Headphones and the amplifier.. help needed!

[Tetsuro]

I have just bought a pair of Goldring DR100 rated at 32 ohms for impedance. Would I have trouble driving them with the 68 ohms output rated for the NAD C315. Why would Goldring provide an adapter (screw-on, 6.5 mm) for the amplifier if they would work bad with it?

And.. the impedance of the amplifier must be higher than that of the headphones? Or it's reverse? The C325 is rated at 80 ohms.

[markw]

I have just bought a pair of Goldring DR100 rated at 32 ohms for impedance. Would I have trouble driving them with the 68 ohms output rated for the NAD C315.No. If anything, they will play a little louder than if the numbers matched.


Why would Goldring provide an adapter (screw-on, 6.5 mm) for the amplifier if they would work bad with it? Dunno why they would, but it's not an issue here. They will work fine.

Remember, not all amplifiers are the same. Just because yours is one impedance, you can't assume all anps are the same. Goldring apparantly provides their users with the option of using their product with 1/4" (for home units) and 1/8" headphone jacks (for portable units) . So does Grado, Sennheiser and, I believe, many others.


And.. the impedance of the amplifier must be higher than that of the headphones? Or it's reverse? The C325 is rated at 80 ohms.Don't get your panties all in a bunch about headphone output impedances. Look at headphones like speakers, only smaller. Headphones come in all different impedances, all the way from 8 ohms up to 600 ohms and they all work with all standard headphone outputs, only some will play louder than others.

[Tetsuro]

Thanks Mark, I'm relieved. ;)

[O'Shag]

Hi Tetsuro,

Just a thought. An absolutely brilliant headphone amplifier solution for you to think about, is the Carver C4000T. I don't know how good the inbuilt HP amp is in your NAD but as an alternative consider this. I have a Yamaha RX-Z9 ( $4,500) receiver. The Carver C4000t headphone amp makes the Yami's sound like a toy for children. Given that its also a great little preamp that will probably murder your NAD in absolute terms and given that you can buy a very nice example for only $250-$300, its a steal. To use it as a dedicated HP amp, just switch the interconnects running from your source DAC to the CD input on the C4000T and bob's your uncle. Hopefully you have easy access to change out cables when needed other wise it might be a pain to keep switching back and forth. Also, if your NAD has pre-outs/ins you can run the from channels through the Carver preamp stage. I guarantee it will sound better even for movies and multi-channel. As good as the RX-Z9 is, it sounded even better with the Carver C4000t preamp running through its pre in/pre out

[Tetsuro]

Thanks Shag, the NAD will arrive soon... (next week) I'm not able to spend on a lots of components so I will have to rely on the NAD. Hoping it will be good (Onkyo was good with the headphones, only with the headphones :D ).

[O'Shag]

Completely understand Testsuro. Its easy to get carried away, and money is tight these days. I'm sure your NAD will serve very well.