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I've searched high and low and can't seem to find any information on driver impedance anyone have a clue?

Why do you need to know this?


What driver impedance do other headphone manufacturers use? I always thought this was pretty standard (not variable), since they all rely on a normal headphone input signal. 


Headphone impedance is hugely variable, from 16 ohms or less up to 600 ohms or more. My 300-ohm Sennheisers benefit from a powerful headphone amp.

However this discussion is irrelevant to Ace, as unlike some wireless headphones they can’t be driven passively. An analog signal is immediately digitised by the active circuitry, so the input power requirements are tiny. 


Why do you need to know this?

Hmm, why would someone wanna know what parts is in a product?


Headphone impedance is hugely variable, from 16 ohms or less up to 600 ohms or more. My 300-ohm Sennheisers benefit from a powerful headphone amp.

However this discussion is irrelevant to Ace, as unlike some wireless headphones they can’t be driven passively. An analog signal is immediately digitised by the active circuitry, so the input power requirements are tiny. 

It's very relevant. more so than if it was passive because you can't crank up the effect like on a amplifier. So if one were to put a new driver with to high resistance it would be whisper quiet or if to little resistance the driver would rattle and sound awful. been there done that🤯😂


If you want to get this involved with ACE’s internal circuitry and components, I suggest that you gear up and measure the transducer’s impedance and other physical characteristics.


If you want to get this involved with ACE’s internal circuitry and components, I suggest that you gear up and measure the transducer’s impedance and other physical characteristics.

Will do! Though It's very strange that the ace is the only headphone on the market that doesn't disclosure this very basic information.

 


Headphone impedance is hugely variable, from 16 ohms or less up to 600 ohms or more. My 300-ohm Sennheisers benefit from a powerful headphone amp.

However this discussion is irrelevant to Ace, as unlike some wireless headphones they can’t be driven passively. An analog signal is immediately digitised by the active circuitry, so the input power requirements are tiny. 

It's very relevant. more so than if it was passive because you can't crank up the effect like on a amplifier. So if one were to put a new driver with to high resistance it would be whisper quiet or if to little resistance the driver would rattle and sound awful. been there done that🤯😂

If you’re wanting to butcher a Sonos Ace entirely and swap the drivers then you’ll also need to measure the power output of the internal amps. Obviously any warranty would be void and support non-existent. One wonders why anyone would buy an Ace in the first place.

Sorry, but this discussion is totally irrelevant for any of the Ace’s intended uses. 

 

Though It's very strange that the ace is the only headphone on the market that doesn't disclosure this very basic information.

It’s not remotely strange. Again, in normal usage there is no way that the user could be exposed to the driver impedance.


Headphone impedance is hugely variable, from 16 ohms or less up to 600 ohms or more. My 300-ohm Sennheisers benefit from a powerful headphone amp.

However this discussion is irrelevant to Ace, as unlike some wireless headphones they can’t be driven passively. An analog signal is immediately digitised by the active circuitry, so the input power requirements are tiny. 

It's very relevant. more so than if it was passive because you can't crank up the effect like on a amplifier. So if one were to put a new driver with to high resistance it would be whisper quiet or if to little resistance the driver would rattle and sound awful. been there done that🤯😂

If you’re wanting to butcher a Sonos Ace entirely and swap the drivers then you’ll also need to measure the power output of the internal amps. Obviously any warranty would be void and support non-existent. One wonders why anyone would buy an Ace in the first place.

Sorry, but this discussion is totally irrelevant for any of the Ace’s intended uses. 

 

Though It's very strange that the ace is the only headphone on the market that doesn't disclosure this very basic information.

It’s not remotely strange. Again, in normal usage there is no way that the user could be exposed to the driver impedance.

It's like saying you don't have to know the size of the wheels on your car. A wheel is a wheel until you got a flat, then you kinda have to know, don't you agree? And seriously I just asked the freaking impedance, because I need to know and it's two digits of information that every other manufacturer include. What the heck is the problem? But I guess I learned my lesson as a first time sonos costumer, not a great experience.  And seriously who are you to decide if I need to know it or not? But like buzz said, I guess I'll have to measure it myself even if he probably knows the answer.

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.


It's like saying you don't have to know the size of the wheels on your car. A wheel is a wheel until you got a flat, then you kinda have to know, don't you agree? And seriously I just asked the freaking impedance, because I need to know and it's two digits of information that every other manufacturer include. What the heck is the problem? But I guess I learned my lesson as a first time sonos costumer, not a great experience.  And seriously who are you to decide if I need to know it or not? But like buzz said, I guess I'll have to measure it myself even if he probably knows the answer. No biggie just massively annoying individuals..

