Problem with Sony MDR-NC8 headphones

[Dustin_Broke]

Has anyone had the problem when using the Sony MDR-NC8 noise cancelling headphones on a iPod Shuffle? Basically when I turn up the volume the sound gets distorted for some reason. Other headphones work fine but just these NC8 have a problem.


Basically everything works on the NC8 but the iPod. But if I put other headphones on the iPod it works fine just the NC8. I have the NC7 and they work fine with the iPod but when I connect the NC8 it get distorted at higher volume. I did test the NC8 on other stuff too and it works fine like my notebook. Just the iPod doesn't work well at higher volume. Kinda strange.







Specs for the NC8 headphones





Product Specifications




Convenience Features
•Noise Reduction : Total noise suppression - Approx: 10 dB (when power is on)1


Hardware
•Cord : 47 1/4 in (1.2 m) Single-Sided OFC Litz Cord



Audio
•Driver Unit : 30 mm, Dynamic, closed, dome-type
•Frequency Response : 30 - 20,000 Hz
•Impedance : 17 ohms at 1 kHz (when power is on) 19 ohms at 1 kHz (when power is off)
•Noise Level : ON/OFF switch on ear-cup
•Sensitivity (db) : 95 dB/mW (when power is on) 98 dB/mW (when power is off)


General
•Design : Supra-Aural, noise canceling
•Headband : Yes
•Magnet : Neodymium
•Plug : Gold-plated, L-shaped stereo mini plug
•Type of Use : Noise canceling


Power
•Power Handling Capacity : 50 mW



Audio Features
•Ear Cups : Yes


General Specifications
•Power Source : DC 1.5 V, 1 x R03 (AAA) battery


Weights and Measurements
•Weight (Approx.) : Headphones: 6.0 oz (170

 

[makkem]

Hi
The 50mW power handling capacity is the clue here,what is the output power of the ipod ?
The distortion is exactly what you would expect from overdriven speakers/phones.

 

[Dustin_Broke]

Well the funny part is that if I hook them up to my notebook and have them very loud they don't distort. It only distorts when I connect them to my iPod Shuffle.

 

[makkem]

At 17 ohms those are quite low impedance headphones most are 32 ohms.
This could be causing the ipod to output at a higher level than designed and causing the distortion.

 

[Dustin_Broke]

Well I did find this on Yahoo answers but is this true?


"A 32ohm speaker by definition has a higher resistance than a 16ohm speaker therefore the 32ohm will draw a higher wattage from the device you are using. If you are using the headphones for listening to music or whatever through a computer or an AV receiver then get the 32ohm headphones. If you are using them for your ipod then get the 16ohm ones. If you use the 32ohm ones in an ipod then the batteries will drain much quicker (than if you had the 16ohm ones) in order to supply the output volume you decide to have coming through the headphones.

If you use them for both the the 16ohm ones will be fine. The resistance, or the wattage of a speaker doesnt mean quality sound. You should go for a decent headphone, ohm ratings dont define audio quality in a speaker or headphone."

 

[makkem]

That is rubbish,16 ohm speakers will take twice the wattage of 32 ohm ones.
The lower the resistance the higher the power consumed.
If you dont believe me look up Ohms law on wikipedia.
The lower the resistance the greater the current flow and since Volts x Amps = Watts and voltage is constant then an increase in amps leads to an increase in Watts.

 

[Dustin_Broke]

I did decide to get a new MP3 player that is not from Apple but will this Sandisk sansa clip zip MP3 player work with the headphones? I don't know if this one will also have problems. I haven't opened them yet but just wanted to know if I need to return them or not and get a different one like from Sony or so.