Can A Macbook Pro power High-End headphones?

The new macbook pros have a more powerful headphone jack, but is it strong enough to drive a planar or a high impedance headphone? Let's find out!

Measurement Index

How to read the new measurements:

The 10 stages of headphone measurements

[LongbranchOlivetti]

I have an M1 Pro MacBook, and while I don't really listen to music on it, I do watch films with my Sundara's. And it is phenomenal.

[SpeedfrkOne]

I use a FiiO M17 DAC / DAP / AMP which sells for AU$2, 200 which also has a desktop AC mode to enable more power output when required. The macbook dac’s are pretty good for a standard feature, however if you want something portable (relatively) a separate device is recommended. I use this with wired only headphones - Focal Celestee / Focal Clear MG’s and it sounds amazing.

[paulwoaert]

The compatibility of the Macbook Pro M1 with high-impedance headphones has already been shown in a video 2 years ago. The title is"High Impedance Headphone Test | M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro 2021 ». 
The MacBook Air since M2 is perfectly compatible with high impedance headphones: I use a MacBook Air M2 and my headphones are a Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro of 250 ohms. The power level in volume is very good and the internal DAC of these MacBooks is also excellent (my iFi Audio Zen Dac / iFi Zen CAN Amp combo is not really superior to the DAC of the MacBook M2).

[offbrandDavid]

I'd really like to see how it compares to some of the DACs included on different Windows laptops. Apple has shown that they put some thought and effort in on the audio side of things, but I wonder if that holds true across the spectrum of Windows manufacterers.

[gimmickmusic]

I’m mixed on this video. There is more to a dac/amp driving a headphone well than volume. Accuracy and precision also play a roll. Apple Dongle is great, but when it powers something like the DT 770 Pro 250 Ohm, it struggles, and it struggles hard. Bass disappears and the treble bump is made even more harsh because the dongle needs to be gained out. So while I agree that dac/amps have gotten very good, I don’t know that I agree with only using volume and distortion as the only two criteria in this.

[beefsupreme]

Ok DMS I see you! Nice vinyl on the wall 🔊

[bjrnrs]

I have the latest MacBook Pro AND the Topping A90d. Yes the MacBook Pro can run my Hifiman HE1000 Stealth. BUT it's no comparison in terms of sound quality. High End Planar Headphones scale up when you use better Amplifiers. An aspect you didn't mention on this video. It's like you buy a new Porsche 992 GT3 RS and drive it just to work and get stuck in a traffic jam. It works but you don't use any of the potential of the car.

[RainbowSun]

Honestly the only reason I use a dac/amp is not for the sound but for the ability to play my higher bit rate flac files. My laptop’s built-in dac can’t decode anything above 48khz which is really annoying😅

[andreasjensen]

One thing i have found with headphones and even speakers. There is a clear difference between being loud and sounding good. In the headphone world, beyer's are the point of this. My dt770 250 and the 1770 when I had them, was loud on my laptop at 20/100 but sounds like crap. Plug them into an amp and they come alive and are wonderful

[cairnex]

In a world of commodity electronics I don't understand why some manufacturer doesn't include at least an option for a GOOD quality DAC and headphone amp along with a balanced output in a laptop... or a phone for that matter.

[dangerzone]

The future of DAC amps will be parametric EQ such as in the Qudelix-5K. Anyone who still doesn't know how to EQ I would say hurry up and learn. It's not rocket science. It's more of an art.

[JasonKauczka]

I have been running my DT1990 Pro's on my 16" MBP M2 and I only need to run most tracks at about 30%-40% volume. I have had a few Topping, Schiit, JDS Labs, Fiio, etc. dac amps over the last few years and could not tell a difference between them and the MBP with these headphones. As long as I run the DT1990 Pro's, I have decided, that for me no, there is no need for extra hardware to get great sound.

[EtherealStudios]

Did you test the 250 ohm versions of DT 880 or 990 Pros??

[Microwave]

My guess is this, for desktops, nothing is stopping it right now spare noise floor which can be worked around and manufactures providing it but they'd just tell you to buy a soundcard, I'm sure asus would love to have a good reason to bring back the xonar essence line again. For laptops it's a matter of more efficient CPU's that use less power then re-purposing what would have been used for the CPU to the headphone out. Do I think it will replace dedicated amplifiers and dacs? No, but I'm sure for most very standard dynamic headphones there might come a time when it's sufficient enough. I know my alienware laptop gets loud enough for my HD 580's and ether CX's but I still use a dedicated headphone amplifier and dac because it still sounds better and supports more than just CD quality audio.

[towerhero]

I run Hd6xx and Edition XS on an M2 air just fine. I even eq both to oratory's settings and 50-80% volume is more than enough for my listening. For movies I may up the volume to ~85% for more perceived bass but nothing too crazy.

[friedfishfoo]

Great video, answered my very specific question that I've been having recently. My friend told me about this time he plugged his hd6xx into his macbook and was blown away because it was just so much better than his atom stack.
I actually recently got a pair of ananda nano because they were on sale but I left my schiit stack charging cable in my apartment but I just tried them out of my m2 macbook air and it's absolutely amazing, but maybe a little lacking in bass.
I was never fond of the idea of spending money on a portable dac and it looks like I wont have to if I really need to listen to my music in hi fi while I'm away from my desk.

[brianthomas]

ZMF Bokeh's closed backs sound amazing on a new 16'' MacBook Pro. Bokeh's are super efficient and isolate outside sounds pretty decently. Plug them into Schiit Vali and Modi multi-bit stack, and the bass and transients really improve. Lots of fun and excellent sound for a compact set up.

[RadoDani]

I wonder how would Focal headphones do. Especially the two new ones that they just came out with.

[nextsibling]

Been running various decent quality IEMs directly off various Apple laptops for years (I'm not interested in messing with headphones when travelling), more recently with the Apple dongle. In all cases, they've sounded very good, at minimum. Never felt the need for DAC/Amp accessories.

[bobsykes]

Very good information! Unfortunately, the obvious choice of the MM-500 won't work for me in a coffee shop or a brewpub thanks to its open back design. Ah, well...