Roland Rubix22 vs Zoom AMS-44

Short answer

  • More power: the Zoom AMS-44, with 30 mW into 32 Ω; the Roland Rubix22 has 19 mW. The Roland Rubix22 drives 1 headphone to 100 dB that the Zoom AMS-44 cannot (Sennheiser HD 600). The Zoom AMS-44 drives 8 headphones to 100 dB that the Roland Rubix22 cannot (Audeze LCD-5, Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed, Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Noire, 5 more).
  • Hiss with sensitive IEMs: cannot be compared — neither maker publishes a noise figure.
  • Output impedance: 51 headphones are left alone by the Zoom AMS-44 under the one-eighth rule but coloured by the Roland Rubix22 (AKG K612 Pro, Audeze LCD-3, Audeze LCD-4, 48 more).
  • Price: the Roland Rubix22 costs $10 more; what that buys on these numbers is set out further down, under What the price difference buys.

Both are audio interfaces, $210 against $200.

The Zoom AMS-44 reaches 100 dB on 549 of the 567 models here, the Roland Rubix22 on 542.

Every published figure, next to each other

SpecificationRoland Rubix22Zoom AMS-44
Power into 32Ω19 mW30 mW
Power into 150Ω15 mW9.7 mW
Power into 300Ω9.4 mW5.2 mW
Power into 600Ω5.4 mW2.7 mW
Output impedance47 Ω10 Ω
Output noisenot publishednot published
Price$210$200
Headphones it reaches 100 dB on
out of 567
542549

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

Where each power figure comes from

LoadRoland Rubix22Zoom AMS-44
32 ΩDerivedPublished
150 ΩDerivedDerived
300 ΩDerivedDerived
600 ΩDerivedDerived

Only one of these two columns starts from a power rating. Zoom AMS-44 publishes one at 32 Ω; Roland Rubix22 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 Roland Rubix22 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

1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the Roland Rubix22 but not on the Zoom AMS-44 — Sennheiser HD 600.

8 headphones reach 100 dB on the Zoom AMS-44 but not on the Roland Rubix22 — Audeze LCD-5, Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed, Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Noire, 5 more.

51 headphones are left alone by the Zoom AMS-44 under the one-eighth rule but coloured by the Roland Rubix22 (AKG K612 Pro, Audeze LCD-3, Audeze LCD-4, 48 more).

541 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 Audio-Technica ATH-R70X: Roland Rubix22 has +6 dB of headroom there against +3 dB. 3 dB is about 1.9 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.

The hiss columns are empty for Roland Rubix22 and Zoom AMS-44 because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.

HeadphoneImpedanceNeedsRoland Rubix22 headroomZoom AMS-44 headroomRoland Rubix22 hissZoom AMS-44 hiss
Shure SE8469 Ω0.04 mW+21 dB damping+23 dB dampingnot publishednot published
Campfire Audio Andromeda 20209 Ω4.0 mW+1 dB damping+3 dB dampingnot publishednot published
Audeze LCD-2 Classic70 Ω0.79 mW+13 dB damping+13 dB dampingnot publishednot published
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω)250 Ω0.63 mW+12 dB damping+10 dBnot publishednot published
HiFiMAN HE400se25 Ω7.9 mW+3 dB damping+5 dB dampingnot publishednot published
Audio-Technica ATH-R70X470 Ω1.6 mW+6 dB+3 dBnot publishednot published
Sennheiser HD 600300 Ω6.6 mW+2 dB damping-1 dBnot publishednot published
HiFiMAN Susvara60 Ω50 mW-4 dB damping-4 dB dampingnot publishednot published

The gap in dollars, against the gap in numbers

The Roland Rubix22 costs $10 more than the Zoom AMS-44. Out of the 567 models here, that difference buys 1 more model driven to 100 dB.

It does not run one way only: the cheaper Zoom AMS-44 drives 8 models to 100 dB and leaves 51 alone under the one-eighth rule that the Roland Rubix22 does not, which is the part worth checking against your own headphones before paying the difference.

Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.

Both pages in full

Each in full: Roland Rubix22 and Zoom AMS-44.

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