Short answer
Both are dongles, both at $449.
The iBasso DC-Elite reaches 100 dB on 563 of the 567 models here, the Luxury & Precision W4 on 561.
| Specification | iBasso DC-Elite | Luxury & Precision W4 |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 162 mW | 110 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 35 mW | 23 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 17 mW | 12 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 8.6 mW | 5.9 mW |
| Output impedance | not published | not published |
| Output noise | not published | not published |
| Price | $449 | $449 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 563 | 561 |
Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.
| Balanced | iBasso DC-Elite | Luxury & Precision W4 |
|---|---|---|
| Socket | 4.4mm | 4.4mm |
| Power into 32Ω | 280 mW | 420 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 30 mW derived | 45 mW derived |
| Output impedance | not published | not published |
| Output noise | not published | not published |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 565 | 566 |
Through the balanced sockets the Luxury & Precision W4 reaches 100 dB on 566 of the 567 models here and the iBasso DC-Elite on 565. Derived figures are worked out from the loads the maker did publish.
| Load | iBasso DC-Elite | Luxury & Precision W4 |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Published | Published |
| 150 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 600 Ω | Derived | Derived |
Both makers publish a power rating. iBasso DC-Elite publishes at 32 Ω; Luxury & Precision W4 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 iBasso DC-Elite but not on the Luxury & Precision W4 — Moondrop COSMO, Symphonium Zenith.
561 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: iBasso DC-Elite has +4 dB of headroom there against +2 dB. 2 dB is about 1.5 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for iBasso DC-Elite and Luxury & Precision W4 because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | iBasso DC-Elite headroom | Luxury & Precision W4 headroom | iBasso DC-Elite hiss | Luxury & Precision W4 hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +31 dB | +29 dB | not published | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +11 dB | +9 dB | not published | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +20 dB | +18 dB | not published | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +15 dB | +13 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +12 dB | +10 dB | not published | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +8 dB | +7 dB | not published | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +4 dB | +2 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +2 dB | +1 dB | not published | not published |
These two cost the same, $449, so price settles nothing. Out of the 567 models here, the iBasso DC-Elite drives 2 models to 100 dB — and on the other side there is no such advantage at all.
Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.
Each in full: iBasso DC-Elite and Luxury & Precision W4.