Impedance vs loud music

[Rediolet]

Please recommend headphones with parameters:
-home listening
-around the ears
-open or closed design
-classical/new age/jazz (more quiet than loud)
-neutral sound
-do not need headphone amplifier
-no bluetooth/wifi, but can be an option
-as light as possible - comfort for extended use
-price under 400usd

I suppose lower headphone impedance means more distortion at higher volume and vice versa, higher impedance is needed for louder music, which I don't listen to anyway.

I generally observe that with age (61) the perception of higher frequencies is lost and the perceived sound is flat, but that's another topic.

Could something from AudioTechnica or Sennheiser, or a similar midrange be a good fit?
Can anyone comment on this? Also on the impedance?

Thanks for the advice and recommendations

 

[bachatero]

The Beyerdynamic DT990s are favorites among those who can't hear high frequencies as well, and they're super light and comfy! Just warning you, they also have a fair amount of distortion if you're concerned about that.

 

[staticV3]

I suppose lower headphone impedance means more distortion at higher volume and vice versa, higher impedance is needed for louder music

No, that's not how it works.

Low distortion, high volume playback can be achieved at both ends of the impedance scale.

 

[SuicideSquid]

Please recommend headphones with parameters:
-home listening
-around the ears
-open or closed design
-classical/new age/jazz (more quiet than loud)
-neutral sound
-do not need headphone amplifier
-no bluetooth/wifi, but can be an option
-as light as possible - comfort for extended use
-price under 400usd

I suppose lower headphone impedance means more distortion at higher volume and vice versa, higher impedance is needed for louder music, which I don't listen to anyway.

I generally observe that with age (61) the perception of higher frequencies is lost and the perceived sound is flat, but that's another topic.

Could something from AudioTechnica or Sennheiser, or a similar midrange be a good fit?
Can anyone comment on this? Also on the impedance?

Thanks for the advice and recommendations

You say you do not need a headphone amplifier - do you mean you don't want to use one, or you don't need to buy one? What are you plugging the headphones into?

Impedance doesn't affect distortion vs. volume, it's more a matter of ensuring a proper match with the device that's driving the headphones.

There are many threads with people asking for good headphones for under $500 USD and many good recommendations in those threads, as well as many reviews in the review database.

 

[solderdude]

I suppose lower headphone impedance means more distortion at higher volume and vice versa, higher impedance is needed for louder music, which I don't listen to anyway.

Not exactly.

It is all about sensitivity which is expressed in dBV (not efficiency which is expressed in dBmW) and at which loudness the driver is not acting linear anymore (which can be somewhat deduced from its power rating (mW).

A higher impedance headphone (in general) is less sensitive and requires a higher voltage to play equally loud as a low impedance headphone.
Depending on what one is using to drive the headphone certain headphones are a better choice than others.

When you want easy to drive (does not need an amp), high comfort, low weight, low clamping force headphone with a neutral and detailed sound for > 60 y.o. I can recommend the audio-technica ATH-R50x
It is well below $ 200,- as well.

 

[3alfa3]

Please recommend headphones with parameters:
-home listening
-around the ears
-open or closed design
-classical/new age/jazz (more quiet than loud)
-neutral sound
-do not need headphone amplifier
-no bluetooth/wifi, but can be an option
-as light as possible - comfort for extended use
-price under 400usd

I suppose lower headphone impedance means more distortion at higher volume and vice versa, higher impedance is needed for louder music, which I don't listen to anyway.

I generally observe that with age (61) the perception of higher frequencies is lost and the perceived sound is flat, but that's another topic.

Could something from AudioTechnica or Sennheiser, or a similar midrange be a good fit?
Can anyone comment on this? Also on the impedance?

Thanks for the advice and recommendations

In Croatia, Sennheiser HD560S (open type headphone) + Topping DX1 = 230 Euros. Equalizer APO (with or without Peace GUI) for adjusting to taste if needed. Great value and good quality.