Short answer
Both are dongles, $60 against $40.
The Tanchjim Stargate II reaches 100 dB on 561 of the 567 models here, the Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro on 554.
| Specification | Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro | Tanchjim Stargate II |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 68 mW | 75 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 15 mW | 16 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 7.3 mW | 8.0 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 3.6 mW | 4.0 mW |
| Output impedance | not published | not published |
| Output noise | not published | not published |
| Price | $60 | $40 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 554 | 561 |
Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.
| Balanced | Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro | Tanchjim Stargate II |
|---|---|---|
| Socket | 4.4mm | no separate rating |
| Power into 32Ω | 170 mW | — |
| Power into 300Ω | 18 mW derived | — |
| Output impedance | not published | — |
| Output noise | not published | — |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 563 | — |
Only the Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro has a separate balanced rating from its maker; through it, it reaches 100 dB on 563 of the 567 models here. The Tanchjim Stargate II 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 | Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro | Tanchjim Stargate II |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Published | Published |
| 150 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 600 Ω | Derived | Derived |
Both makers publish a power rating. Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro publishes at 32 Ω; Tanchjim Stargate II 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.
7 headphones reach 100 dB on the Tanchjim Stargate II but not on the Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro — HiFiMAN HE-6se V2, HiFiMAN HE6 Remastered, Moondrop COSMO, 4 more.
554 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: Tanchjim Stargate II has +11 dB of headroom there against +7 dB. 4 dB is about 2.4 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro and Tanchjim Stargate II because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro headroom | Tanchjim Stargate II headroom | Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro hiss | Tanchjim Stargate II hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +27 dB | +31 dB | not published | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +7 dB | +11 dB | not published | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +16 dB | +16 dB | not published | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +11 dB | +12 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +8 dB | +10 dB | not published | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +5 dB | +5 dB | not published | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +0 dB | +1 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | -1 dB | -1 dB | not published | not published |
The Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro costs $20 more than the Tanchjim Stargate II, and on these three axes the money buys nothing: among the 567 models here there is not one that the Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro handles and the Tanchjim Stargate II does not — not on power, not on the one-eighth rule, not on hiss. The traffic runs the other way: the cheaper Tanchjim Stargate II drives 7 models to 100 dB that the Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro does not.
Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.
Each in full: Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro and Tanchjim Stargate II.