that's going to be hard) is
there some other solution?

If you could send me email at danhi@exmsft.com, that would be great
because it's easy to miss a post.

Thanks,

Dan

Arny Krueger

2007-03-19, 9:25 am

"Dan Hinsley" <danhi@exmsft.com> wrote in message
news:99ahu21r2lk118j7mbu8gofllaaq8jkhnn@4ax.com

> I've got a multi-track recorder whose output impedance is
> 30 Ohms, and I can't find any headphones with that type
> of impedance.

Probably any phones with impedance of 16 ohms or greater will work fine.

Headphones with impedances of 30 ohms and up are readily available. The
first that come to mind are Sennheiser HD 580s, which have impedance in
excess of 200 ohms.

> Using normal (8 ohm) headphones really
> makes the sound crappy.

Crappy in what way?

> Is there a way I can match the 8
> ohm impedance of a set of headphones to the output
> impedance of this device? If not (or if that's going to
> be hard) is there some other solution?

Yes, there are all kinds of headphone amps that you can buy, starting with
the Boostaroo at about $20. There are a ton of headphone amps intended for
studio use, starting around $30 and up.

LinkBot