Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω) vs Meze 109 Pro: which needs more amplifier?

The Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω) is 600Ω at 96.0 dB (no reference unit printed); the Meze 109 Pro is 40Ω at 112.0 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 Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω) needs 16.0 dB more than the Meze 109 Pro to reach the same loudness — 2.5 mW against 0.06 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationBeyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω)Meze 109 Pro
Impedance600 Ω40 Ω
Sensitivity96.0 dB112.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)98.2 dB/V126.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB2.5 mW0.06 mW
Voltage for 100 dB1.23 V50 mV
Current for 100 dB2.0 mA1.3 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
75.00 Ω5.00 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
266280

One caution before reading the rows. Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω) 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

14 of the 280 sources have the power for the Meze 109 Pro but not for the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω) — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Apple USB-C dongle (EU), JadeAudio JA11, 11 more.

33 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω) under the one-eighth rule but not for the Meze 109 Pro (Zoom AMS-22, Audient EVO 4, ART HeadAmp 4 Pro, 30 more).

13 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω) but cross it with the Meze 109 Pro (FiiO BTR11, FiiO K11 R2R, Lake People G103-S Mk II, 10 more).

266 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 880 Edition (600Ω) and Meze 109 Pro. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones Beyerdynamic and Meze never published — what Beyerdynamic publishes and what Meze publishes, both counted.