IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE vs Zoom AMS-22

Short answer

  • More power: the IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE, with 26 mW into 32 Ω; the Zoom AMS-22 has 20 mW. The IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE drives 12 headphones to 100 dB that the Zoom AMS-22 cannot (Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC, Audeze LCD-5, Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω), 9 more).
  • Hiss with sensitive IEMs: cannot be compared — neither maker publishes a noise figure.
  • Output impedance: 510 headphones are left alone by the IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE under the one-eighth rule but coloured by the Zoom AMS-22 (64 Audio Aspire 1, 64 Audio Fourte, 64 Audio Nio, 507 more).
  • Price: the IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE costs $30 more; what that buys on these numbers is set out further down, under What the price difference buys.

Both are audio interfaces, $130 against $100.

The IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE reaches 100 dB on 550 of the 567 models here, the Zoom AMS-22 on 538.

Every published figure, next to each other

SpecificationIK Multimedia AXE I/O ONEZoom AMS-22
Power into 32Ω26 mW20 mW
Power into 150Ω13 mW6.5 mW
Power into 300Ω6.7 mW3.4 mW
Power into 600Ω3.3 mW1.8 mW
Output impedance<0.1 Ω10 Ω
Output noisenot publishednot published
Price$130$100
Headphones it reaches 100 dB on
out of 567
550538

Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.

Where each power figure comes from

LoadIK Multimedia AXE I/O ONEZoom AMS-22
32 ΩDerivedPublished
150 ΩDerivedDerived
300 ΩDerivedDerived
600 ΩDerivedDerived

Only one of these two columns starts from a power rating. Zoom AMS-22 publishes one at 32 Ω; IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE publishes none at any of these four loads, so its column is worked out from power it published at other loads. Both are arithmetic on a maker’s own figures rather than guesses, and the method used for the IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE understates rather than flatters — but at 32 Ω is the only load here at which its maker can be held to a figure.

What the labels mean.

The headphones that tell them apart

12 headphones reach 100 dB on the IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE but not on the Zoom AMS-22 — Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC, Audeze LCD-5, Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω), 9 more.

510 headphones are left alone by the IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE under the one-eighth rule but coloured by the Zoom AMS-22 (64 Audio Aspire 1, 64 Audio Fourte, 64 Audio Nio, 507 more).

538 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.

Headroom and hiss on 8 models, both sources

Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.

The widest gap on the list is the HiFiMAN Susvara: IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE has -2 dB of headroom there against -6 dB. 4 dB is about 2.8 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.

The hiss columns are empty for IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE and Zoom AMS-22 because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.

HeadphoneImpedanceNeedsIK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE headroomZoom AMS-22 headroomIK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE hissZoom AMS-22 hiss
Shure SE8469 Ω0.04 mW+23 dB+22 dB dampingnot publishednot published
Campfire Audio Andromeda 20209 Ω4.0 mW+3 dB+2 dB dampingnot publishednot published
Audeze LCD-2 Classic70 Ω0.79 mW+16 dB+11 dB dampingnot publishednot published
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω)250 Ω0.63 mW+11 dB+8 dBnot publishednot published
HiFiMAN HE400se25 Ω7.9 mW+4 dB+3 dB dampingnot publishednot published
Audio-Technica ATH-R70X470 Ω1.6 mW+4 dB+2 dBnot publishednot published
Sennheiser HD 600300 Ω6.6 mW+0 dB-3 dBnot publishednot published
HiFiMAN Susvara60 Ω50 mW-2 dB-6 dB dampingnot publishednot published

The gap in dollars, against the gap in numbers

The IK Multimedia AXE I/O ONE costs $30 more than the Zoom AMS-22. Out of the 567 models here, that difference buys 12 more models driven to 100 dB and 510 more models left alone under the one-eighth rule.

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.

Both pages in full

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