Joshcloud ... an 8Ohm speaker impedance is easier to drive for most amplifiers because it draws less current than a 4Ohm impedance, and most cheaper amps are more limited in their ability to drive current than voltage, because high current equals large power supply equals expensive parts.
Now I think that headphones require very little current, but a 600Ohm headphone will require 10 times the voltage of a 60 Ohm headphone in order to drive the same current. In battery powered devices higher voltages are bad news for battery life, and so a small battery powered portable might have difficulty and/or very short battery life driving a pair of HD600s.
In summary the limiting aspect of the design of an integrated amp (current limited) and a portable CD player (voltage limited) are very different, leading to the apparent contradiction in driving capabilities. Hope this makes sense.
Your audiolab amp should have no problem at all with HD600s. I have an audiolab 8000C preamp and it drives higher impedance headphones with ease. My Marantz CD67SE headphone socket will also drive the higher impedance phones with ease.
So I think the HD600s will work with most decent mains powered equipment but might struggle with battery power.
Now I think that headphones require very little current, but a 600Ohm headphone will require 10 times the voltage of a 60 Ohm headphone in order to drive the same current. In battery powered devices higher voltages are bad news for battery life, and so a small battery powered portable might have difficulty and/or very short battery life driving a pair of HD600s.
In summary the limiting aspect of the design of an integrated amp (current limited) and a portable CD player (voltage limited) are very different, leading to the apparent contradiction in driving capabilities. Hope this makes sense.
Your audiolab amp should have no problem at all with HD600s. I have an audiolab 8000C preamp and it drives higher impedance headphones with ease. My Marantz CD67SE headphone socket will also drive the higher impedance phones with ease.
So I think the HD600s will work with most decent mains powered equipment but might struggle with battery power.