Adapter to increase headphone impedance? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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douglasbjordan
02-28-2006, 01:37 PM
I have a pair of low impedance headphones (16 ohms @ 1KHz) that work great with my mp3 player. I'd like to also use them with my laptop, but the laptop volume (both main and wave) must be turned very low (about 10% each) for the volume level to be acceptable. Also, they have a hiss sound when connected to the laptop. I'd like to get rid of the hiss sound and possibly keep my laptop volumes at a more "normal" level. I don't know much about headphones, but my impression is that if my headphones had a higher impedance this wouldn't be a problem.

Are there any adapters that will increase the phone impedance in the way I need? I was considering a volume control adapter, although really an inline fixed resistance would be fine. And, the more important question, will that actually solve my problem? Or do I just need to get a pair of higher impedance headphones?

Thanks for any help!

Dusty Chalk
03-02-2006, 01:55 PM
Or you could get an amp, such as one of these (http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/). Even the Micro (cheapest one) is pretty good.

What do you have, an MDR-F1?

Dusty Chalk
03-03-2006, 05:38 PM
Here (http://cgim.audiogon.com/i/vs/i/f/1082826750.jpg), also, is the Grado circuit.