Wondering if the Focusrite Vocaster One audio interface can power a set of 250 Ohm headphones? We ran three different tests to find out how well the Vocaster One can perform.
Quick Answer: The Vocaster One has no issues powering 250 ohm headphones when it comes to listening to music, and audio/video editing. For filming or podcast recording (when you need live vocal monitoring), it is still good, but have less headroomyou get less of a buffer to turn up the volume.
Focusrite Vocaster One Audio Interface: https://currentprice.io/vocaster_one
Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250 Ohm Headphones: https://currentprice.io/beyer_dt_990
Listening To Music
For the first test, we chose to listen to a variety of songs. We chose songs that are normalized, finished, compressed, and well-produced.
The Vocaster One did great. At 30% on the headphones dial, there were no hisses, buzzing, or clicking. The preamp was not working hard and cannot be heard. We were able to comfortably listen and enjoy the music at this level.
When dialed up to about 50%, we were able to enjoy the music more deeply. The results were loud, full, and detailed music. Again, there were no hisses, popping, or clicking. The headphone amp cannot be heard at all. It was so loud you would not want to listen to music at 50% for more than 10-15 minutes.
Overall, the Vocaster One passed this test and is able to adequately power a set of 250 ohm headphones when listening to music.
Video & Audio Production
For the second test, we chose to edit some audio/video.
For this workflow, we like to dial our headphones to about 50-60%. The Vocaster One, provided us with all the detail we wanted to hear clearly and articulately. There were no hisses, pops, or clicks. This level, gave us the headroom to dial up the headphones if we wanted to listen deeper.
Overall, the Vocaster One passed this test and is able to adequately power a set of 250 ohm headphones when editing audio and video.
Live Vocal Monitoring
For the third test, we chose to record a talking head video for YouTube. You can also get the same results if you’re recording a podcast or live streaming.
For this purpose, we dialed up the headphones between 75-90%. This worked well, but we found that our microphone levels were a little low.
If you want more level in your headphones, you could crank up the gain on the Vocaster itself. This will increase the input of the mic which will increase the output that goes to your headphones. This will be helpful if you are trying to get a little bit of extra volume.
Overall, for talking head videos or podcasting, the Vocaster One will work, but you don’t have a ton of extra headroom. To hear the sound comfortably, you will have to dial the headphones to 80-90% and only have a 10% buffer if you want to crank the volume.
What happens at 100% volume?
Cranking up the headphones on the Vocaster One is pretty cool. We get more volume, and we don’t hear any hissing, distortion, clicking, popping, or the headphone preamp working.
Overall, the Vocaster One is a solid headphone amp for the price point.
250 Ohm Headphones & Vocaster One Equipment
- Focusrite Vocaster One Audio Interface: https://currentprice.io/vocaster_one
- Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro Headphones: https://currentprice.io/beyer_dt_990
- Shure SM7B Dynamic Microphone: https://currentprice.io/shure_sm7b
- XLR Cable: https://currentprice.io/xlr_cable
- Rode PSA1+ Boom Arm: https://currentprice.io/psa1_plus
