ATH-M60x vs ATH-M70X: which needs more amplifier?

The Audio-Technica ATH-M60x is 38Ω at 102.0 dB/mW; the Audio-Technica ATH-M70X is 35Ω at 97.0 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.

The ATH-M70X needs 5.0 dB more than the ATH-M60x to reach the same loudness — 2.0 mW against 0.63 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationATH-M60xATH-M70X
Impedance38 Ω35 Ω
Sensitivity102.0 dB/mW97.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)116.2 dB/V111.6 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.63 mW2.0 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.15 V0.26 V
Current for 100 dB4.1 mA7.6 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
4.75 Ω4.38 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280280

Where the two part company

Every source in the database that drives one of them drives the other. On power, the choice between these two changes nothing about what amplifier you need.

1 source is low enough in output impedance for the ATH-M60x under the one-eighth rule but not for the ATH-M70X (Shanling H5).

1 source stays below the audible-hiss threshold with the ATH-M70X but crosses it with the ATH-M60x (Schiit Mjolnir 3).

280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.

What each one needs from 80 to 105 dB

The ATH-M70X is more demanding than 69% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the ATH-M60x than 47%.

dB SPLATH-M60x powerATH-M60x voltageATH-M70X powerATH-M70X voltage
806.3 µW15 mV0.02 mW26 mV
850.02 mW28 mV0.06 mW47 mV
900.06 mW49 mV0.20 mW84 mV
950.20 mW87 mV0.63 mW0.15 V
1000.63 mW0.15 V2.0 mW0.26 V
1052.0 mW0.28 V6.3 mW0.47 V

The cheapest source that satisfies both

SourcePriceHeadroom, ATH-M60xHeadroom, ATH-M70XOutput impedanceNoise
JadeAudio JA11$2016.0 dB11.4 dB0.5 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO KA11$2924.3 dB19.6 dB0.7 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO BTR11$3616.0 dB11.4 dB0.5 Ω8.0 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 69 of them also publish an output impedance low enough for both under the one-eighth rule and a noise figure that stays below the audible-hiss threshold with both.

The cheapest of the 69 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 16.0 dB of headroom on the ATH-M60x and 11.4 dB on the ATH-M70X, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 4.75 Ω and 4.38 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 19 dB and 24 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.

Try any other source.

What each sheet prints, and what it is worth

ModelAs printedToleranceStandard
ATH-M60x15 - 28,000 Hznot printednot printed
ATH-M70X5 - 40,000 Hznot printednot printed

Audio-Technica prints 15 - 28,000 Hz for the ATH-M60x and 5 - 40,000 Hz for the ATH-M70X.

Neither range has a tolerance printed beside it, so a wider range on one sheet is not deeper bass or more treble.

Not a measurement; maker by maker.

Both pages in full

Both have a page of their own. In full: Audio-Technica ATH-M60x and Audio-Technica ATH-M70X. Every figure on this page comes from what Audio-Technica published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.

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