Can the Shure MV7 USB Hyrbid microphone power a set of 250 Ohm headphones? We tested the MV7 with our Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250 Ohm headphones in 3 different scenarios to see how the pair perform.
Quick Answer: We do not recommend pairing the Shure MV7 with 250 Ohm headphones. The MV7’s headphone amp is underwhelming for 250 Ohm headphones. You’ll either need an external headphone amp or a set of 80 or 32 Ohm headphones instead.
Reasons For Using a Headphone Amp
There are plenty of reasons why you may want to use an external headphone amp; coloration or quality, etc. In our tests, all we’re interested in is raw volume. Will these headphones be loud enough for what you’re trying to do with the Shure MV7.
Music Playback
The first test we’re going to put this pair through is music playback.
Playing music from a streaming service like Spotify, we found that we needed to set the volume on the MV7’s headphone jack to 100%. We were happy with the volume overall, but we’d want to add another 5-10% for a fully immersive experience.
At 100%, we didn’t notice any noise or hiss, but we felt the volume was just a little too low for the full, vivid experience you look for from a high-quality set of headphones.
Video Editing & Audio Mixing
Our second test was editing video and audio; something DT990s are commonly used for. With both the computer and MV7 fully turned up, we felt the volume was still about 30% short of where we’d like it to be. Why was the result so different compared to streaming music?
When editing, you’re not working with finished compressed audio. It still needs to be mastered and brought up to the target loudness of the finished product.
We found this pairing underwhelming for video production; we had to strain to listen and couldn’t hear the level of details that we wanted.
Talking Head & Vocal Monitoring
Our final test was monitoring voice, as you might do during a talking head style broadcast or stream.
With the gain on the MV7 set to around 50%, our voice recording peaked at -11.4 dB, the high end of our preferred recording range. At this setting, and with the headphone volume set to 100%, we could barely hear ourselves through the headphones.
All of the other USB microphones we have tested output 3-4 times more power from the headphone jack than the MV7. We only needed to set them to 30% for loud volume; meanwhile, the MV7’s volume is still around 50% short of where we need it to be when fully maxed out.
Shure MV7 & 250 Ohm Headphones Prices & Specs
- Shure MV7 Microphone: https://currentprice.io/shure_mv7
- Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro Headphones: https://currentprice.io/beyer_dt_990
- XLR Cable: https://currentprice.io/xlr_cable
- Mic Stand: https://currentprice.io/desk_stand
- Rode PSA1 Boom Arm: https://currentprice.io/boom_arm
