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Topic: Noob question about amp power delivery (Read 1713 times) previous topic - next topic
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Noob question about amp power delivery

I have a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD700X with an impedence of 38 ohms. I currently have them plugged in to my PC with a SoundblasterX G5 soundcard. Lowgain on the soundcard is rated 32-150Ohm and high gain is 150-600Ohm. Of course I generally run on low, but if I hear a song I really like I occasionally wanna turn it on high to listen to max volume. Is there *really* any long term issues I can run into by doing this? (Completely new to higher quality audio) I'd appreciate any input. Thanks.

Re: Noob question about amp power delivery

Reply #1 –
No. The rating for ohms is misleading at least. It depends on the headphone's sensitivity, although the impedance factors how much power of the amp gets through.
There is no such thing as "too much power", it will only get louder and you can turn the volume down. However, with higher gain you usually boost the ground noise floor and also distortion, effectively lowering the dynamic range of the amp.

Speaking realistically, it hardly matters. If you want to have the best experience, you want to choose the lowest available gain as long as your volume does not exceed around 80%. Lower gain should provide a cleaner signal. But if you feel like you need more power, just jump a gain higher. It cannot damage your headphones.
headphone aficionado, tech fan, realist

Re: Noob question about amp power delivery

Reply #2 –
Most likely the high/low gain does nothing beyond enable/disable a software volume cap.

Re: Noob question about amp power delivery

Reply #3 –
Thanks guys. One person told me it could burn out my headset so I was a bit paranoid.

Re: Noob question about amp power delivery

Reply #4 –
Quote from: davoz28caboose on
Thanks guys. One person told me it could burn out my headset so I was a bit paranoid.

Then you would burn out your ears first.

It's not that there is DC in de elevated noise floor or something.