High Impedance Headphone Test | M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro 2021

[@blackwaterpictures876]

From Apple The 3.5 mm headphone jack on the MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021) or MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) features DC load detection and adaptive voltage output. Your Mac can detect the impedance of the connected device and will adapt its output for low- and high-impedance headphones, as well as for line-level audio devices. When you connect headphones with an impedance of less than 150 ohms, the headphone jack provides up to 1.25 volts RMS. For headphones with an impedance of 150 to 1k ohms, the headphone jack delivers 3 volts RMS. This may remove the need for an external headphone amplifier. With impedance detection, adaptive voltage output, and a built-in digital-to-analog converter that supports sample rates of up to 96 kHz, you can enjoy high-fidelity, full-resolution audio directly from the headphone jack on your MacBook Pro.

[@blackwaterpictures876]

@Felipe yes

[@djleechcraft]

This MAY remove the need for an external headphone amp. I own BD DT990 pros and I have to pump the volume quite high to drive em. But when you try to mix in them at lower volumes, you just get it up there. I use a yamaha mixer pre amp to drive em and it sounds brilliantly clear and powerful. So can't FULLY rely on the headphone jack.

[@calliopeshif7581]

​@@djleechcraftsorry to reply 10 months late, but I wanted to ask: what version of the DT-990 do/did you have? I'm considering purchasing the DT-880, and was curious about how the different impedance versions would run through my MacBook Pro. Given the DT-880 comes in 32-ohm, 250-ohm, and 600-ohm versions. Thank you for any input!!

[@mrcoffeeman3333]

Did not expect to actually find somebody testing this but I am pleasantly surprised to see that this video exists, thank you so much for clearing this up for me

[@wo0tGAMING]

it was a niche video, but I searched for exactly that, thanks a lot!

[@Techkhamun]

You're welcome!

[@alexandrefedossov9765]

Thank you for testing! This was exactly what I searched for: my headphones and this notebook specifically! I was so surprised that my Sennheiser HD650 300 ohms was great in the middle of the volume range!

[@danrussell9357]

One of the best videos I have seen on the M1 Mac Pro headphone jack.

[@Ovnirock]

Great video! this was exactly the question i had since I didn´t know if I could buy a 450 Ohms headphones and the Mac would be able to drive it. Now I know it can... Thanks a lot!

[@aroshan123]

Wow. Love the content brother. This was exactly what I was looking for. Clear and definitive. I’ve just bought an m3 max MacBook Pro and wanted to pair it with a decent set of cans. Thank you so much

[@loryhawley2930]

I am thrilled I found you! I am a headphone reviewer and I'm going from a 2019 Macbook Pro to a 2023 14 inch Macbook Pro and one of the draws was the high impedance headphone jack. I was hopeful that this would be as meaningful for someone else as it is to me; and here you are. Thank you for this demo. My new laptop will be arriving in a few days and I look forward to being able to plug some power hungry headphones into it.

[@ronanalexandre]

Hi, probably your new Mac arrived and you have tested the MacBook paired with your headphone, I am thinking to do the same thing you did, i am wanna know what is the experience, if it is worth, can you talk more about the quality of the soud?

[@johannesberglund286]

Nice and interesting! A couple of things though. It’s not called preamp, that is something else. It’s a headphone amp. Also how are you able to separate the performance of the DAC and the amplifier with a test of this type?

[@AreqPL]

hi! have you tried the dt 770 80omhs with m1 mackbook air? great video!

[@ethan_bronzi]

Now I know my MacBook Pro will have no trouble driving 300ohm headphones. Thanks for the video.

[@CherOs12]

Hello I m using dt770pro 250OHM with m1 2020 air Also, i m using them with at2020usb+ only on windows pc I have enough volume but what about sound quality? My question: will be any differences (will it be much more quality) if i will use powerfull usb audio-interface with 770pro, or are any differences betw m1 air and m2 air?

[@InfinityFishing]

The video I was searching, very hard to find actually nobody does this review

[@dotapark]

Hey that niche video saved my time for searching. Helped me enough. This MacBook Pro will make me back into audiophile and hobby of making music 🤣

[@Techkhamun]

You are welcome!

[@enriqueruiz4751]

Bought an M2 studio basic. Was curious about it.

[@GiorgioDaino]

To be honest, my good old late 2012 MacMini seems to have the same output level (and quality) as the MacBook M1 pro with my 600 ohms AKG K 141, the old 'Made in Austria' version... I'm I wrong or missing something?

