Do 250 ohm headphones require an external power amp? We tested our Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm headphones on a variety of devices to help you get a better idea of which devices perform well in which circumstances.

Quick Answer: 250 ohm headphones may require an external headphone amp depending on the type of audio that you’re working with and the desired volume.

250 Ohm Headphone Testing

Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm Headphones

We tested each device below with a variety of activities. For each activity, you can find the headphone volume setting that we used to get a full volume experience with the Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250 ohm headphones.

All devices generally worked well except USB Audio Interfaces. When we tested USB Audio Interfaces, we found that they worked well for music listening, audio editing, and video editing. Still, they didn’t have enough power to monitor a live vocal recording (podcast, voiceover, Youtube Video, etc.). For this purpose, we recommend a headphone amp or the 80-ohm version of these headphones.

DeviceActivityVolume Setting
iPhoneMusic Listening85-90%
Macbook ProMusic Listening80-85%
Macbook ProAudio & Video Editing90%
USB Audio InterfaceMusic Listening50-75%
USB Audio InterfaceAudio & Video Editing60-80%
USB Audio InterfaceVocal MonitoringNot Loud Enough @ 100%
USB Audio MixerMusic Listening35%
USB Audio MixerAudio & Video Editing40%
USB Audio MixerVocal Monitoring50%
USB MicrophoneMusic Listening50%
USB MicrophoneAudio & Video Editing75%
USB MicrophoneVocal Monitoring100%

250 Ohm Headphone Pricing

250 Ohm Headphones Without Amp Topics

  • 0:00 – Introduction
  • 0:30 – External Headphone Amp
  • 0:50 – How We Tested
  • 1:35 – Macbook Pro & iPhone
  • 2:15 – USB Microphones
  • 2:55 – USB Audio Interface
  • 4:35 – Audio Mixers
  • 5:25 – Overall Recommendations
  • 5:46 – Final Thoughts

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