how much does Ohms rating matter in headphones?

C

cutout

New member
I have an issue where I'm tracking in a very small room with a loud amp. I've stuck the amp in a closet with some padding and the problem is a little better. But I'm divided about 2 sets of potential headphones to fix the problem -

Audio Technica ATHM50 - good quality, 38ohms rating

Vic Firth SIH1 Drummer's Isolation headphones - not good quality and 250ohms, but very isolating

The reason I ask about Ohms is that my current AKG 240s are like 600 ohms - and a friend explained to me that that was part of the reason they were so quiet.

Any ideas?
 
cutout said:
The reason I ask about Ohms is that my current AKG 240s are like 600 ohms - and a friend explained to me that that was part of the reason they were so quiet.

Any ideas?
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It matters a lot for this reason.

You can either use headphones with a suitable rating, or buy a headphone amp that's designed to drive higher rated cans.
 
Impedance is as the word suggests, it impedes the flow of a signal passing through that resistance. In respect of headphones it's likely that low impedance drivers will be louder, providing that the mass of the diaphragms does not require a lot of energy to make them vibrate when compared to higher impedance drivers with less mass to get moving. The magnets will also play a part, but as a guide the higher impedance cans will need more output to achieve similar sound pressure levels. Lots of variables but slightly informed by the actuality of allowing a free'er flow of current by having it impeded less.

All the best

Tim
 
Gotcha. Well, would the sheer size and isolation qualities of the Vic Firth headphones be just as sufficient as headphones with low impedance? Seems like they'd be accomplishing roughly the same thing.
 
I have those Vic Firth headphones and let me tell you, they are LOUD! Even if they weren't isolation headphones they would still be louder than any other pair of headphones I have. They don't sound AS BAD as people make them out to be either. They're quite good at what they do.
 
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cutout said:
Gotcha. Well, would the sheer size and isolation qualities of the Vic Firth headphones be just as sufficient as headphones with low impedance? Seems like they'd be accomplishing roughly the same thing.
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I was thinking the same thing. I too have the Vic Firth headphones, I initially bought them for drumming, but now I also use them for recording and mixing purposes. Just like what guitarplayer said, they are loud and they do isolate very well. My drumset happens to be in a room which is probably the opposite of what we know as well-acoustically-treated and on top of that I am a loud drummer. With these headphones I can drum along to pre-made loops or songs with no problem.

Also, if you'd get low independence headphones, with poor isolation and had to turn up the volume loud in order to hear over the loud guitar amp, wouldn't that be quite damaging to your ears? Kind of handy to keep those working for a while...
 
Studio/broadcast headphones were always 600Ohms or so so that they could be jacked across a line for monitoring. The line level being around a volt rms from a very low Z source or at least no higher than 600Ohms. (cathode followers and traffs) Then with the coming of the transistor and "domestic" headphones impedances fell, the entirely stupid value was 8Ohms!
It probably does not matter whether the coils are a lot of thin wire or fewer turns of thicker but what DOES matter is that transistor amps alway give more distortion the more current you demand from them. So everything else being equal I would always go for the highest cans Z I could get.
And drummers? Ex Wellington bomber type will do there!

Dave.
 
As with many aspects of this site im seeing how the typical techie talk is overshadowing the more important aspects of what really matters. How do they sound? Ohms, volts, milliamps, etc are important to certain degrees but at this "newbie" level who cares.

Techie talk and what not can distract you from the reason you started recording to begin with.

Give these a shot. Beyer Dynamic DT770's. In critical listening environments, live sound, or for just your listening pleasure, they are fantastic.
 
G'day cutout.
I use these for blocking out ambient noise.
EX-29 Headphones | Extreme Isolation Headphones

I wouldn't attempt to use them as reference headphones for mixing but for working in a small recording/mixing room these are great to prevent spill into condenser mics when tracking vocals or blocking a bit of the direct amp noise when trying to find the sweet spot using the mic feed into the headphones.

Dags
 
SuperFlyEli said:
As with many aspects of this site im seeing how the typical techie talk is overshadowing the more important aspects of what really matters. How do they sound? Ohms, volts, milliamps, etc are important to certain degrees but at this "newbie" level who cares.
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While I appreciate what is being said here, it also needs to be recognized that a newbie may well reach wrong conclusions about the performance of his/her gear, or even blatantly misuse gear, without a basic understanding of electronics. The laws of physics apply equally to the novice, the expert, and the academic.