[@paulwoaert]

Hello. For the beyerdynamic dt 880, at 600 ohms, on a macbook pro m1, do we have to have the maximum volume to listen to classical music or interviews on youtube ? I also know that the macbook air m2 (who arrived 1 year later than the pro m1) also has the high-impedance headphone jack).

[@K3v7L]

Amazing! No need to carry an extra preamp for producing on the go! :)

[@DavidFletcher566]

Good video but more description about the sound quality of each headphone would have been nice.

[@Techkhamun]

This isn’t a headphone review plus each headphone is different with a different profile. This isn’t the point in the video sorry

[@DavidFletcher566]

@@Techkhamun It's one thing if the new MacBooks can power a high-impedance headphone, but if it doesn't sound good due to some other limitation of the laptop, then it doesn't matter. And also, does it sound so much better than earbuds that it's worth $300 or whatever these headphones cost, for the average person? For an enthusiast? Would have been nice if you had discussed this. FYI, the Apple support site says the new MacBooks can power headphones up to 1000 impedance. Cheers.

[@TravisRayLive]

@@DavidFletcher566 I agree with Tech. No sense in talking about those things, as this video wasn't for that. And if they didn't sound good (even though that makes no sense since the MBP can obviously power them, there are no other factors here), then I'm sure he would have mentioned it.

[@ahall3823]

The new MBPs detect the load and switch the voltage accordingly. Headphones up to 1k ohms should be fine.

[@Techkhamun]

Interesting! Do you have any proof of this that I can source? I never like to quote anything without proof 😊

[@matthewbak2569]

Thank your very much for this video - that was exactly what I was looking for

[@Techkhamun]

Glad this video helped you out!!

[@midnightklub]

Just got the DT770 80ohm and noticed they are significantly quieter than my dt990 250 ohm Using a 2021 MacBook Pro M1 Pro. Guna exchange for the 250 ohm version and see if it makes a difference!

[@herreragonzalezjoseroberto7274]

Did the 250 dt770 pro sound better than the 80 ohm ones?

[@midnightklub]

Yes the 250 version sounded a lot better on the M1 Pro macbook. Seems like these macbooks prefers the higher 250 Ohm version. Sounds VERY good with my DT990s. @@herreragonzalezjoseroberto7274

[@midnightklub]

the 250 version definitely sounded a lot better. From what I read about the M1 Macbooks any headphone over 150 Ohms will up the power to the headphone jack so I'm assuming the 80 Ohm version wasnt enough to let the computer know to up the output. @@herreragonzalezjoseroberto7274

[@Dumbo847]

I'm wondering if MBP can drive beyer T1 2nd gen headphone which is also 600 ohms.

[@SonGokuhSSJ]

Just tried it and it works pretty well. The T1 actually got louder than my LCD-2s which are 70 ohms. So I would say the new MacBooks are better at driving high impedance than lower ones which require less voltage. I would say at around 70 percent volume it sounds best as it starts to distort a little closer to 100 volume. If you are someone who is used to listening to their music loud then you might have to bump it up to 80-90. Otherwise the T1s sound pretty damn great straight from the headphone jack. I was honestly a bit surprised. The frequency response is solid in the bass and treble but the soundstage is slightly lacking compared to my dedicated amp/dac combo.

[@libertine2273]

Samson SR580 or Beyerdynamic 990 pro??? (low budget)

[@trapjimmy3346]

if i were to buy the dt 990 250ohms for my 14’ m1 pro would it be good enough for music production?

[@George-xy2xi]

Which headphone amp do you feel boosts the lows better on the dt1990 pro with your Mac?

[@ebeisaac7700]

Got what I wanted to know in this video. Thanks!

[@Techkhamun]

Awesome!!!

[@sotovo]

Did the 14" M2 Pro (or now M3) improve the Headphone AMP / DAC? Can anyone verify?

[@RaW_DaWg78]

Pretty excited about this MacBook!

[@il5083]

Very nice video, thanks for the covering!

[@BassKlef1]

The DT770 pros to me had the best bass response…

[@aaronrdomanais]

ig link not working?

[@Daniel_San1s34]

Please help me. Which impedance should work the best with Apple Mac Mini M1 - Late 2020??? Thank you guys..

[@Techkhamun]

Anything less than 50

[@francescodieci]

it just sucks how low impedance headphones get massive coil whine if you charge the laptop from the left side (either magsafe or usb-c), even with everything properly grounded. it’s totally unusable if you work with audio professionally. crazy how apple let such a design flaw in their latest Pro models (there are also many threads on Reddit about this). if you wanna use the headphones while charging you gotta stick to a usb c port on the right.

