AKG K612 Pro vs Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed: which needs more amplifier?

The AKG K612 Pro is 120Ω at 91.8 dB/mW; the Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed is 13Ω at 90.0 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 Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed needs 1.8 dB more than the AKG K612 Pro to reach the same loudness — 10 mW against 6.6 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationAKG K612 ProDan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed
Impedance120 Ω13 Ω
Sensitivity91.8 dB/mW90.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)101.0 dB/V108.9 dB/V
Power for 100 dB6.6 mW10 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.89 V0.36 V
Current for 100 dB7.4 mA27.7 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
15.00 Ω1.62 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
277272

Where the two part company

6 of the 280 sources have the power for the AKG K612 Pro but not for the Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed — Zoom AMS-22, Audient EVO 4, Tascam US-2x2HR, 3 more.

1 of the 280 sources has the power for the Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed but not for the AKG K612 Pro — Sony NW-A306.

23 sources are low enough in output impedance for the AKG K612 Pro under the one-eighth rule but not for the Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed (FiiO KA13, Zoom AMS-22, Arturia MiniFuse 2, 20 more).

271 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 Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed. Every figure on this page comes from what AKG and Dan Clark Audio published, or is derived from it — what AKG publishes and what Dan Clark Audio publishes, both counted.