AKG K612 Pro vs Audio-Technica ATH-R70X: which needs more amplifier?

The AKG K612 Pro is 120Ω at 91.8 dB/mW; the Audio-Technica ATH-R70X is 470Ω at 98.0 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 AKG K612 Pro needs 6.2 dB more than the Audio-Technica ATH-R70X to reach the same loudness — 6.6 mW against 1.6 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationAKG K612 ProAudio-Technica ATH-R70X
Impedance120 Ω470 Ω
Sensitivity91.8 dB/mW98.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)101.0 dB/V101.3 dB/V
Power for 100 dB6.6 mW1.6 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.89 V0.86 V
Current for 100 dB7.4 mA1.8 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
15.00 Ω58.75 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
277277

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.

15 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Audio-Technica ATH-R70X under the one-eighth rule but not for the AKG K612 Pro (Audient EVO 4, ART HeadAmp 4 Pro, Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th gen, 12 more).

277 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: AKG K612 Pro and Audio-Technica ATH-R70X. Every figure on this page comes from what AKG and Audio-Technica published, or is derived from it — what AKG publishes and what Audio-Technica publishes, both counted.