Aspire 1 vs U12t: which needs more amplifier?

The 64 Audio Aspire 1 is 11Ω at 104.0 dB/mW; the 64 Audio U12t is 12.6Ω at 108.0 dB/mW. This page is only about what they ask of an amplifier — not how they sound, which no specification on either sheet can tell you.

The Aspire 1 needs 4.0 dB more than the U12t to reach the same loudness — 0.40 mW against 0.16 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationAspire 1U12t
Impedance11 Ω12.6 Ω
Sensitivity104.0 dB/mW108.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)123.6 dB/V127.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.40 mW0.16 mW
Voltage for 100 dB66 mV45 mV
Current for 100 dB6.0 mA3.5 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
1.38 Ω1.57 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280280

Where the two part company

Every source in the database that drives one of them drives the other. On power, the choice between these two changes nothing about what amplifier you need.

3 sources are low enough in output impedance for the U12t under the one-eighth rule but not for the Aspire 1 (FiiO M11S, Singxer SA-1, FiiO M15S).

11 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Aspire 1 but cross it with the U12t (Lake People G103-S Mk II, Grace Design m900, FiiO M33 R2R, 8 more).

280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both. That count is about power only — the output-impedance and hiss lines above are separate questions, and a source can pass this one and fail those.

Both pages in full

Each model has a page of its own with the full source list, the hiss estimate and the provenance of every figure above: 64 Audio Aspire 1 and 64 Audio U12t. Every figure on this page comes from what 64 Audio published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.