MS1 louder than DT880-250?

[kank_39 0]

I've owned the MS1 for almost half a year and recently got down to compare it with the new DT880 2006 edition, which has an impedence of 250 ohms.

 

I ran the beyer from my amp (a DIY SOHA to be specific) and I'm thrilled that it didn't require me to change the output impedence of crank up the volume of the amp. The output impedence of my amp is pretty high in order to get rid of the L/R channel imbalance. Sound is still pretty harsh, especially in the highs, but that's not the main point of this thread.

 

After enjoying the beyer for a while, i decided to go back to my MS1 and i'm pretty surprised that the volume from my MS1 is lower than that of the DT880. By right, having a higher impedence, the DT880 should yield a lower volume than the MS1, which is rated at 32 ohms. However, when tested from the output of my iPod, the DT880 does sound much softer than the MS1 at the same volume level.

 

So what's the logic behind this phenomenon? Or is there something that i haven't understood in headphone amplification?

 

Please enlighten.

[siriuz 0]

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showpost.ph...49&postcount=11

[Mackie 0]

Tube amps usually have no problem with high output voltage but this is not the case when driving low impedance cans which usually require more current while high impedance cans will require higher voltage to drive to the same spl (sound pressure level - loudness).

 

http://www.akg.com/products/product_tipps/..._view,tips.html

[kank_39 0]

Thanx for the clarification guys. I think i understand the reason behind it all now. It all comes down to the output impedence of the amplifier.

[Mackie 0]

and also the design of an amplifier ie, tube and solid state, and also voltage and current output.