DT 150 Headphone Amp or None?

[ian lucero]

I am aware that the DT 150 is a 250ohm pair of headphones thus would possibly need a headphone amp to hear it at its full potential as oppose to just plugging it into say your 1/8" laptop or zoom or hpx170 jack.

But I am wondering, as I am a complete newbie to headphones costing more than my 7506's that just recently died, what are the chances of a Beyerdynamic DT150 250ohm or the DT770 Pro 250ohm for that matter, to be able to be satisfactorily driven using just a Mackie mixer? (A 402 VLZ3)

Further... if that is not sufficient enough juice to get the headphones working at its best, then will a pair of DT770 Pro 250ohm sound/perform the same as the 80ohm version when plugged into a laptop or zoom or hpx170?

Does it just mean that I will need to crank up the volume a little more and that it will have a little more hiss?

I am asking these questions because I know ultimately a 250ohm pair of headphones would sound better (according to what I've read) with a proper headphone amp, but can I get by as I have been with my 7506's which were 63ohm, by getting a 250ohm set of cans, use those as would minus the headphone amp until I can afford to get an amp.

In other words... will the 250ohm cans still sound good without the amp?

was that confusing?

 

[DrDave]

I think there are two questions here--one is whether you can improve the sound of the headphones, and the other is how much you want to spend. A good hp amp will make some difference, but it isn't a big difference. A good d/a converter will make a difference as well, but not a big difference. I use a musiland US 01 and an Audio-gd sparrow, for my budget/portable and ultrafi listening, respectively. There are lots of choices out there. And normally, I would assume that you would be using other listening options than the Mackie.
Generally speaking, the 150s are more highly regarded than the 770s for a number of reasons, but hps are a personal choice.
You can also get a pair of ATH-M50s, which can be driven easily by a pod, a Mackie, or anything else. But hey, I have a headphone amp. Honestly, I mainly use the Musiland. So convenient. Remember that you are looking at closed cans. Usually ppl buy closed cans for location work, and they just want to plug 'em in, not fuss with more gear. But better is better....
Last time I jacked in to a 402 was years ago, but I remember it was a bit bright through the HP out. But there are different versions of the 402. Normally, on those desks, just going XLR to HP amp did make a bit of a difference.
Some of these cigarette sized HP amps for $50 have very nice sound on eBay.
Lastly, don't believe what you read about headphones (including this) because everyone has a different opinion.

 

[ian lucero]

I failed to mention how the Mackie is connected to my workstation....

MacPro Optical Out -> Edirol FA-66 Soundcard -> Mackie 402VLZ3 -> Studio Monitors/Headphones

I love the convenience of plug-n-play headphones and not worry about bringing around an amp, but I think a pair of new 7506's will be fine as I've used those for years and am fine with those and I don't have to buy another pair. But the new cans will serve as a editing/critical listening as well as leisure listening of my vinyl collection.

So right now I don't have enough money to get an amp but would like to get headphones that I can basically upgrade (with an amp) later. DT150 250' vs. 770 Pro 250's. The consensus I'm finding is that the 150's are superior all around in sound stage. I'm just bummed I can't find one locally to try out for myself. I can though try the 770's at a guitar center (bleh). I guess I'm too cheap right now but if I get the 150's, which are the same price initially as the 770's, then I'd be more than half way there.

The concern being, can I sufficiently use the 150's with my current set-up till I get an amp?

 

[ian lucero]

OR!

Should I just say this is ridiculous, that I'm being too picky or being mislead, and just get the DT770 Pro 80ohm's and get on with it.

hmmmm