DO OHMS/IMPEDANCE MATTER IN EARPHONES AND HEADPHONES?

DO OHMS/IMPEDANCE MATTER IN EARPHONES AND HEADPHONES?

Have you ever looked at the specifications of any earphones or headphones and wondered what the Impedance, or commonly represented as ohms (Ω), meant and how do they affect your listening experience?

In short; The ohm is the unit of measure for impedance, which is the property of an earphone/headphone that restricts the flow of electrical current through it. Flipping back to our high school science textbooks, Ohm's Law states: In an electrical circuit, current flow is directly proportional to voltage and inversely proportional to impedance.  Mathematically, this becomes: Current (in amperes) equals voltage (in volts) divided by impedance (in ohms).

Low-impedance headphones are designed to be plugged directly into a single source and can more efficiently generate sound from the lower level input signal. Most headphones with low impedance (less than 25 ohms, approximately) require little power to deliver high audio levels. For example, low impedance headphones will work well with equipment with weak amplification like portable music players, phones, and other portable devices.

High-impedance headphones are designed for studio-like applications where there may be multiple phones wired in parallel receiving an input signal from one source. Headphones with higher impedance (25 ohms and over, approximately) demand more power to deliver high audio levels. As a result, they are protected from damage caused by overloading. They can also be used with a wider range of audio equipment.

So yes, higher the ohms better the sound experience; that is dependent on if you’re using the appropriate amp to provide the required power, 100 ohms headphones plugged into a laptop will not get you the experience you expected, as most laptops support an impedance of only up to 32 ohms. A laptop paired with the appropriate amplifier shall allow you to experience the optimum power of your professional headset!

However, plugging headphones with lower impedance into devices with higher voltages, like a professional audio mixer and turning the audio levels up, could result in shorting the headphones out completely.

All of 1MORE’s headphones and earphones are specially designed and engineered for the audio enthusiasts of all kinds. With an impedance ranging up to 32 ohms, they provide you with the perfect music experience for any purpose, whether it's just listening to music on your laptop or mixing music live in front of an audience!

Check out a range of 1MORE’s Award Winning Earphones & Headphones here.  

Written by: 1MORE INDIA