Headphones for HP ZBook

[amc252]

Hello everybody,

I have a laptop HPZBook whose sound card info is the following:

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Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 8 Series/C220 Series High Definition Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard 8
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:8c20 class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: NVIDIA GK106 HDMI Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie:
    gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:0e0b class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-21-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.0 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl

I want to buy a pair of audiophile quality headphones and was wondering which impedance would be best for my hardware without a DAC.

[sunrat]

That's a tricky one if you don't have a DAC. You will need lower impedance headphones for your onboard card, but real audiophile headphones tend to have higher impedance. There's a good article by BeyerDynamic and I quite like the sound of their DT770Pro which is 80Ω -
https://blog-en.beyerdynamic.com/what-i ... eadphones/

[amc252]

That's a tricky one if you don't have a DAC. You will need lower impedance headphones for your onboard card, but real audiophile headphones tend to have higher impedance. There's a good article by BeyerDynamic and I quite like the sound of their DT770Pro which is 80Ω -
https://blog-en.beyerdynamic.com/what-i ... eadphones/

Yes, I agree that a DAC would be ideal but I was exploring alternatives. I presently use Audio-Technica ATH-M20x whose Impedance is 47 Ohm and the
Sensitivity 96 dB.
I also use the SONY MDR-NC40 whose Impedance is 68ohms and they sound fine. I'd like to know how higher I could go with my Zbook soundcard.
Another option might be USB headphones but I don't know of any audiophile level ones.
I'll read the article, thanks for the suggestion.

[sunrat]

I have ATH-M50x and while they are satisfactory for music listening and also OK for recording and basic mastering, I would hardly call them audiophile quality.
There is a guy called oratory1990 who tests vast quantities of headphones and posts the results on Github - https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq ... ratory1990 . It is well worth setting up an EQ using the results for your headphones to achieve greater listening pleasure.
He is also on Reddit but it's fairly busy there - https://www.reddit.com/user/oratory1990/

[amc252]

I have ATH-M50x and while they are satisfactory for music listening and also OK for recording and basic mastering, I would hardly call them audiophile quality.
There is a guy called oratory1990 who tests vast quantities of headphones and posts the results on Github - https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq ... ratory1990 . It is well worth setting up an EQ using the results for your headphones to achieve greater listening pleasure.
He is also on Reddit but it's fairly busy there - https://www.reddit.com/user/oratory1990/

Wow, lots of infotmation from oratory1990.

[sysrqer]

I would recommend Sennheiser HD 560S. I think they sound really good and I've been very pleasantly surprised with how well mixes translate when I use them for that.

[amc252]

Just as an aside, I tried the EQ settings from oratory1990 webpage entering them manually in my equalizer and they seem to work very well, adding clarity to my headphones response.

The Sennheiser HD 560S are certainly very nice headphones. Before going shopping I'd like to verify what my hardware can optimally support. I know 70/80 Ohms should be within range but I cannot find precise data.

[sunrat]

It matters a lot what you actually want to use them for. Listening in a quiet location at home or out and about? The Sennheiser HD 560S are open back so don't offer much noise isolation. HD 560S have impedance of 120Ω so need more power to drive.
Open back headphones also tend to have less bass response. Personally, for music listening, I prefer the fuller sound of closed back headphones even though they may not be as "accurate" as open back.
The best thing to do is go to a retail shop which has a good range which you can listen to. I did this recently listening to models from about $AU200 up to $AU1500. I was more pleased listening to the DT770 Pro than some of the expensive models from Focal and ADAM.
A good site to research vast amounts of different headphones is https://www.rtings.com/headphones

[amc252]

I don't have stringent requirements, basically listening to jazz, classical and some progressive rock music, and my VI when I play the piano.
I do that in my home which is graveyard quiet.
I'm just getting started in the world of headphones, and the Audio-Technica were my first decent ones.
The ZBook has good hardware and they sound fine from the jack.
Listening to the famous DG recording of John Williams in Vienna I can hear lots of fine details, especialy after the new EQ settings.
But I'm curious and want to learn more.
Unfortunately where I live there are no music stores to speak of, so I'm limited to online reviews or sometimes trying a used set for sale.

[amc252]

Another aside about oratory1990 EQ settings.
I added them to mpv as a profile so I can play audio files either with or without the Audio-Technica ATH-M20x custom EQing.
It is rather convenent.
For those interested this is the entry to ~/.config/mpv/mpv.conf

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[at20]
fs=yes 

af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=20:t=h:width=50:g=7.4]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=25:t=h:width=50:g=5.7]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=32:t=h:width=50:g=3.4]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=40:t=h:width=50:g=2.2]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=50:t=h:width=50:g=-1.6]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=63:t=h:width=50:g=0.2]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=80:t=h:width=50:g=-0.8]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=101:t=h:width=50:g=-1.4]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=127:t=h:width=50:g=-1.9]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=160:t=h:width=50:g=-1.2]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=202:t=h:width=50:g=0.8]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=254:t=h:width=50:g=2.4]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=320:t=h:width=50:g=1]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=403:t=h:width=50:g=0.7]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=508:t=h:width=50:g=0.0]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=640:t=h:width=50:g=-0.3]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=806:t=h:width=50:g=-0.7]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=1016:t=h:width=50:g=-1.1]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=1280:t=h:width=50:g=-1.5]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=1613:t=h:width=50:g=-2.1]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=2032:t=h:width=50:g=-2.2]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=2560:t=h:width=50:g=-1.5]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=3225:t=h:width=50:g=1.8]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=4064:t=h:width=50:g=5.9]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=5120:t=h:width=50:g=5.7]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=6451:t=h:width=50:g=0.2]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=8127:t=h:width=50:g=-0.2]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=10240:t=h:width=50:g=-0.9]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=12902:t=h:width=50:g=-1.9]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=16255:t=h:width=50:g=2.3]
af-add=lavfi=[equalizer=f=20480:t=h:width=50:g=-2.2]

it can be ran with

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mpv --profile=at20 audiofile.wav

But, for more convenience, I created a at20.desktop entry so that I can open any audio file with just a click.

[sciss]

Disclaimer - I don't listen to critical stuff with the built-in jack output of the ZBook (Fury G8), for that I'd go through a pro-audio USB interface (also my laptop's built in sound card only runs at 48 kHz which means I have to go through annoying SRC with some projects).

But for mobility, I'm carrying around Shure SE535 in-ear-monitors, which double for Zoom calls and occasional mixing. They are rated with 36 Ohm impedance and sensitivity of 119 dB SPL/mW. Bummer: they are so loud, you cannot use them in any headphones amp, neither the laptop nor the Babyface, without blowing off your ears. You'd have to seriously lower the software volume while still hearing cracks and pops from the background noise. So I'm carrying around an extra trafo, iFi iEMatch+ which sits in between socket and IEM. This gives crystal clear sound, also on the ZBook.

In short, I wouldn't worry about the ZBook's headphone output's impedance for good headphones.