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Showing 1 of 175 conversations about:
ScroogeMcDuck
260
Dec 1, 2020
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Why are so many reviews talking about needing extra power to drive headphones with an "Impedance: 18 ohms"
iucoen
137
Dec 2, 2020
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ScroogeMcDuckBecause then sensitivity is only 93dB. You need a high current to drive these. Many mobile devices can’t supply the necessary current.
NEXONUS
269
Dec 2, 2020
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ScroogeMcDuckPlanars are notoriously deceptively difficult to drive compared to regular dynamic headphones of a similar impedance.
verifonix
1181
Dec 16, 2020
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ScroogeMcDucklow impedance does not equal sensitivity, if anything the low impedance will mean they'll suck a lot of current
OZ.Bloody.Rabbit
192
Dec 30, 2020
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ScroogeMcDuckI already did a crash course on electrical 101 on another post (I think it was the T50RP Mk3 variant) and here is a summery again.
Power (watt) [ W ] is a product of Voltage (volt) [ V ] x Current (amp) [ A ]
Power is proportional to Voltage and Current
low impedance 16-32 ohm, low voltage needed; high impedance 100-600 ohm, high voltage needed
high sensitivity 110-120 dB, low current needed; low impedance <100 dB, high current needed
Think of voltage is the "excited/ awakening" requirement and current as "keep going/ pumping" requirement
Typical off-the-shelf headphone is 32 ohm (low impedance), high sensitivity of 110+ dB, hence low voltage and low current equal low power (relatively speaking), and most "portable" device will be sufficient to power them
On the other end of the scale, a 600 ohm (high impedance) with low sensitivity of 96 dB, high voltage and high current is needed, equal to a high power/ dedicated amplifier required.
Planar magnetic gets bit tricky here with their low impedance (18-50 ohm) but due to lower sensitivity (generally speaking) hence although a low voltage will get it "excited" but a high current is required to get it "pumping", hence higher/ "extra" power is recommended in comparison to dynamic driver cousins.
blackmoth27
40
May 10, 2021
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ScroogeMcDuckimpedence is a useless measurement on it's own. stop quoting it. it's like saying headphones have a frequency response of 20hz. it means nothing if you only look at half the picture.
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