[recDNA]

They sell them on Craigslist as well for cheap, I saw about ten pairs for $40 each last week.

But they're not high impedence right?

[Joshua_Muldoon]

But they're not high impedence right?

The B&O Play earphones aren't High Impendance, yes. Sometimes they will trigger it in the beginning when you open them (Maybe for a week), but that is bad for the earphones, so you will want to unplug and plug them back in to get Normal mode.

[RaRa85]

No, you have to go into the settings and into the Hi-Fi Quad DAC to see if it is in High Impedance mode. Sometimes it will say "External audio device connected" which usually means High Impedance as well.

Thanks. I'll have to put one of these on my list for this year.

[recDNA]

That's why I said cheap. If I were going to spend $40 or. more I may as well. go for a high impedance model. By cheap I meant like $10. Sore grapes cuz I missed out. I just couldn't make up my mind. The delicate camera lens scared me off for a long time.

[Mike Dee]

No, you have to go into the settings and into the Hi-Fi Quad DAC to see if it is in High Impedance mode. Sometimes it will say "External audio device connected" which usually means High Impedance as well.

The external audio device is a line out setting. It's boosts the gain up slightly but not the same as high impedance.

[Mike Dee]

It's a little different with this pair...take a look at this:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markspar.../#427baeff2ecc

I can get them from B&h for 219 on Amazon which is the holiday sale price. I got a promo code from B&H to match the price but I have to order by midnight. The current price is 299. I am still undecided especially after I saw this video of model without NC. Apparently depending on the shape and size of your they could have a Hotspot on top of your head.. This guy has to bend them and the NC version has the same issue.

[Joshua_Muldoon]

The external audio device is a line out setting. It's boosts the gain up slightly but not the same as high impedance.

Oh, thank you

[John_Cline]

The is absolutely nothing to be gained quality-wise by using high impedance headphones with the V20 as opposed to low-impedance phones/earbuds. It all comes down to the quality of the headphones, not whether they're high-impedance or not. The V20 can swing the extra voltage required by high-impedance phones to achieve a given sound pressure level, but there isn't anything inherently better about them.

[Mike Dee]

The is absolutely nothing to be gained quality-wise by using high impedance headphones with the V20 as opposed to low-impedance phones/earbuds. It all comes down to the quality of the headphones, not whether they're high-impedance or not. The V20 can swing the extra voltage required by high-impedance phones to achieve a given sound pressure level, but there isn't anything inherently better about them.

That may be true in some cases, however Beyer dynamics makes certain models that come in different levels of impedance and they have different sound signatures. Also the gain of the amp changes and that can make a difference in sound volume depending on the sensitivity of the headphones.

[RaRa85]

No, you have to go into the settings and into the Hi-Fi Quad DAC to see if it is in High Impedance mode. Sometimes it will say "External audio device connected" which usually means High Impedance as well.

Ok I've seen this mode kick in a few times when I connect the phone to the car with the AUX chord. The icon is different and I never could figure out why is was different sometimes and other times it wasn't.

[Joshua_Muldoon]

Ok I've seen this mode kick in a few times when I connect the phone to the car with the AUX chord. The icon is different and I never could figure out why is was different sometimes and other times it wasn't.

OK, got it

[tadpoles]

That may be true in some cases, however Beyer dynamics makes certain models that come in different levels of impedance and they have different sound signatures. Also the gain of the amp changes and that can make a difference in sound volume depending on the sensitivity of the headphones.

Mike, from the link you'd shared with me earlier if two headphones are otherwise identical and one is of a higher impedance the model with the higher impedance likely has a superior voice coil and that can lead to audibly superior sonic performance. Therefore, and again, the higher impedance model does sound better than the lower impedance model so there is indeed something to be gained. It's is also not uncommon for flagship models to ONLY be released in high impedance versions (think Sennheiser HD700, HD800S, Audeze LCD 4). Fortunately, more high quality cans are being released with low impedance so that they can be driven by lesser mobile devices

[talon1189]

I
am interested on what that you decided on?

[Mike Dee]

I
am interested on what that you decided on?

Are you talking to me

[Mike Dee]

