Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X vs Dan Clark Audio Expanse: which needs more amplifier?

The Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X is 48Ω at 100.0 dB/mW; 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 10.0 dB more than the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X to reach the same loudness — 10 mW against 1.0 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationBeyerdynamic DT 900 Pro XDan Clark Audio Expanse
Impedance48 Ω26 Ω
Sensitivity100.0 dB/mW90.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)113.2 dB/V105.9 dB/V
Power for 100 dB1.0 mW10 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.22 V0.51 V
Current for 100 dB4.6 mA19.6 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
6.00 Ω3.25 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280279

Where the two part company

1 of the 280 sources has the power for the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X but not for the Dan Clark Audio Expanse — Steinberg UR22C.

1 source is low enough in output impedance for the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X under the one-eighth rule but not for the Dan Clark Audio Expanse (Shanling H5).

279 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 900 Pro X and Dan Clark Audio Expanse. Every figure on this page comes from what Beyerdynamic and Dan Clark Audio published, or is derived from it — what Beyerdynamic publishes and what Dan Clark Audio publishes, both counted.