Audeze LCD-X 2021 vs Sennheiser HD 600: which needs more amplifier?

The Audeze LCD-X 2021 is 20Ω at 103.0 dB/mW; the Sennheiser HD 600 is 300Ω at 91.8 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 Sennheiser HD 600 needs 11.2 dB more than the Audeze LCD-X 2021 to reach the same loudness — 6.6 mW against 0.50 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationAudeze LCD-X 2021Sennheiser HD 600
Impedance20 Ω300 Ω
Sensitivity103.0 dB/mW91.8 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)120.0 dB/V97.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.50 mW6.6 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.10 V1.41 V
Current for 100 dB5.0 mA4.7 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
2.50 Ω37.50 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280261

Where the two part company

19 of the 280 sources have the power for the Audeze LCD-X 2021 but not for the Sennheiser HD 600 — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Apple USB-C dongle (EU), JadeAudio JA11, 16 more.

20 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Sennheiser HD 600 under the one-eighth rule but not for the Audeze LCD-X 2021 (Zoom AMS-22, Arturia MiniFuse 2, Arturia MiniFuse 1, 17 more).

261 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 Sennheiser HD 600. Every figure on this page comes from what Audeze and Sennheiser published, or is derived from it — what Audeze publishes and what Sennheiser publishes, both counted.