AKG K612 Pro vs Meze 99 Classics: which needs more amplifier?

The AKG K612 Pro is 120Ω at 91.8 dB/mW; the Meze 99 Classics is 32Ω at 103.0 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 11.2 dB more than the Meze 99 Classics to reach the same loudness — 6.6 mW against 0.50 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationAKG K612 ProMeze 99 Classics
Impedance120 Ω32 Ω
Sensitivity91.8 dB/mW103.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)101.0 dB/V117.9 dB/V
Power for 100 dB6.6 mW0.50 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.89 V0.13 V
Current for 100 dB7.4 mA4.0 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
15.00 Ω4.00 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
277280

Where the two part company

3 of the 280 sources have the power for the Meze 99 Classics but not for the AKG K612 Pro — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Steinberg UR22C, Sony NW-A306.

18 sources are low enough in output impedance for the AKG K612 Pro under the one-eighth rule but not for the Meze 99 Classics (Zoom AMS-22, Arturia MiniFuse 2, Arturia MiniFuse 1, 15 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 Meze 99 Classics. Every figure on this page comes from what AKG and Meze published, or is derived from it — what AKG publishes and what Meze publishes, both counted.