iBook headphone out - enough juice for Sennheissers?

Elmy · Jun 3, 2004

I have a pair of Senheisser HD570s and I was wondering if the iBooks internal headphone amp is enough to drive these? They have an internal impedance of 64Ohms.

Although these aren't paticularly hard headphones to drive (HD600s are 300Ohms!), they DO NOT work with output from devices such as iPods or portable CD players.

Does anyone use a pair of mid to high range cans with an iBook? Are they driven OK? Do they sound reasonably good?

Thanks for your help

JohnStrass · Jun 3, 2004

isnt that funny. I got the Sennheiser PXC 250 for my iPod. It cant drive them without the noise-cancelling switch on... I was wondering if the Mac devices have seak signal out.
That said, I LOVE my headphones

legion · Jun 3, 2004

Elmy said:
Does anyone use a pair of mid to high range cans with an iBook? Are they driven OK? Do they sound reasonably good?

Thanks for your help

Nope. Not at all good (even with any of the PBs) I use a headphone amp otherwise it sounds weak and horrible. It pretty much negates the use of high-quality headphones without an amp.

parrothead · Jun 3, 2004

I have found that the headphone out on both the ibook and powerbook really isnt all that powerful. Using regular headphones, it can be very hard to hear if there is any outside noise going on. They just dont get loud enough.

Elmy · Jun 3, 2004

Damn thats a real shame

I want to get the iBook for when I go to university next year and in the dorms headphones are pretty much a necessity either to block other people's noise out and to not piss other people off with my own noise!

Maybe I'll crack out the soldering iron and build a nice headphone amp in a lil metal box over the summer from a guide on the web somewhere. I don't think I'll be able to afford one ready made. Any ideas how much the cheapest one I can get would be? Any recommendations on ready made amps or even just good schematics for a home made one?

legion · Jun 3, 2004

Elmy said:
Damn thats a real shame

I want to get the iBook for when I go to university next year and in the dorms headphones are pretty much a necessity either to block other people's noise out and to not piss other people off with my own noise!

Maybe I'll crack out the soldering iron and build a nice headphone amp in a lil metal box over the summer from a guide on the web somewhere. I don't think I'll be able to afford one ready made. Any ideas how much the cheapest one I can get would be? Any recommendations on ready made amps or even just good schematics for a home made one?

Check out musiciansfriend for headphone amps. They have some cheap ones- but sadly, they won't be as of high-quality as the pricier ones; but still probably better than a home made one.

These resources will help you if you build your own amp...
Information on Headphone Amps
Great reading on all things headphone and some really good details on headphone amps

Elmy · Jun 4, 2004

I've been reading up on homemade amps and it seems a lot of audiophiles seem to live by them. Cheap (£20) and a very nice sound.

I don't know if I can be bothered to make one though

Cheers for the link, I did a search and most of them seem to be aimed at musicians, of which I am one, but I'm looking at this purely for listening to CDs.

aptmunich · Jun 5, 2004

You need advice on headphones and headphone amps (home-made and bought?)

You like good quality music and recognise the advantages of good headphones?

Go to head-fi!

http://www.head-fi.org

BUT BE WARNED>>> There is no going back!

Welcome to head-fi.org - sorry about your wallet!

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iBook headphone out - enough juice for Sennheissers?

Elmy

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JohnStrass

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legion

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parrothead

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Elmy

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legion

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Elmy

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aptmunich

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