To the OP, the ATHM50 is a really good sounding set of cans, but you may not get the best out of them depending on the amp feeding them. Being of lower impedance means that the M50 needs more current to drive them (as opposed to voltage). A purpose built headphone amp might be the way to go. The 600 ohm cans, on the other hand, will require more voltage to drive them, but less current.

The M50 does not, however, provide a lot of sound isolation, which is what seems to be the main requirement in your situation.
 
SuperFlyEli said:
As with many aspects of this site im seeing how the typical techie talk is overshadowing the more important aspects of what really matters. How do they sound? Ohms, volts, milliamps, etc are important to certain degrees but at this "newbie" level who cares.

Techie talk and what not can distract you from the reason you started recording to begin with.

Give these a shot. Beyer Dynamic DT770's. In critical listening environments, live sound, or for just your listening pleasure, they are fantastic.
Click to expand...

Can I remind you that the OP started the thread with a "technical" question? "How much does Ohms rating matter in headphones?" He did not just ask "What are the best sounding headphones?"

My "tekky talk and whatnot" was a direct response to that question. AFAIK the impedance of cans has no influence on the sound quality but it would be a tricky thing to test for anyway. It should be remembered that low Z phones and by that I mean anything under 600R, came about JUST because of hardware developments, notably the Walkman and subsequent "pods". There was NEVER a need for eight Ohm cans for solid state hi fi amps, just some silly sod thought they should "match" and then, lemming like, the other manufacturers followed suit!

Sound recording IS quite technical and the sooner noobs learn this the better...Unless you can afford to stop in bed till noon then swan into the stoodio having had "your Man" sort all the nasties for you!

Dave.
 
Thanks guys. I appreciate any/all explanations. I am slowly learning the technical specifics, but am probably more of a right-brained person by nature, so it's slow going.

As some others have commented, high-end headphones aren't vital for tracking really, so I think the heavy duty drummer's phones would do a nice job of blocking my amp sound. I'll report back if it works out alright...
 
SuperFlyEli said:
Give these a shot. Beyer Dynamic DT770's. In critical listening environments, live sound, or for just your listening pleasure, they are fantastic.
Click to expand...

Funny, I also had those on one of my Amazon wishlists. Trying to figure out of it's worth spending 2/3x the price or whether they'd be louder/more isolating than the drummer's headphones.
 
That is very true. I meant no disrespect.

I think this forum has tons of great information throughout. Much of which goes far beyond what I'd expect to find here.

There are many bits of info within this site that could be used by several employed studio guys I know....lol

I'm in the process of building a static type of educational audio site. Still a work in progress but geared towards the newbie needing basic info as well as some gear reviews and what not.

Music Pro - Your complete Music Production training and information source

The sites still has a LONG way to go as far as content is concerned but hopefully soon it will start being able to help some folks as well.
 
SuperFlyEli said:
Ohms, volts, milliamps, etc are important to certain degrees but at this "newbie" level who cares.
Click to expand...

When learning anything, the fundamental principles are the most important thing.

Playing guitar, music theory, languages, mathematics, electronics.....anything.

Without that background you're just learning enough to do a job.
That may be what some people want to do and that's fine, but I don't think it's reason enough to just assume and bypass that background knowledge.

Arguably, not caring at this 'newbie' level ensure that you stay at this newbie level.
 
SuperFlyEli said:
As with many aspects of this site im seeing how the typical techie talk is overshadowing the more important aspects of what really matters. How do they sound? Ohms, volts, milliamps, etc are important to certain degrees but at this "newbie" level who cares.

Techie talk and what not can distract you from the reason you started recording to begin with.

Give these a shot. Beyer Dynamic DT770's. In critical listening environments, live sound, or for just your listening pleasure, they are fantastic.
Click to expand...

If only it was that simple.

Within the past week or so, there was a thread started by a person who bought some Beyer Dynamic headphones (a different model from yours) and couldn't get adequate levels for tracking no matter what he tried. The reason? He'd bought 400 ohm headphones to work with a conventional audio interface specced for a much lower impedance. The result? He either had to spend extra money on replacing his headphones or buying a headphone amp capable of driving into higher impedances.

FYI, your heaphones are rated at 32 ohms and work fine with almost any interface--but, without checking the tech stuff, you could easily have ended up with ones not suitable for the rest of your set up.

It would be great if you could ignore "ohms, volts milliamps, etc." but the truth is that, without a bit of knowledge, you can waste a lot of money.
 
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