Ok, ive read different places stating both ways on this, but in Headphones, Is lower Ohm Impedance headphones harder to Drive or Easier to drive? For example, the popular Sony MDR-V700DJ's are 24 ohms, and I have read people say "The v700 can even be played on a walkman or discman because of there low 24 ohm rating, making them easy to drive" and then I have read the exact opposite on other places, that make it seem as though the v700 is "harder" to drive Because of its low ohm rating. It was to MY personal understanding that lower Ohm headphones were generally EASIER to drive than a Higher ohm headphone. But, what is the freakin real deal on this? I have another post on which headphones to buy , and I am currently deciding on a set of headphones, and this is a determing factor for me, because I will be using my new headphones almost strictly on a Computer, and headphones that are easier to drive would be more in my interest. I was looking at the Pioneer HDJ1000's, and they are 40 ohms, compared to sony's 24 ohms. So which set, based on ohm ratins, would generally be easier to drive? I have read So many mixed facts/opinions on this that I now dont even know.

Right, im not entirely sure about this but i think its more to do with matching the ohm rating of the headphones to which ever amplifier your driving it from. For example an 8 ohm speaker to 8 ohm amp would mean your gonna get the maximum amount of efficency and therefore maximum amount of output. Maybe the walkmans amp had an ohm rating near to 24 or something. I dunno. Im not sure it makes much difference. Have a look in your mixer manual and see if it will tell what ohm rating the headphone output is, not sure if it'l tell you, iv never looked at mine. But try and match the headphones ohm rating to that, that should definatley give you the most volume output.

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I've always believed it to be that higher ohms are "harder" to drive. Like Tom said, you have to match the ohms of your components. Ohms are a measure of resistance, so why would something with less resistance be harder to drive ?

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well if u read my post then u will see that this was my understanding of it as well. "It was to MY personal understanding that lower Ohm headphones were generally EASIER to drive than a Higher ohm headphone." but ive read else where many places that tried to say the opposite.

Im looking at just going with a headphone amp though, im looking at a relatively cheap one - Rolls HA43 4 Output Stereo Headphone Amplifier - Its only about $50, but I have seen nothing but positive remarks about it from ppl who have purchased it. Anyone have any experiance with this little headphone amp?

When it comes to time-varying signals (like audio), you have to match the impedances (ohms) between your components. It's not really an issue of whether or not your headphones or speakers are easier or harder to drive--if the impedances are mismatched, the signal from your amplifier will not drive your headphones (or speakers) efficiently. This means that pairing low-impedance headphones with a high-impedance amplifier will result in a lower sound pressure level than if you matched the impedances of your headphones to your amplifier. If you can't match the impedances exactly, getting them closer still improves the efficiency, which is probably what Sony is claiming about the V700s.

The correct rule to remember is that matched impedances are easier to drive than mismatched impedances.

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yea im aware of that, however, Im running these headphones from a Computer sound card, not from a Mixer, etc

This is probably an extremely stupid question it sounds like having two perfectly matched high impedance devices connected together will be just as efficient as having two perfectly matched low impedance devices? I would think that this is totally false but can someone confirm or deny this?

There's got to me more to it than just matching the impedances right?

Ohm ratings have really no affect on sound quality, im all but positive. In the world of Car audio, and Big systems, the ohm ratings are down to 4 ohm levels. Also- when you get into such systems, mismatching your ohm levels from reciever/amp to speaker can permanantly damage your reciever/amp. I Just burnt up a Pioneer Home theater Reciever by hooking up a set of Subwoofers designed for Car audio, that were 4 ohm, and the reciever was rated at no less than 8 ohm. I wasnt expecting it to blow, but it did, not to mention the reciever got so hot you could have fried bacon on it. Such low ohm powerful speakers overload the amp. However, matching for instance an 8 ohm reciever, with 8 ohm speakers isnt gonna sound worse than a higher ohm setup. Most high dollar speakers are 8 - 16 ohms anyways, atleast im all but positive. you really on see the high ohm ratings in headphones, and why that is, i really do not know, because you definantly need an amp on 600 ohm headphones just to push them worth anything.

remeber that efficency plays a role too!

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im pretty sure that ohms have alot to do with sound quality. take etymotics for example. they have two different versions of the same headphone. one with lower resistance so that it is easier to drive and the other with higher resistance made to be used with amps. the one wiht higher resistance is more detailed and the response is flat, whereas the one with lower resistance is more bassy and the highs are rolled off a bit.

in car systems where you egt 4 and even 2 ohm setups, those are mainly having to do with subwoofers arent they? im not sure of this but its different with headphones becuase you have one driver having to handle all the frequencies instead of having multiple ones which can have different impedance ratings to suit their range.

i think the reason why you hear one thing and the other regarding drivers being easier or harder to push is not becuase htey have different impedences but more precisely becuase they have different sensitivity ratings which is what i use to gauge how easily a speaker is driven.

note: specs never tell you how good speakers will sound to your own ears


Specifications of HDJ-1000:

Type: Tightly closed dynamic headphones

Frequency Range: 5, to 30,000 Hz

Impedance: 40 Ohm

Maximum Input: 3,500 mW

Output Sound Level: 107 dB/mW

Unit Type: 50 mm dome

Plug: 3.5 mm 3P mini plug (gold-plated)

Weight: 9.5 oz (excluding cord)

Accessories: 06.3 mm 3P Plug adapter with screw & carrying bag

Connection cord: 3.94 ft long single coiled cable (about .84 ft when straight)




Specifications of MDR-V700DJ:

Type: Closed supra-aural, Dynamic

Drive Unit: 50 mm

Diaphragm: PET

Magnet:Neodymium

Impedance: 24 ohms

Sensitivity: 107 dB/mW

Power Handling Capacity: 3000 mW

Frequency Response: 5 -- 30,000 Hz

Headband: wide, adjustable single headband with folding earcups

Earcups: swivel and reversible for single-sided monitoring; auto-return mechanism

Cord: Oxygen-free copper; Single-sided, 10 feet (3 m)

Plug: Straight, Gold-plated, stereo UniMatch plug with fixed miniplug and detachable phone plug

I've used my Sony MDR-V700's on the following units

Pioneer DJM3000
Behringer VMX300
Dell PC (Audigy 2 Soundcard)
Sony Discman

it drove very loudly and precisely on my PC and discman, as well as my Behringer. But on my Pioneer it drives amazingly. Incredible volume output with incredibly little distortion