Short answer
Both are dongles, $189 against $299.
The EarMen Colibri reaches 100 dB on 563 of the 567 models here, the ddHiFi TC44 Pro on 561.
| Specification | ddHiFi TC44 Pro | EarMen Colibri |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 120 mW | 75 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 26 mW | 16 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 13 mW | 8.0 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 6.4 mW | 4.0 mW |
| Output impedance | 0.4 Ω unverified | not published |
| Output noise | 2.5 µV unverified | not published |
| Price | $189 | $299 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 561 | 563 |
Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.
| Balanced | ddHiFi TC44 Pro | EarMen Colibri |
|---|---|---|
| Socket | no separate rating | 4.4mm |
| Power into 32Ω | — | 280 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | — | 30 mW derived |
| Output impedance | — | not published |
| Output noise | — | not published |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | — | 565 |
Only the EarMen Colibri has a separate balanced rating from its maker; through it, it reaches 100 dB on 565 of the 567 models here. The ddHiFi TC44 Pro may still have a balanced socket — its spec sheet simply gives no figure for one, so there is nothing to put beside it. Derived figures are worked out from the loads the maker did publish.
| Load | ddHiFi TC44 Pro | EarMen Colibri |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Published | Published |
| 150 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 600 Ω | Derived | Derived |
Both makers publish a power rating. ddHiFi TC44 Pro publishes at 32 Ω; EarMen Colibri at 32 Ω. The other rows are worked out from those.
The two publish at the same loads, which is the one case where the rows of this table can be read straight across.
2 headphones reach 100 dB on the ddHiFi TC44 Pro but not on the EarMen Colibri — HiFiMAN Susvara, Moondrop SKYLAND.
4 headphones reach 100 dB on the EarMen Colibri but not on the ddHiFi TC44 Pro — Moondrop COSMO, Symphonium Crimson, Symphonium Helios, 1 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 Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020: EarMen Colibri has +13 dB of headroom there against +9 dB. 4 dB is about 2.5 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for ddHiFi TC44 Pro and EarMen Colibri because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | ddHiFi TC44 Pro headroom | EarMen Colibri headroom | ddHiFi TC44 Pro hiss | EarMen Colibri hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +29 dB | +33 dB | not published | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +9 dB | +13 dB | not published | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +18 dB | +16 dB | not published | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +14 dB | +12 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +11 dB | +11 dB | not published | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +7 dB | +5 dB | not published | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +3 dB | +1 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +1 dB | -1 dB | not published | not published |
The EarMen Colibri costs $110 more than the ddHiFi TC44 Pro. Out of the 567 models here, that difference buys 4 more models driven to 100 dB.
It does not run one way only: the cheaper ddHiFi TC44 Pro drives 2 models to 100 dB that the EarMen Colibri does not, which is the part worth checking against your own headphones before paying the difference.
Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.
Each in full: ddHiFi TC44 Pro and EarMen Colibri.