Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

TitualSacrifice t1_iu1jkax wrote

Everyone else seems to be ignoring the fact that you plugged 80 ohm headphones straight into your desktop. They’re not gonna sound good that way. Either get an amp (you don’t need a DAC) or trade the 80 ohm version for the 32 ohm version. I’ve been daily driving the 32 ohm version for like three years and I have yet to find a headphone that sounds better. I haven’t listened to the 80 ohm version personally but from what I hear online the treble is a little harsher than the 32 ohm version.

−2

Anx_DB OP t1_iu1kegw wrote

Unfortunately I can't trade my headphones back.. I bought them on a trip to France and I'm no longer in there :(

I am completely OK with buying an amp tho

but wait, so an amp would improve the audio quality?

1

imsolowdown t1_iu1mb82 wrote

Don't listen to clueless idiots on Reddit who have no idea what they're talking about. Look for information online. Ohms is the impedance. The sensitivity is what you need to look at if you want to know how much energy is needed. Not the impedance.

4

Gaurdian23 t1_iu2xid1 wrote

I lean with no, ignore the guy above you. Subjectively an amp can make it sound a bit different but no amp will objectively 'improve' the sound quality.

The Dt770 (80 ohms) can be powered off of the 3.5mm jack on my 4 year old mid-range phone, I highly doubt your desktop can't power it properly.

There are two possibilities for what is going on:

  1. Your not use to the sound, for some people it can take a month before they get use to a headphone. (I don't think this is the case)

Or

  1. Everyone's ears are different, which I mean literally. Your ear shape could be causing the headphones to sound horrible for you. That's ok, I'm sorry that you had to find this out the hard way - however now people should be able to recommend better headphones to try.

Since you can't trade your headphones back, you may want to sell them on r/AVExchange - you probably will loose a smidge of money (shipping) however you can get really good deals for other headphones there, so it should even out in the end. Since the Dt770's were too harsh for your ears I'd recommend the Rode NTH-100, Sony MDR-7506, or Sennheiser HD 280 Pro. None have the piercing treble and all are highly recommended around this price point. That said, it would help to get other people's opinions on this. To my ears the Dt 770's sound great but I tend to like bright headphones.

2

TitualSacrifice t1_iu1lcfq wrote

The ohm count refers to the amount of energy that’s needed to power the headphones. Most phones and computers will output enough to power 32 ohm headphones no problem, but not beyond that. The reason your 80 ohm pair sounds bad is because they’re only being partially powered. An amp will power the headphones entirely, sort of like unlocking their full potential. So yeah, an amp will help them sound better because they’ll be fully supplied with energy.

1

imsolowdown t1_iu1m19f wrote

The ohms is the impedance of the headphones. It has nothing to do with the amount of energy needed. 80 ohm is fine with anything, the worst that could happen is that it will sound quiet. It doesn't affect the sound quality.

2

agustin142 t1_iu3k7td wrote

In my opinion with an amp they will sound a bit better, but not a big difference, if the highs sound piercing that wont change

1