Audio interface for 250 Ohm headphones?

[Cromulent]

I'm looking at buying a decent pair of headphones to use for making music but they have an impedance of 250 Ohms and I was wondering if anyone could recommend a quality audio interface that can power 250 Ohm headphones? The headphones I want to buy are the Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pros.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Depends on your setup but pretty much any headphone amplifier would do and you could even try a “normal” headphone jack. High impedance headphones just need more power but depending on the device it may power them to your liking already. The new MBP support high impedance headphones for example.

Use what you have available and go from there. Don’t fall into the audiophile BS of needing a thousand dollar amp to run a pair of headphones.

 

[BrianBaughn]

I use a Mackie HM-4 for my Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro phones. I've had it for over three years and no issues.

 

[MajorFubar]

What's your budget?
Like Sheepish-Lord said, you could get away with just buying a dedicated headphone amplifier if you don't need an input

 

[Cromulent]

Thank you all.

I was looking at the Topping E30 DAC, which is about £140, which seems reasonable.

 

[MajorFubar]

Might also be worth asking on a head-fi forum (or the Headphone Experience group on FB). You don't have to go into the ins and outs of you being a creator or you might get sent down some irrelevant path when all you really want to know is what good DACs or HP amps pair well with Beyerdynamic DT 1770's.

 

[BrianBaughn]

Thank you all.

I was looking at the Topping E30 DAC, which is about £140, which seems reasonable.

This must be over my head. I can't figure out how one would use that with 250Ω headphones.

 

[MajorFubar]

This must be over my head. I can't figure out how one would use that with 250Ω headphones.

Actually that's a very fair point OP seems to have missed...it doesn't seem to have a headphone jack (I hadn't checked pictures before)

 

[Cromulent]

Actually that's a very fair point OP seems to have missed...it doesn't seem to have a headphone jack (I hadn't checked pictures before)

You use an RCA left and right cable to a 3.5mm headphone jack.

 

[MajorFubar]

You use an RCA left and right cable to a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The output from a DAC's line-out won't necessarily drive headphones well to any satisfactory volume, particularly high-impedance headphones. The line-output is designed for seeing the load of an amplifier, not connecting directly to passive high-impedance headphones. You could end up with a very thin sound, lacking in volume and with a weedy low end.

 

[BrianBaughn]

I misread the OP…that's why I mentioned my Mackie headphone amp. I don't know of a digital audio interface that includes support for 250Ω headphones but it has been a while since I looked beyond the inexpensive range.

The Mackie has four outputs so if more than one person needs headphones, like in a performer with engineer scenario, you're good to go.

 

[GrumpyCoder]

I was looking at the Topping E30 DAC, which is about £140, which seems reasonable.

That’s a DAC, not a headphone amp.

You use an RCA left and right cable to a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Well, you could plug your headphones into a power outlet too, doesn’t mean you should do it.
The DAC provides line level and the whole thing will be impedance-mismatched. If you want the E30, then pair it with the L30, which is a proper headphone amp. Just be sure to get the new fixed ESD version as older models are known to blow headphones.

It’s been said that you can use these headphones with a headphone jack of your source and that is true, but I’d not recommend doing it. You’re buying mid-range headphones (let’s not count exotic cans that can cost a fortune), so get something to drive them properly. You want a good frequency response 20Hz to 20kHz, enough output power for 250Ω, good THD+N, a low noise floor and good channel balance.
Check out this video:

It’s a little older but still good. There are more reviews on that channel. There’s also a video that explains why they’re measured this way and what the measurements actually mean.

The Mackie HM-4 has been mentioned specifically above. I would not buy it for the DT 1770. The output impedance @47Ω is too high for 250Ω cans. It will work, but you will have coloration in the sound. With 250Ω you should at least go down to 31.25Ω for better performance. Maybe you can find a review somewhere with full measurements.