What is the maximum impedance the FW16 can drive?

Framework Laptop 16
1

I have a pair of 80ohm and 250ohm headphones and I wanted to know how much ohm would the FW16 be able to drive.

My current MSI laptop struggles with my 80ohm pair of DT770 Pro, but considering the FW16 is a much higher quality laptop, I really wonder if it’s gonna be able to drive 80ohm headphones.

I can’t find any documentation about this for either the 13 or 16. I know it’s an overlooked specification but I just wanna know if I’ll have to buy a new pair of headphones with a lower impedance to have the full volume.

2

The 16 doesn’t have an onboard 3.5mm jack. You need to buy the Audio Expansion Card. Not seen any specs for the card though.

3

I wonder if there is a market for an audiophile grade dac expansion card XD

4

The headphone module for the Framework 16 uses a Conexant CX31993 chip.

From what I’ve read that is known for being a really high quality chip for the price, but it sounds like the main weakness of it is when it comes to driving high impedance headphones. I’ve seen several reviews indicating that around 150 Ohm headphones work poorly with it and even a couple saying that while it works great at 32 Ohm it doesn’t have much room to go louder (which doesn’t bode well for 80 Ohm).

So with 80 Ohm headphones YMMV.

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5

Thank you for that information @Kyle_Reis.
Where is the info about the audio chip at ? I couldn’t find it at all.

6

@Magic I am aware of that, I got an audio expansion card for my 16.

7

@Adrian_Joachim that would actually be sick. Maybe someone will do it one day.

8
  1. Take existing compact high end dac
  2. Squish into expansion card
  3. ???
  4. Profit
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9
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10

Apple Dongles make surprisingly great DACs tbh for size and cost so yeah it’s entirely possible.

Or you can get an Audeze LCD2-4 which has super low impedance! Haha

11

I nearly had a heart attack when I saw that my Framework 16 is worth less than those headphones lmao

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12

Someone take the radsone es100, rip the battery and Bluetooth out and hey presto a 2.5 balanced dac amp?

13

Maybe, though you probably need to add an usb to audio bit too since the one that got is probably bt to audio only. May want to find an usb dac to rip appart instead.

14

Haha yeah they are a bit overkill! I love them. But in seriousness, DT 880 32 Ohm’s would be perfect for the framework, and even cellphones. Many prefer the 990’s because they aren’t as accurate with a bit more of a V on the harmon curve with “Bassy warmth” so most people seem o enjoy them more since 880s have brilliance (high trebel) and many rely on EQ to bring the treble down into a flatter chart.

The higher Ohm versions of these are better in general so long as you are driving them with an amp of course but… if you aren’t willing to bring a portable amp, then these are good options.

15

Actually I would be willing to carry an external amp just for my DT770. Is there a way I can just use the DAC of the audio expansion card and pass it through a portable amp ? That would be the perfect solution for me.

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16

It does usb dac too

17

In that case it might be worth a try

18

I’ve got a pair of 250 ohm DT-880s, and I’ve never had trouble driving them. Do I just listen to music at uncommonly low volumes or something?

19

You probably listen at much lower volume than I do. My Focusrite DAC on my desktop PC is maxed out and my volume on my PC itself must be at least at 85% just to be comfortable otherwise it’s not loud enough. Guess I’m just deaf lmao

20

Hah, that does sound like it would be very loud.