Most of the best-sounding headphones have high impedance. Sufficient power is required to sufficiently power the headphones to make them sound the best.
Amps do this and 80-ohm headphones are one of the popular headphones in the high impedance range. But, can you use 80-ohm headphones without an amp? Most likely.
Do You Need An Amp For 80 Ohm Headphones?
No, you don’t need an amp for 80-ohm headphones. However, 80-ohm headphones require sufficient power to drive them.
A lack of power will cause a drop in sound quality and volume. Amps provide the extra power needed by the headphones for the sound quality to sound the best.
At What Ohms Do You Need An Amp?
Headphones equal to or lower than 32 ohms don’t need amps. Because all devices provide sufficient power to drive them. Using an amp for 32 Ohms or lower will slowly damage the headphones over time.
Headphones that have 50 ohms or higher require amps to sufficient drive them. For headphones that have 50 – 80 ohms, you can listen without an amp. But the sound quality won’t be as good as when an amp is used.
Headphones that have higher than 80 ohms need to be connected to an amp. Such headphones require a lot of power to be driven for them to sound well.
Using such headphones without an amp will have a poor sound quality and low volume leaving you disappointed.
Can Laptop Power 80 Ohm Headphones?
Some laptops can power 80-ohm headphones and others cannot.
However, it’s still recommended to test with or without an amp.
Laptops that are not considered gaming or workstation don’t have high wattage chargers. And an amp is required for 80-ohm headphones to power it.
Can I Use 80 Ohm Headphones On PC?
Yes, you can use 80-ohm headphones on a PC. Desktop computers have sufficient power to drive the headphones.
Because the power supply is large and can power all the hardware components. Therefore, supplying sufficient power to 80-ohm headphones isn’t a problem.
Can a Phone Power 80 Ohm Headphones?
No, smartphones don’t have sufficient power to drive 80-ohm headphones. A portable amp is required to drive the 80-ohm headphones for the best sound quality and volume.
Can a MacBook Pro Power 80 Ohm Headphones?
Yes, MacBook Pro can power 80-ohm headphones. Because it has decent audio amplifiers.
Wrapping up – Using 80 Ohms Headphones With or Without an Amp
You can use 80-ohm headphones without an amp. However, using 80-ohm headphones will sound better when connected to an amp. Because amps provide that extra power for such headphones.
