Audeze LCD-X 2021 vs Sennheiser HD 800: which needs more amplifier?

The Audeze LCD-X 2021 is 20Ω at 103.0 dB/mW; the Sennheiser HD 800 is 300Ω at 96.8 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 800 needs 6.2 dB more than the Audeze LCD-X 2021 to reach the same loudness — 2.1 mW against 0.50 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationAudeze LCD-X 2021Sennheiser HD 800
Impedance20 Ω300 Ω
Sensitivity103.0 dB/mW96.8 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)120.0 dB/V102.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.50 mW2.1 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.10 V0.79 V
Current for 100 dB5.0 mA2.6 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
2.50 Ω37.50 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 Sennheiser HD 800 — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Steinberg UR22C, Sony NW-A306.

20 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Sennheiser HD 800 under the one-eighth rule but not for the Audeze LCD-X 2021 (Zoom AMS-22, Arturia MiniFuse 2, Arturia MiniFuse 1, 17 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 Sennheiser HD 800. 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.