hochohmigen

Hochohmig, or hochohmigen in inflected forms, is a German adjective that describes electrical impedance or connections with high impedance. It denotes a high magnitude of impedance (Z), typically across a range of frequencies, rather than a simple resistance value. In technical writing, hochohmige inputs or hochohmige Schaltungen refer to components or circuits whose impedance is large compared with the sources or loads they interact with.

High impedance is advantageous when sensing or measuring signals with high source impedance, because it minimizes loading effects on the measured signal. Conversely, it can make circuits more susceptible to parasitic effects, leakage currents and external interference, and often requires careful guarding, shielding and layout.

Typical contexts and values vary. Instrument interfaces such as electrometers and many operational amplifiers with JFET or CMOS inputs offer megaohms to gigaohms of input impedance, while audio devices may feature hochohmige Kopfhörer in the hundreds of ohms range. Low-impedance sources or loads are usually in the ohms to tens of ohms range, which causes less signal loss but higher current requirements.

In practice, the term appears in specifications and descriptions of measurement probes, sensor interfaces and audio equipment. Understanding whether a device is hochohmig helps in assessing signal integrity, compatibility with sources, and the potential need for buffering or impedance matching.