Amiron Home vs DT 990 Edition (250Ω): which needs more amplifier?

The Beyerdynamic Amiron Home is 250Ω at 102.0 dB/mW; the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Edition (250Ω) is 250Ω at 96.0 dB (no reference unit printed). 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 DT 990 Edition (250Ω) needs 6.0 dB more than the Amiron Home to reach the same loudness — 2.5 mW against 0.63 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationAmiron HomeDT 990 Edition (250Ω)
Impedance250 Ω250 Ω
Sensitivity102.0 dB/mW96.0 dB
Sensitivity (voltage)108.0 dB/V102.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.63 mW2.5 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.40 V0.79 V
Current for 100 dB1.6 mA3.2 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
31.25 Ω31.25 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280277

One caution before reading the rows. Beyerdynamic DT 990 Edition (250Ω) printed a decibel figure with no reference unit, so this page reads it as per milliwatt. If it is really per volt, that model needs far more than the table says. Why the two readings differ by so much.

Where the two part company

3 of the 280 sources have the power for the Amiron Home but not for the DT 990 Edition (250Ω) — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Steinberg UR22C, Sony NW-A306.

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: Beyerdynamic Amiron Home and Beyerdynamic DT 990 Edition (250Ω). Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones Beyerdynamic never published — what that maker publishes, counted.