[@RodrigoDeJaneiro]

Fantastic and Very Helpful. Well done !!!!

[@LostStylus]

I wish they return a line in and then you won't need any clunky audio interfaces

[@ByStephenJones]

Do you know if the 2019 one can?

[@LostStylus]

Nope, it can't

[@yimingzhang2169]

nice! I was planning to buy Sennheiser hd800s for listening to music, this video helped me, thanks a lot

[@scottd1342]

I can confirm that your M1 Mac will run this set of cans. My brother has the HD800S and uses it all the time on his 16" MBP. Says they sound pretty good but I think you would not be getting the most from your headphones without a proper dedicated DAC/amp.

[@Betelgeusewaitforit]

I can confirm.. Have DACs that can get a run for their money from the m2 MacBook Pro..

[@TechMNO]

Oh my gosh. That's a LOT of headphones

[@Techkhamun]

Hahaha 🤣

[@MrGreenpaulo]

Thanks!

[@rags015]

I am the proud owner of the following AKG headphones: K240 MII, K371, K612 Pro, K275, K245 (open/semi-open), K175 (On Ear), K92, K182. In addition I’m also an equally proud owner of the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 ohms, DT 880 Pro, DT 240 Pro, and the DT 990 Pro!!!!! As a classical music lover I love my Beyerdynamic and AKG headphones! Apple uses a good DAC in every sense of the word in its products. It is more than adequate for most people except professional musicians and audio engineers. Wonderful video! I was really waiting for someone to test this. Could you also do the same test with an M1 Macbook Air? Great channel!

[@davidkorn782]

Yup! It’s sure a huge upgrade from previous macs and other amps built into consumer electronics. But it doesn’t sound even half as good as my DAC built into my UAD interface. And that’s not even a high end amp. If you need volume the MacBook will give it to you. Just can’t expect a high end signal

[@armandsant1143]

youre awesome taking care of that super awesome concern 600 Ohms 🥶!!!

[@artistrobinhuber]

I just got the DT770 Pro (80 ohms), and I have to use max volume to get a full sound with my new Macbook M1 Pro (16"). Wish I could get it a bit louder at times. It does sound great though. I compared it with a friend's ATH-M50x (32 ohm I believe). The volume on those was much louder (I could listen at 2/3 max volume for similar output).

[@hansschutz398]

Same here. Did you find a solution?

[@artistrobinhuber]

@@hansschutz398 Unfortunately no. I kind of forgot about the issue, as I haven't been trying to crank the volume lately. I listen to a lot of ambient music while I work, which sounds great with these.

[@hansschutz398]

@@artistrobinhuber Thanks for answering. I spent the day testing them yesterday and I think the volume is gonna be fine, it would have been nice to have some head room but the volume is plenty for music listening and for my video editing. Might get a cheap amp later but for now it's all good. The sound quality is amazing.

[@artistrobinhuber]

@@hansschutz398 I agree. There are moments when I may want to blast it a bit louder than they can go, but it’s probably not good for my eardrums anyway. The sound is great, and I’m satisfied.

[@jeffreyvaldez7374]

😍 Even more content to 👍🏽 Thanks - I like good headphones but this... Wow! Thanks again.

[@Techkhamun]

I might be picking up the DT900 x pro they just launched 😅 and thank you!

[@LostStylus]

Better DACs? Are you kidding? There are all the same these years at this price point. There is nothing to improve more.

[@keifercosta171]

First 😄

[@nikolaskarelis652]

tested 990 pro 250ohm...very low volume...disappointing!

[@Techkhamun]

You tested the 990 pro and they were low in volume?! How loud do you like them 👀 for me they were so loud I wouldn’t be running them anymore than 80%!

[@nikolaskarelis652]

@@Techkhamun my air pods pro are louder!

[@Techkhamun]

@@nikolaskarelis652well yes obviously 🤦‍♂️ what do you use your 990 pro for?

[@ixma3904]

Clean your ears bro

[@obamaatemybanana1415]

@@Techkhamun hey, I’ve got 770 pro 250 for producing techno… But on a focusrite scarlet 2i2 they are still a bit too quiet sometimes to enjoy the music… for mixing it’s ok but you don’t „feel“ the music… do you think this macbook will be loud enough to don’t have to carry around that huge Interface?