Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) vs Dan Clark Audio Expanse: which needs more amplifier?

The Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) is 250Ω at 96.0 dB (no reference unit printed); the Dan Clark Audio Expanse is 26Ω 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 Expanse needs 6.0 dB more than the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) to reach the same loudness — 10 mW against 2.5 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationBeyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω)Dan Clark Audio Expanse
Impedance250 Ω26 Ω
Sensitivity96.0 dB90.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)102.0 dB/V105.9 dB/V
Power for 100 dB2.5 mW10 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.79 V0.51 V
Current for 100 dB3.2 mA19.6 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
31.25 Ω3.25 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
277279

One caution before reading the rows. Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (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

2 of the 280 sources have the power for the Dan Clark Audio Expanse but not for the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Sony NW-A306.

19 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) under the one-eighth rule but not for the Dan Clark Audio Expanse (Zoom AMS-22, Arturia MiniFuse 2, Arturia MiniFuse 1, 16 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: Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) and Dan Clark Audio Expanse. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones Beyerdynamic and Dan Clark Audio never published — what Beyerdynamic publishes and what Dan Clark Audio publishes, both counted.