ear buds

[mm]

I finally bought an MP3 player and the ear buds keep falling out of my
ears.

Went to buy a nother pair, and the first ones were 16 ohms which
seemed high, but the next were 24 and the next were 32!!!!!

Seems to me the battery would last longer with high impedance ear buds
but the volume would be lessened. I'm using maximum volume now
sometimes, so I don't want that. I'm confused.

 

[William Sommerwerck]

It's true that for a given signal voltage, a 32 ohm speaker will draw less
current than a 16 ohm speaker, and you should get slightly longer battery
life.

But the loudness of a speaker is determined not only by how much power it
consumes, but its efficiency -- how effectively it converts that power into
sound. And its efficiency has nothing to do with its impedance.

 

[James Sweet]

It's true that for a given signal voltage, a 32 ohm speaker will draw less
current than a 16 ohm speaker, and you should get slightly longer battery
life.

But the loudness of a speaker is determined not only by how much power it
consumes, but its efficiency -- how effectively it converts that power
into
sound. And its efficiency has nothing to do with its impedance.

Either way the audio is a miniscule part of the total current draw of one of
these players. The battery lifetime difference between full rated power and
muted is perhaps a few minutes.

 

[mm]

Either way the audio is a miniscule part of the total current draw of one of
these players. The battery lifetime difference between full rated power and
muted is perhaps a few minutes.

What about in full size receivers and amplifiers, from say the 60's
to 80's. I got the impression somewhere that in those devices the
output stage used more than all the prior stages combined, right?

Does accessing memory in an MP3 player etc. take much current?

 

[James Sweet]

What about in full size receivers and amplifiers, from say the 60's
to 80's. I got the impression somewhere that in those devices the
output stage used more than all the prior stages combined, right?

Does accessing memory in an MP3 player etc. take much current?

That's true of pretty much all stereo receivers, but we're not talking about
stereo receivers, we're talking about a portable device capable of
outputting a few milliwatts to a pair of earbuds, not a few tens to to a few
hundred watts to big speakers.

The biggest user of power is the hard drive and display on players so
equipped.

 

[mm]

That's true of pretty much all stereo receivers, but we're not talking about
stereo receivers, we're talking about a portable device capable of
outputting a few milliwatts to a pair of earbuds, not a few tens to to a few
hundred watts to big speakers.

The biggest user of power is the hard drive and display on players so
equipped.

Thanks again.