What is the maximum impedance the FW16 can drive?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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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It does usb dac too

In that case it might be worth a try

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?

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

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

No memes, but the Apple Airpod dongle is a good DAC. The Air Pods are honestly one of, if not, the best product Macintosh makes. So, a nice Schiit Heresy amp or something more slimmer, apple airpod dongle and you have amp + dac set up that’s pretty small, can fit in almost any laptop case, and puts out a lot of power for pretty cheap.

Did you mean Earpods ? Airpods are wireless.

Earpods yeah lol… I am not a Big Apple guy. I legit just know the dongle trick and how popular it is with midfi setups haha.