Short answer
Both are audio interfaces, $720 against $999.
The Universal Audio Volt 876 reaches 100 dB on 565 of the 567 models here, the Audient NERO on 559.
| Specification | Audient NERO | Universal Audio Volt 876 |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 86 mW | 225 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 23 mW | 79 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 13 mW | 65 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 7.4 mW | 35 mW |
| Output impedance | not published | not published |
| Output noise | not published | not published |
| Price | $720 | $999 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 559 | 565 |
Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.
| Load | Audient NERO | Universal Audio Volt 876 |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Derived | Published |
| 150 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Derived | Published |
| 600 Ω | Published | Published |
Both makers publish a power rating. Audient NERO publishes at 600 Ω; Universal Audio Volt 876 at 32 Ω, at 300 Ω and at 600 Ω. The other rows are worked out from those.
So the two columns are not equally firm row by row: at 32 Ω and at 300 Ω only the Universal Audio Volt 876 figure is the maker’s own. On those rows the derived number is the one to doubt first.
6 headphones reach 100 dB on the Universal Audio Volt 876 but not on the Audient NERO — Moondrop COSMO, Moondrop PARA 2, Moondrop VENUS, 3 more.
559 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.
Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.
The widest gap on the list is the Sennheiser HD 600: Universal Audio Volt 876 has +10 dB of headroom there against +3 dB. 7 dB is about 5.1 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for Audient NERO and Universal Audio Volt 876 because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | Audient NERO headroom | Universal Audio Volt 876 headroom | Audient NERO hiss | Universal Audio Volt 876 hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +28 dB | +32 dB | not published | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +8 dB | +12 dB | not published | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +18 dB | +22 dB | not published | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +14 dB | +20 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +10 dB | +13 dB | not published | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +7 dB | +14 dB | not published | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +3 dB | +10 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +0 dB | +4 dB | not published | not published |
The Universal Audio Volt 876 costs $279 more than the Audient NERO. Out of the 567 models here, that difference buys 6 more models driven to 100 dB.
Nothing runs the other way: there is no axis here on which the cheaper of the two does better.
Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.
Each in full: Audient NERO and Universal Audio Volt 876.