 

What makes you think ​@buzz “probably knows the answer”?  And trust me, you getting the reaction you did from multiple posters here is much more a reflection on the strangeness of the question than any overarching culture of exclusion on this forum. 


Strangely no-one has ever requested the driver impedance in every other Sonos speaker, soundbar, subwoofer, etc. Nor how the impedance varies with frequency. Nor the phase characteristics. Nor the crossover parameters. They simply don’t matter to the user. 


Strangely no-one has ever requested the driver impedance in every other Sonos speaker, soundbar, subwoofer, etc. It simply doesn’t matter to the user. 

 

Though there have been a few asking for the number of watts, which were replied to with much the same amount of bewilderment.


Hi ​@Krank 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

No-one knows the answer to your question because we (I am the first member of staff to post here - everyone who has replied so far are customers, just like you) have not told anyone, and we have likely not told anyone because we don’t feel anyone needs to know in order to fully utilise their Ace headphones.

If you want to randomly take perfectly functioning drivers out of your Ace headphones and probably ruin them in the process, that is up to you. We are not going to assist, however - the impedance of the drivers is not listed in our documentation. If you are going to disassemble your headphones, you will be able to find out anyway.

As mentioned, Ace headphones are powered. While manufacturers of non-powered headphones will provide information about the impedance of the internal drivers, that is because it makes a difference to the device powering them. I doubt manufacturers of Bluetooth headphones shares such information, and even if they do, there is no real need for them to do so - it’s irrelevant.

I hope this helps.

 

 


Though there have been a few asking for the number of watts, which were replied to with much the same amount of bewilderment.

That was for bragging rights. 


I doubt manufacturers of Bluetooth headphones shares such information, and even if they do, there is no real need for them to do so - it’s irrelevant.

Actually some do, such as Sony. But principally so that the headphones can be driven passively under certain circumstances. Sonos Ace can’t.


That was for bragging rights. 

 

Yes, which is another silly notion.


 

 

 

 

It's like saying you don't have to know the size of the wheels on your car. A wheel is a wheel until you got a flat, then you kinda have to know, don't you agree?

 

Well, no.  You don’t need to know the size of the wheel to get your tire patched, and the spare often isn’t full size wheel.  If you have to replace the tire, you only need to know the size of the tire, not the wheel.  But yes, you can replace the wheel, and still be covered under warranty as wheels are designed to be replaced as needed/desired, why the amp in the Sonos Ace is not designed to be replaced..  Even when you do replace the wheel, there isn’t any warranty requirement to get the same size wheel, as long as the wheel and tire still fit in the wheel well or you’re willing to do a little trimming.


But, the “wrong” tire characteristics will impact the car’s handling properties.


Hi ​@Krank 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

No-one knows the answer to your question because we (I am the first member of staff to post here - everyone who has replied so far are customers, just like you) have not told anyone, and we have likely not told anyone because we don’t feel anyone needs to know in order to fully utilise their Ace headphones.

If you want to randomly take perfectly functioning drivers out of your Ace headphones and probably ruin them in the process, that is up to you. We are not going to assist, however - the impedance of the drivers is not listed in our documentation. If you are going to disassemble your headphones, you will be able to find out anyway.

As mentioned, Ace headphones are powered. While manufacturers of non-powered headphones will provide information about the impedance of the internal drivers, that is because it makes a difference to the device powering them. I doubt manufacturers of Bluetooth headphones shares such information, and even if they do, there is no real need for them to do so - it’s irrelevant.

I hope this helps.

 

 

My bad! I Honestly thought buzz was staff.

 

Yes I've understood as much. You can't tell me, because I'll probably ruin them by taking them apart. So instead I have to take it apart to find out. Solid logic I must say.

 

asked about the impedance because I couldn't find it. And as the headphones have a integrated amp, I didn't wanna end up with half the volume, or fry my ears and the amp with the double volume because of wrong impedance. And because it's usually listed i thought this was the place to ask and find out, my bad! Lesson learned, never ask Sonos about hardware.


Hi @Krank

I don’t understand why you would want to replace the drivers if the headphones are in working condition - if you want different drivers, surely the answer would be to buy headphones that had those drivers in them in the first place?

You can ask about hardware all you want, but if the answers are not in the documentation, the answers may not be forthcoming.


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