I went to B&H today in Manhattan because I was able to convince them to extend the promo price on the ATH-MSR7NC once again and I would get 80 Dollars off the 299 price.
They are a great deal at that price compared to the regular model without NC. I tried on the display model and they were cofortable. First I tried the Noise Cancellation with no music. It is a very crowded store so without NC I could loads of chatter. Once I kicked on the NC I could only hear people close by and fairly soft. With music on at a decent volume nothing. With NC on the impedance of the headphones goes up from 30 ohms to 150 so the V20 does boost up to high impedance mode but keep in mind that's it's misleading to call these headphones high impedance because the impedance changes because the headphones internal amp kicks in for the noise Cancellation. I'm also led to believe based on what I've been reading that with NC on its not relying so much on amplification from the V20. Having said that there is a noticeable difference between normal and high impedance mode, and while it's not leaps and bounds compared to trying it with cheaper headphones but it is a difference I appreciate. There is a big difference when I turn off the quad DAC and run off the snap dragon DAC. I also tried them with the G5 and I could actually listen at full volume in that case. That tells me that what I'm reading about the headphone amp ignoring the V20 boost can't be completely true. I can't run the V20 at max volume without hurting myself.
Now... The sound quality. With the Native music app the run a bit flat but still very pleasing to the ears and the senses. I can hear so much stuff that I never heard before. Even more so than what I had already gained with the V20 with cheaper headphones that I already owned and the H3s. Running Power amp gets you more sound curvature. I love the clean bass on these things and the highs and minds are intensely bright. Depending on the song I can feel the vocals as if they are singing right behind. Not only am I hearing sounds I never heard before I can hear them all together. I tried the flac and mp3 files... I have Spotify premium for a few more days and all these formats sound amazing. I realize flac is better but I stand by my early feeling on this phone that it makes good work of some of the lower bitrate files. I will give some credit to the headphones themselves but these combo is a beast. I even listened to a YouTube video I like and was blown away once again by the difference. Again I love the clarity of all the different sound frequencies including the base. If you are a base head though they are not for you. I tried some of the Sony extra bass Models and they were not for me. Sorry but I can't deal with mud.
Right now I'm loving these but I have 30 days to return as long as I don't damage them do I am planning on listening to some other stuff at Guitar Central since they carry Beyers and B&h doesn't.
I hope headphones doesn't become my new addiction but I'm depressed that all of these years I didn't know what I was missing in the music.

[anon(20073)]

I can get them from B&h for 219 on Amazon which is the holiday sale price. I got a promo code from B&H to match the price but I have to order by midnight. The current price is 299. I am still undecided especially after I saw this video of model without NC. Apparently depending on the shape and size of your they could have a Hotspot on top of your head.. This guy has to bend them and the NC version has the same issue.

I should have my set of these phones by Monday.

[thunder18]

The ATH-MSR7NC are only high impedance with Noise Cancelling active so they might not activate high impedance with NC off.

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC9 trigger high impedance mode everytime for me as do my Sol Republic Tracks HD. One interesting note about the Audio-Technicas is that they sound as good with the quad dac on and noise canceling off as they do with noise canceling on and the dac off.

[Mike Dee]

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC9 trigger high impedance mode everytime for me as do my Sol Republic Tracks HD. One interesting note about the Audio-Technicas is that they sound as good with the quad dac on and noise canceling off as they do with noise canceling on and the dac off.

Do you mean they trigger high impedance with NC On or are you saying it trigger with NC Off? It should not trigger with it off since it's only about 30 ohms passive. I actually that with audio technica since the spec only listed one impedance. You can trigger high impedance with NC active and then turn NC off and the V20 remains in high impedance mode. It's really stupid that LG set it up so that the gain varies according to impedance. They are probably concerned that consumers with blow out the low impedance headphones. I do agree that they sound good on all modes but they still sound the best with NC active and DAC on.

[anon(20073)]

Do you mean they trigger high impedance with NC On or are you saying it trigger with NC Off? It should not trigger with it off since it's only about 30 ohms passive. I actually that with audio technica since the spec only listed one impedance. You can trigger high impedance with NC active and then turn NC off and the V20 remains in high impedance mode. It's really stupid that LG set it up so that the gain varies according to impedance. They are probably concerned that consumers with blow out the low impedance headphones. I do agree that they sound good on all modes but they still sound the best with NC active and DAC on.

My Bose QuietComfort 3 activate HIFI every time i plug them in.

[Mike Dee]

My Bose QuietComfort 3 activate HIFI every time i plug them in.

With NC active they should, with NC off they shouldn't unless their base impedance at least or very near 50 ohms.

[Joshua_Muldoon]

My Bose QuietComfort 3 activate HIFI every time i plug them in.

Do you mean High Impedance or just Hi-Fi? All headphones should activate Hi-Fi when plugged in, but only some are high impedance.

[Mike Dee]

Do you mean High Impedance or just Hi-Fi? All headphones should activate Hi-Fi when plugged in, but only some are high impedance.

The noise cancelling headphones will activate high impedance if NC is active because the impedence jumps up

[anon(20073)]

Do you mean High Impedance or just Hi-Fi? All headphones should activate Hi-Fi when plugged in, but only some are high impedance.

I don't know enough to know the difference but they activate HIFI

[Joshua_Muldoon]

I don't know enough to know the difference but they activate HIFI

OK got it, that is normal, so nothing is wrong there.

[thunder18]

Do you mean they trigger high impedance with NC On or are you saying it trigger with NC Off? It should not trigger with it off since it's only about 30 ohms passive. I actually that with audio technica since the spec only listed one impedance. You can trigger high impedance with NC active and then turn NC off and the V20 remains in high impedance mode. It's really stupid that LG set it up so that the gain varies according to impedance. They are probably concerned that consumers with blow out the low impedance headphones. I do agree that they sound good on all modes but they still sound the best with NC active and DAC on.

Sorry for the late reply. They trigger high impedance with the NC off. I don't have to resort to the cable pulling trick or anything like that.