Audio-Technica ATH-R70X vs Dan Clark Audio Stealth: which needs more amplifier?

The Audio-Technica ATH-R70X is 470Ω at 98.0 dB/mW; the Dan Clark Audio Stealth is 23Ω at 90.0 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 Dan Clark Audio Stealth needs 8.0 dB more than the Audio-Technica ATH-R70X to reach the same loudness — 10 mW against 1.6 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationAudio-Technica ATH-R70XDan Clark Audio Stealth
Impedance470 Ω23 Ω
Sensitivity98.0 dB/mW90.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)101.3 dB/V106.4 dB/V
Power for 100 dB1.6 mW10 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.86 V0.48 V
Current for 100 dB1.8 mA20.9 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
58.75 Ω2.88 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
277279

Where the two part company

2 of the 280 sources have the power for the Dan Clark Audio Stealth but not for the Audio-Technica ATH-R70X — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), 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 Dan Clark Audio Stealth (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: Audio-Technica ATH-R70X and Dan Clark Audio Stealth. Every figure on this page comes from what Audio-Technica and Dan Clark Audio published, or is derived from it — what Audio-Technica publishes and what Dan Clark Audio publishes, both counted.