Headphone query ?

[dmccombe7]

I'm looking at replacing a set of old Beyer Dynamic DT320 Mk11's.
I'm seeing a lot of different headphone impedance ratings.

I understand speaker ratings and was curious as to how the different ratings would affect my HI-Fi at home.
Its an old NAD 3130 but i also use them with my Roland GT-6B and on occasion my PC, TV, so quite a varied range
I've seen everything from 16ohm to 250ohm.

Is there a preferred impedance for hi-fi as compared to studio equipment. ?

Any advice would be appreciated.
I've already tried searching BC and can't seem to find anything that explains the differances between them all.

What i have seen is that Sony MDR7506 gets a good review on here and also Beyer DT150's but they appear to be dofferent impedances.

Cheers
Dave

Edited August 27, 2011 by dmccombe7

[Cyrene]

Head-Fi is the place to visit for advice. Current hungry headphones with low impedances can suffer if you're running them straight from source or through integrated amps, high impedance ones like Beyers, may suffer for other reasons.
You will find most people suggest a dedicated headphone amp; often expensive but to be honest can be pretty cheap and cheerful, doing the trick just as well as an expensive one for most headphones.

[dmccombe7]

[quote name='Cyrene' post='1353809' date='Aug 27 2011, 07:00 PM']Head-Fi is the place to visit for advice. Current hungry headphones with low impedances can suffer if you're running them straight from source or through integrated amps, high impedance ones like Beyers, may suffer for other reasons.
You will find most people suggest a dedicated headphone amp; often expensive but to be honest can be pretty cheap and cheerful, doing the trick just as well as an expensive one for most headphones.[/quote]

Thanks Cyrene
Will give Head-Fi a look and see what they suggest.
Too much choice out there -

Appreciated
Dave

[Monckyman]

I use Sennheiser HD 280 Pros and for the last 4 years they`ve done everything I asked from onstage monitoring, studio mixing, iPod listening and general home use.
They are rated at 64 ohms which seems to suit most outputs and stay loud enough to be practical.
They aren`t flat in terms of frequency, but don`t tire the ear or head if you need them on for a couple of hours.
They fold flat and into a ball for easy carrying.
Average price seems to be £90, Amazon has about 25 good reviews
[url="http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Sennheiser-HD280-Professional-Headphone/4399361/product.html?cid=133635"]This place[/url] seems to want £56! which would be a bargain. I paid £120 a few years back.
MM

[dannybuoy]

Also be wary of fakes - I bought some Sony MDR7506 headphones after reading great reviews, thought they sounded crap so sold them. Only later did I realise just how many fake headphones there are out there especially on eBay and smaller sellers via Amazon, Chinese counterfeiters can create very good copies even down to the packaging, but just shove cheap drivers in them. Same thing with Shure mics.