Nio vs Ocean: which needs more amplifier?

The 64 Audio Nio is 6Ω at 105.0 dB/mW; the 64 Audio Ocean is 9.5Ω at 103.7 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.

The Ocean needs 1.3 dB more than the Nio to reach the same loudness — 0.43 mW against 0.32 mW.

Side by side

The numbers that decide it

Specification	Nio	Ocean
Impedance	6 Ω	9.5 Ω
Sensitivity	105.0 dB/mW	103.7 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)	127.2 dB/V	123.9 dB/V
Power for 100 dB	0.32 mW	0.43 mW
Voltage for 100 dB	44 mV	64 mV
Current for 100 dB	7.3 mA	6.7 mA
Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)	0.75 Ω	1.19 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280	280	280

What separates them

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.

38 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Ocean under the one-eighth rule but not for the Nio (FiiO SnowSky Tiny B, FiiO KA15, FiiO BTR15, 35 more).

12 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Ocean but cross it with the Nio (Lake People G103-S Mk II, Schiit Valhalla 3, Grace Design m900, 9 more).

280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.

At the level you actually listen at

What each one needs from 80 to 105 dB

The Ocean is more demanding than 19% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Nio than 8%.

dB SPL	Nio power	Nio voltage	Ocean power	Ocean voltage
80	3.2 µW	4 mV	4.3 µW	6 mV
85	0.01 mW	8 mV	0.01 mW	11 mV
90	0.03 mW	14 mV	0.04 mW	20 mV
95	0.10 mW	24 mV	0.13 mW	36 mV
100	0.32 mW	44 mV	0.43 mW	64 mV
105	1.0 mW	77 mV	1.3 mW	0.11 V

What drives both

The cheapest source that satisfies both

Source	Price	Headroom, Nio	Headroom, Ocean	Output impedance	Noise
JadeAudio JA11	$20	12.5 dB	13.2 dB	0.5 Ω	1.7 µV
FiiO KA11	$29	24.6 dB	25.3 dB	0.7 Ω	1.7 µV
FiiO BTR13	$59	21.5 dB	22.2 dB	0.6 Ω	1.0 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 32 of them also publish an output impedance low enough for both under the one-eighth rule and a noise figure that stays below the audible-hiss threshold with both.

The cheapest of the 32 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 12.5 dB of headroom on the Nio and 13.2 dB on the Ocean, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 0.75 Ω and 1.19 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 8 dB and 11 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.

Try any other source.

Frequency response

What each sheet prints, and what it is worth

Model	As printed	Tolerance	Standard
Nio	10hz – 20kHz	not printed	not printed
Ocean	5 Hz – 22 kHz	not printed	not printed

64 Audio prints 10hz – 20kHz for the Nio and 5 Hz – 22 kHz for the Ocean.

Neither range has a tolerance printed beside it, so a wider range on one sheet is not deeper bass or more treble.

Not a measurement; maker by maker.

Both pages in full

Both have a page of their own. In full: 64 Audio Nio and 64 Audio Ocean. Every figure on this page comes from what 64 Audio published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.