Friend cranked up the volume on HD 600s with Atom amp on high gain

[ihavenoidea]

Hello everyone, I have a question that's been slightly bothering me for no other reason than my obsessiveness. I had a friend over the other day and I was showing him my new headphones and amp, Sennheiser hd 600s and a JDS Labs Atom. We were playing a song on Spotify and I was telling him about how audible the headphones were from outside, he took them off and proceeded to put the amp on high gain and crank up the volume all the way. The song played like that for about idk, 5 seconds or something before I got to switch back to low gain. I had them connected to my computer via a Fiio Taishan, and I had the Windows and Spotify Volume at max. Now, I don't know if I'm worrying over nothing but I just wanted to know if there's any chance this might have in any way damaged the HD 600s. It's not like I noticed anything off, but I wouldn't call myself a professional at all when it comes to audio, so I just wanted to make sure if I have any reason at all to be worried.
Thanks in advance

 

[daftcombo]

If you don't hear strange things, chances are they are still in mint condition.

 

[TungstenC]

For the numbers the Fiio Taishan(Manual) connected to the atom on high gain* should output at max around 6.2Vrms and the phones can handle up to 7.7Vrms (DIYAUDIOHEAVEN).

So chances are...it's probably fine...

*JDS ATOM high gain value is derived from the max input on unity gain(1X) and the max voltage input on high gain in the manual.

 

[ihavenoidea]

If you don't hear strange things, chances are they are still in mint condition.

Yeah, I don't hear anything strange, so you're probably right. I still wanted to know if there's any chance it "degraded" the sound or something in any way.

For the numbers the Fiio Taishan(Manual) connected to the atom on high gain* should output at max around 6.2Vrms and the phones can handle up to 7.7Vrms (DIYAUDIOHEAVEN).

So chances are...it's probably fine...

*JDS ATOM high gain value is derived from the max input on unity gain(1X) and the max voltage input on high gain in the manual.

I was hoping someone would chime in with the numbers. Thanks!

 

[solderdude]

Nothing to worry about.
With music even 12V peak won't destroy or ruin HD600 drivers.

 

[ihavenoidea]

Good to know, thanks

 

[FrantzM]

Thus the value of ASR .... again. Ask same question on a subjectivist web site and the soundstage would begin to shrink ....

 

[garbulky]

You're fine my man. I've used my extensively HD600's for over 10 years and they still run despite having a pretty rough life!

 

[BDWoody]

Thus the value of ASR .... again. Ask same question on a subjectivist web site and the soundstage would begin to shrink ....

That's if they get dropped in cold water...

 

[LuckyLuke575]

The moral of the story is; don't let silly people get near your audio equipment. Damn fools don't know what they're doing.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Simple answer: If you don't hear anything off then don't worry about it.

And to analyze, it's likely 200mw maximum goes into the hd600. I think it's fine. Hd650 even rates at 500mW if I'm not mistaken. And music is more like "noise" than single pure sinewave so the actual power should be far below 200mW.

 

[MC_RME]

It's not about mW. That user made the membranes and their coils crash against the driver's barrier. The membrane will be damaged through heat/power near the voice coil, the voice coils also mechanically. To check if your phones are still ok: playback a very low sine, like 16 Hz. That tone is not audible on the HD600 (and yes, there are phones that make it audible...). But you will notice and hear the drivers vibrating and moving the air. If the voice coils got damaged you will hear a matching sound, like scratching or rubbing. Otherwise you're ok. If you crank up the volume too much with this inaudible tone (happens easily because it is inaudible) the voice coils will again hit the mechanical limit, which makes a really ugly crackling sound. Quickly reduce volume then

 

[ihavenoidea]

It's not about mW. That user made the membranes and their coils crash against the driver's barrier. The membrane will be damaged through heat/power near the voice coil, the voice coils also mechanically. To check if your phones are still ok: playback a very low sine, like 16 Hz. That tone is not audible on the HD600 (and yes, there are phones that make it audible...). But you will notice and hear the drivers vibrating and moving the air. If the voice coils got damaged you will hear a matching sound, like scratching or rubbing. Otherwise you're ok. If you crank up the volume too much with this inaudible tone (happens easily because it is inaudible) the voice coils will again hit the mechanical limit, which makes a really ugly crackling sound. Quickly reduce volume then

Thanks for the input. I generated a 16Hz sound here, and I didn't hear anything. Though I didn't really turn up the volume too much. Should I?

 

[solderdude]

The Atom can not drive the HD600 against its end points (it simply doesn't have enough voltage swing).
Even when the Atom is clipping (with music) the HD600 should be able to handle it.
A continuous clipped frequency will cause damage.
The 16 (or 10Hz) trick is a nice one for checking whether or not the wires have come loose from the former or lacquer on the wiring has melted.

When you play it loud and sounds O.K. there is little to worry about.

The danger of playing sine-waves loud is that this is continuous power and MUCH more harmful then when the same power level is reached with music.

So when playing the 16Hz loud do this extremely short (< 1 sec). In that time it has gone fully to both 'ends' 16 times already.

 

[dmac6419]

Hello everyone, I have a question that's been slightly bothering me for no other reason than my obsessiveness. I had a friend over the other day and I was showing him my new headphones and amp, Sennheiser hd 600s and a JDS Labs Atom. We were playing a song on Spotify and I was telling him about how audible the headphones were from outside, he took them off and proceeded to put the amp on high gain and crank up the volume all the way. The song played like that for about idk, 5 seconds or something before I got to switch back to low gain. I had them connected to my computer via a Fiio Taishan, and I had the Windows and Spotify Volume at max. Now, I don't know if I'm worrying over nothing but I just wanted to know if there's any chance this might have in any way damaged the HD 600s. It's not like I noticed anything off, but I wouldn't call myself a professional at all when it comes to audio, so I just wanted to make sure if I have any reason at all to be worried.
Thanks in advance

If he damaged them,he has to pay for them,the end.

 

[MC_RME]

Thanks for the input. I generated a 16Hz sound here, and I didn't hear anything. Though I didn't really turn up the volume too much. Should I?

That's a useful tool: dial in 100 Hz and pull up the volume so that it's loud, but not too uncomfortable. Then lower the frequency. This way you can't damage the phone unintentionally.

 

[daftcombo]

You take more risks now, trying to check if the phones were damaged, than when the actual accident took place.

 

[LuckyLuke575]

You take more risks now, trying to check if the phones were damaged, than when the actual accident took place.

True story. But the issue is that the guy is going to have this idea stuck in his head that something in the headphones was damaged and that everything he's listening to is colored or distorted by the damage, until he can confirm it's still working as normal. It's a Catch 22 situation.

 

[ihavenoidea]

That's a useful tool: dial in 100 Hz and pull up the volume so that it's loud, but not too uncomfortable. Then lower the frequency. This way you can't damage the phone unintentionally.

That's pretty much what I did.

You take more risks now, trying to check if the phones were damaged, than when the actual accident took place.

Haha alright I'm not gonna test with higher volume.

 

[ihavenoidea]

the guy is going to have this idea stuck in his head that something in the headphones was damaged and that everything he's listening to is colored or distorted by the damage, until he can confirm it's still working as normal.

You hit the nail on the head lmao. I'm slowly getting over it I think. Hate my obsessiveness man