Both are desktop DAC/amps, $399 against $449. This page puts them side by side on the only three things a maker can be held to — power, output impedance and noise — and then asks the question that actually matters: which headphones do they treat differently?
The JDS Labs Element III MK2 reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M on 565.
| Specification | Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M | JDS Labs Element III MK2 |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 300 mW | 2.3 W |
| Power into 150Ω | 65 mW | 584 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 32 mW | 292 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 16 mW | 146 mW |
| Output impedance | not published | 0.7 Ω |
| Output noise | not published | 1.5 µV unverified |
| Price | $399 | $449 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 565 | 567 |
A figure marked not published is missing from the maker’s own material, which is not the same as being good or bad. Where one of these two publishes a number and the other does not, the comparison on that axis cannot be made at all — and saying so is more useful than guessing.
2 headphones reach 100 dB on the JDS Labs Element III MK2 but not on the Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M — Moondrop PARA, Symphonium Titan.
565 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both. That is a power count and nothing more; whether either source suits a given headphone also depends on the two lines above.
Each has a page of its own with every power figure traced to what the maker published and a full headphone list: Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M and JDS Labs Element III MK2. Or put either against your own headphones in the source comparison tool.