Both are desktop amplifiers, $199 against $176. 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 iFi Zen CAN reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the Little Dot MK II on 560.
| Specification | iFi Zen CAN | Little Dot MK II |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 1.6 W | 100 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 375 mW | 214 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 190 mW | 300 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 98 mW | 150 mW |
| Output impedance | 0.5 Ω unverified | not published |
| Output noise | 1.5 µV unverified | not published |
| Price | $199 | $176 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 567 | 560 |
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.
7 headphones reach 100 dB on the iFi Zen CAN but not on the Little Dot MK II — Moondrop COSMO, Moondrop PARA, Moondrop PARA 2, 4 more.
560 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: iFi Zen CAN and Little Dot MK II. Or put either against your own headphones in the source comparison tool.