Headphone volume very low out of Mackie 802VLZ4

[Richard Crowley]

Do other headphones work with the Mackie 802VLZ4 mixer headphone output?
Do the Beyer DT770 headphones work with other gear’s headphone output?
The Beyer DT770 seems to be available in three different impedances: 32 ohms, 80 ohms, and 250 ohms.
Do you know which kind you have?
The headphone output of some gear doesn’t have enough current to drive 32 ohms,
while other gear may not have enough voltage to drive 250 ohms to full volume.

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Recording audio without metering and monitoring is exactly like framing and focusing without looking at the viewfinder.

[Alex Elkins]

Thanks for your response, Richard.

[Richard Crowley] “Do other headphones work with the Mackie 802VLZ4 mixer headphone output?”
I’ve not been able to check this yet as the DT770’s were the only headphones I had in the office. I’ll bring some earbuds in when I’m back in tomorrow to test those. I’m inclined to think that they work because as I mentioned in my initial post the level is much improved when the channels are soloed for whatever reason. For this reason I suspect the issue is with the setup of the mixer itself.

[Richard Crowley] “Do the Beyer DT770 headphones work with other gear’s headphone output?”
Yes – I’ve tested on my Mac Pro output and also the headphone output on my reference monitor and both work perfectly. However these are both plugged in via minijack so potentially the 1/4″ adapter that came with the headphones is faulty. I have spares so will test this tomorrow also.

[Richard Crowley] “The Beyer DT770 seems to be available in three different impedances: 32 ohms, 80 ohms, and 250 ohms.”
I have the 80 ohms model.

Alex Elkins // Freelance Editor & Colourist
alexelkins.co.uk
@elkstwit

[Ty Ford]

Hello Alex and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

I think Richard may have found the problem.

BTW, I use Sony MDR 7506 headphones a lot because they work most anywhere and are more sensitive than many headphones. That makes them louder.

https://bhpho.to/2zwnCn5

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog

[Alex Elkins]

Just updating the thread – I’ve tested out with some other headphones and a different minijack to 1/4″ adapter and the problem remains, so I think we can probably rule out the headphones.

If anyone is familiar with this particular mixer perhaps they know of an obscure button and dial somewhere on it that might cause this problem.

I feel confident in ruling out the mixer headphone output itself as the source of problem because it does give me plenty of volume (albeit slightly distorted) when I push the pre fader solo button for either channel. That being the case, presumably something happening ‘post fader’ will be the problem… right??

I just can’t put my finger on exactly what, especially as the speaker output has always worked perfectly.

Alex Elkins // Freelance Editor & Colourist
alexelkins.co.uk
@elkstwit