Completed Crack B&W 32 ohm Headphone question

[frank bare]

Hi Bottlehead team,

Anxious to listen to my new Crack, finished up last night...question...I have a new pr of 32 ohm B&W P3 headphones. I have read previously also on someone using a 32 ohm Grado with good success.

What is the rationale behind the need for higher impedance headphones with the Crack...and will I risk damage with a lower impedance headphones like mine?

I'm ok with getting a pr of Beyer's or AKGs you recommend on your pages as well.

Many thanks!
Bare

[Paul Birkeland]

The output impedance of the Crack is reasonably high, which makes for poor low frequency response/distortion with low impedance headphones.  Additionally, low impedance headphones tend to be highly sensitive, which presents an additional dimension of poor compatibility. 

You are very unlikely to damage anything by trying this out.

-PB

[frank bare]

Thank you PB, I have since bought a pr of Beyerdynamic 990/600 ohm. Remarkable. Outstanding with the Crack. But I may elect to compare with the Beyer 880's seems to be more popular choice with the Crack.

[jjvornov]

I added the Speedball to my Crack today and just spent a few hours listening to the upgraded amp with my Sennheiser HD600 headphones. Beautiful clear and detailed sound with bass that is tight and full of impact.

Just to experiment I plugged in my old Grado SR60's and my B&W P7's. The Grado's are pretty nice, my most comfortable headphones. They get a little sloppy in the bass with the Crack at times, but if had never heard the Sennheisers I wouldn't know what this amp is capable of.

The B&W's are unlistenable for me and sound like they're flapping in the lower registers. I'd toss the amp if I didn't know better.

Bottom line, experiment if you want, but pick up a pair of the Sennheisers. I got a good deal last fall. It's a magic combination.