Solo vs U12t: which needs more amplifier?

The 64 Audio Solo is 16Ω at 100.0 dB/mW; the 64 Audio U12t is 12.6Ω at 108.0 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.

The Solo needs 8.0 dB more than the U12t to reach the same loudness — 1.0 mW against 0.16 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationSoloU12t
Impedance16 Ω12.6 Ω
Sensitivity100.0 dB/mW108.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)118.0 dB/V127.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB1.0 mW0.16 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.13 V45 mV
Current for 100 dB7.9 mA3.5 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
2.00 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.

5 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Solo under the one-eighth rule but not for the U12t (FiiO KA13, Schiit Vali 2+, Astell&Kern HC3, 2 more).

16 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Solo but cross it with the U12t (FiiO BTR11, FiiO K11 R2R, Lake People G103-S Mk II, 13 more).

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

What each one needs from 80 to 105 dB

The Solo is more demanding than 40% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the U12t than 8%.

dB SPLSolo powerSolo voltageU12t powerU12t voltage
800.01 mW13 mV1.6 µW4 mV
850.03 mW22 mV5.0 µW8 mV
900.10 mW40 mV0.02 mW14 mV
950.32 mW71 mV0.05 mW25 mV
1001.0 mW0.13 V0.16 mW45 mV
1053.2 mW0.22 V0.50 mW79 mV

The cheapest source that satisfies both

SourcePriceHeadroom, SoloHeadroom, U12tOutput impedanceNoise
JadeAudio JA11$2011.8 dB18.7 dB0.5 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO KA11$2923.9 dB30.9 dB0.7 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO BTR13$5920.8 dB27.8 dB0.6 Ω1.0 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 54 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 54 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 11.8 dB of headroom on the Solo and 18.7 dB on the U12t, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 2.00 Ω and 1.57 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 17 dB and 8 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.

Try any other source.

What each sheet prints, and what it is worth

ModelAs printedToleranceStandard
Solo20 Hz – 20 kHznot printednot printed
U12t10 Hz – 20 kHznot printednot printed

64 Audio prints 20 Hz – 20 kHz for the Solo and 10 Hz – 20 kHz for the U12t.

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 Solo 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.

↑