Computer Forum Chat Thread

[BicycleMafioso]

Which property of the sound reproduction does a high level of resistance in headphones influence?

The amplifier...?

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

The amplifier...?

You misunderstand me. All things equal, the only difference is the resistance. The headphones are attached to an amplifier capable of providing enough voltage to overcome the resistance of the headphones. What is the difference between say an 80 Ohm set and a 250 Ohm set (and for argument's sake a 600 Ohm set)?

(you may have noticed that I'm looking for a new pair of headphones (max ~150-170 euro, need to work with my Xonar DGX) to add to my Christmas list, my current ones aren't as comfortable as I thought they would be)

Basically narrowed it down to Beyerdynamics DT770 Pro (80 Ohm) or ATH-AD700.

[Majesticii]

It's an impedance, not a resistance. It just defines how much power the driver or speakerunit requires from the amplification. The higher the impedance, usually the larger/heavier the driverunit (conus) is and thus requiring more power to actuate/vibrate.

[Cyanotical]

think of the impedance as the equivalent to horsepower in a car, the more horsepower a car has, the more quickly and easily it can react to merging, passing and speed changes, the more impedance a pair of headphones has, the more easily it can react to changes in sound, its obviously a lot more complex than that, but impedance correlates to the power needed to drive the headphones, more power = more better

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

So a higher impedance set of headphones would be better at quick swings in volume, like explosions?

[apepi]

So a higher impedance set of headphones would be better at quick swings in volume, like explosions?

Also amping up does seem to make it much louder.

[Majesticii]

So a higher impedance set of headphones would be better at quick swings in volume, like explosions?

I might be talking out of my ass on this but:
Think of it more like dynamic behaviour/response. For example in music when there is a wide variety of soundfrequencies present. You hear a guitar solo, but there is also a bass playing. In a cheaper headphone the bass would be almost unhearable because because the higher frequency is much more predominant and the gap between the frequencies is too large for it to follow both (it has to vibrate in 2000hz and 50hz, so it's constantly radicly changing ossilation speeds) This requires a larger impedance/actuation. So in your case of the explosion, it's the dip in sound shortly followed thereafter that is the problem for most headphones.

However, this is also dependant of the frequency response and dynamic range of your soundcard.

[Cyanotical]

So a higher impedance set of headphones would be better at quick swings in volume, like explosions?

yes, higher impedance means that the headphones need more power to deliver the same output volume as lower impedance headphones, conservation of energy means that the extra power is going somewhere, usually into the driver,

with proper amplification a high impedance headphone wont distort as much from quick sound changes like explosions, but that is only providing that your sound source is clear

[Majesticii]

The whole link must be rather flawless. So a nice headphone, good cables, a proper soundcard and lossless or high quality soundrecording (flac).

[BicycleMafioso]

You mean one part can't overcompensate for things already lost? However refreshing.
Consider it like USB, it's backward compatible, but that doesn't mean you can use it fully.

[Majesticii]

You mean one part can't overcompensate for things already lost? However refreshing.

HAH, sarcasm! Not falling for it again, no sir!

[Xuvial]

Oh crap, brb calling Sennheiser to make sure the cable they used for my HD558 is plutonium-certified >_<

[DeltrusDisc]

Yeah, but I reckon a PWM fan and a graphics card will have less EMI compared to a Power Supply.

- - - Updated - - -



Finally have them back <3

Oh my! Didn't know you had joined the group doing this! Picture saved for future use in a special video! ^_<

[Deleted]

I've got an asus 280x taht I'm trying to install do I need to plug in both the 6 pin AND 8 pin?

[BicycleMafioso]

Yes, you do

[Deleted]

Okay I got everything hooked up, turned it on for the first time, all fans running green lights on the GPU and on the MB, but nothing shows up on my screen. Any thoughts?

EDIT: Disconnected power from gpu, and it works fine using onboard graphics. Tried to reseat the gpu still doesn't work.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Okay I got everything hooked up, turned it on for the first time, all fans running green lights on the GPU and on the MB, but nothing shows up on my screen. Any thoughts?

EDIT: Disconnected power from gpu, and it works fine using onboard graphics. Tried to reseat the gpu still doesn't work.

Is the monitor plugged in to the motherboard or the graphics card? Installing a graphics card deactivates the motherboard video outputs.

[Majesticii]

Is the monitor plugged in to the motherboard or the graphics card? Installing a graphics card deactivates the motherboard video outputs.

Actually I can use the HD4600 together with the 670.

[Ghâzh]

Think you need the drivers installed for that first, though

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Think you need the drivers installed for that first, though

And, IIRC, also a setting that needs changing in BIOS.