High-impedance headphones and MacBook Pro 2019. Do I need an amp?

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Level 1

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High-impedance headphones and MacBook Pro 2019. Do I need an amp?

Hi,

It is said it's possible to use high-impedance headphones with MacBook Pro 2021 or later on the support page here.

But what about this: I have 16" 2019 MacBook Pro and I want to buy some high-impedance headphones, let's say 250-300 Ohm. Can my laptop handle it or I need to buy a headphone amplifier as well? I wasn't able to find anything about max Ohms or voltage for 3.5 jack in MacBook 2019. I plan to make music, not only listen to, so it's important if the headphones could reach their full potential without an amplifier.

MacBook Pro 16″, 12.0

Posted on Sep 24, 2022 5:26 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10

133,231 points

Sep 24, 2022 7:39 AM in response to denys112

the article you cited

Use high-impedance headphones with MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or Mac Studio - Apple Support

sums up Apple's definition of 'regular" and high-impedance headphones:

When you connect headphones with an impedance of less than 150 ohms, the headphone jack provides up to 1.25 volts RMS.

For headphones with an impedance of 150 to 1k ohms, the headphone jack delivers 3 volts RMS. This may remove the need for an external headphone amplifier.

That suggests that the performance of 250 Ohm headphones using the 'regular' headphone jack on the Mac Pro 2019 model will be lower than you would like, even turned all the way up.

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High-impedance headphones and MacBook Pro 2019. Do I need an amp?

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