Headphone Impedance ΩΩΩ

Music Production Music Tech Discussion
1

I have a question about optimal impedance of the headphones.

I am checking DT990 mentioned in a the beginners course. It has 32Ω, 80Ω and 250 Ω models.

My audio interface (Yamaha AG03) has a source impedance of 120 Ω and in technical specs it says “for use with nominal 40 Ω”

So following the 1/8 rule that I read on these articles… Headphones Ohms Ratings Explained - zZounds Music Blog
Headphone Impedance Demystified: Do I Need a Headphone Amp? | Headphonesty

…I understand that 250Ω model will go the best with my Audio interface and 32 Ω model would create distortion.

Am I reasoning correctly?

Should I even consider 600 Ω headphone? Given that the source impedance is quiet high (120Ω)

Thanks in advance

2

So yes, if you’re sure about your Yamaha AG03 able to provide 120 Ω impedance for the headphone output, then the best choice is a headphone model with 250 Ω to avoid distortion.

The counterpart might be lower volume in your headphones but that shouldn’t be an issue if the specs of your card are correct.

There’s no need to go higher than this and it would require an amplifier to drive 600 Ω headphones.

All of that said, I would advice to ask Yamaha support about recommended headphones models for this interface.

If you’re not buying online and go to a music store, you can also take your interface with you and ask to demo different models, often solves many guessing & questions and avoids bad surprises.

Hope this helps !

Cheers :sunglasses:

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3

Thank you so much for the super useful answer :pray:
Cheers :sparkles:

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