Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed vs Grado SR80x: which needs more amplifier?

The Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed is 13Ω at 90.0 dB/mW; the Grado SR80x is 38Ω at 98.0 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 AEON 2 Closed needs 8.0 dB more than the Grado SR80x to reach the same loudness — 10 mW against 1.6 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationDan Clark Audio AEON 2 ClosedGrado SR80x
Impedance13 Ω38 Ω
Sensitivity90.0 dB/mW98.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)108.9 dB/V112.2 dB/V
Power for 100 dB10 mW1.6 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.36 V0.25 V
Current for 100 dB27.7 mA6.5 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
1.62 Ω4.75 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
272280

Where the two part company

8 of the 280 sources have the power for the Grado SR80x but not for the Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Zoom AMS-22, Audient EVO 4, 5 more.

6 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Grado SR80x under the one-eighth rule but not for the Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed (FiiO KA13, Schiit Vali 2+, Astell&Kern HC3, 3 more).

272 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: Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed and Grado SR80x. Every figure on this page comes from what Dan Clark Audio and Grado published, or is derived from it — what Dan Clark Audio publishes and what Grado publishes, both counted.