Short answer
Both are portable players, $350 against $369.
The Shanling H5 reaches 100 dB on 565 of the 567 models here, the Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ULTRA on 561.
| Specification | Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ULTRA | Shanling H5 |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 112 mW | 227 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 24 mW | 48 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 12 mW | 24 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 6.0 mW | 12 mW |
| Output impedance | not published | 4.7 Ω |
| Output noise | not published | not published |
| Price | $350 | $369 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 561 | 565 |
Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.
| Balanced | Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ULTRA | Shanling H5 |
|---|---|---|
| Socket | 4.4mm | 4.4mm |
| Power into 32Ω | 222 mW | 840 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 24 mW derived | 125 mW derived |
| Output impedance | not published | 6.6 Ω |
| Output noise | not published | not published |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 565 | 566 |
Through the balanced sockets the Shanling H5 reaches 100 dB on 566 of the 567 models here and the Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ULTRA on 565. Derived figures are worked out from the loads the maker did publish.
| Load | Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ULTRA | Shanling H5 |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Published | Published |
| 150 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 600 Ω | Derived | Derived |
Both makers publish a power rating. Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ULTRA publishes at 32 Ω; Shanling H5 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.
4 headphones reach 100 dB on the Shanling H5 but not on the Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ULTRA — Moondrop COSMO, Symphonium Crimson, Symphonium Helios, 1 more.
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: Shanling H5 has +6 dB of headroom there against +3 dB. 3 dB is twice the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ULTRA and Shanling H5 because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ULTRA headroom | Shanling H5 headroom | Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ULTRA hiss | Shanling H5 hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +29 dB | +32 dB damping | not published | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +9 dB | +12 dB damping | not published | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +18 dB | +21 dB | not published | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +14 dB | +17 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +10 dB | +13 dB damping | not published | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +7 dB | +10 dB | not published | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +3 dB | +6 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +1 dB | +4 dB | not published | not published |
The Shanling H5 costs $19 more than the Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ULTRA. Out of the 567 models here, that difference buys 4 more models driven to 100 dB.
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.
Each in full: Moondrop DISCDREAM2 ULTRA and Shanling H5.