Audeze LCD-X 2021 vs Audio-Technica ATH-R70X: which needs more amplifier?

The Audeze LCD-X 2021 is 20Ω at 103.0 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 Audio-Technica ATH-R70X needs 5.0 dB more than the Audeze LCD-X 2021 to reach the same loudness — 1.6 mW against 0.50 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationAudeze LCD-X 2021Audio-Technica ATH-R70X
Impedance20 Ω470 Ω
Sensitivity103.0 dB/mW98.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)120.0 dB/V101.3 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.50 mW1.6 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.10 V0.86 V
Current for 100 dB5.0 mA1.8 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
2.50 Ω58.75 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280277

Where the two part company

3 of the 280 sources have the power for the Audeze LCD-X 2021 but not for the Audio-Technica ATH-R70X — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Steinberg UR22C, Sony NW-A306.

33 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Audio-Technica ATH-R70X under the one-eighth rule but not for the Audeze LCD-X 2021 (Zoom AMS-22, Audient EVO 4, ART HeadAmp 4 Pro, 30 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: Audeze LCD-X 2021 and Audio-Technica ATH-R70X. Every figure on this page comes from what Audeze and Audio-Technica published, or is derived from it — what Audeze publishes and what Audio-Technica publishes, both counted.