The Dan Clark Audio AEON RT is 13Ω at 90.0 dB/mW; the Dan Clark Audio ÆON Core is 17Ω at 94.0 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.
The AEON RT needs 4.0 dB more than the ÆON Core to reach the same loudness — 10 mW against 4.0 mW.
| Specification | AEON RT | ÆON Core |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 13 Ω | 17 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 90.0 dB/mW | 94.0 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 108.9 dB/V | 111.7 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 10 mW | 4.0 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.36 V | 0.26 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 27.7 mA | 15.3 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 1.62 Ω | 2.12 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 272 | 280 |
8 of the 280 sources have the power for the ÆON Core but not for the AEON RT — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Zoom AMS-22, Audient EVO 4, 5 more.
5 sources are low enough in output impedance for the ÆON Core under the one-eighth rule but not for the AEON RT (FiiO KA13, Schiit Vali 2+, Astell&Kern HC3, 2 more).
272 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.
The AEON RT is more demanding than 80% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the ÆON Core than 69%.
| dB SPL | AEON RT power | AEON RT voltage | ÆON Core power | ÆON Core voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0.10 mW | 36 mV | 0.04 mW | 26 mV |
| 85 | 0.32 mW | 64 mV | 0.13 mW | 46 mV |
| 90 | 1.0 mW | 0.11 V | 0.40 mW | 82 mV |
| 95 | 3.2 mW | 0.20 V | 1.3 mW | 0.15 V |
| 100 | 10 mW | 0.36 V | 4.0 mW | 0.26 V |
| 105 | 32 mW | 0.64 V | 13 mW | 0.46 V |
| Source | Price | Headroom, AEON RT | Headroom, ÆON Core | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JadeAudio JA11 | $20 | 0.9 dB | 6.0 dB | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 13.0 dB | 17.8 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR11 | $36 | 5.6 dB | 10.4 dB | 0.5 Ω | 8.0 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 272 reach 100 dB on both. 69 of them also publish an output impedance low enough for both under the one-eighth rule and a noise figure that stays below the audible-hiss threshold with both.
The cheapest of the 69 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 0.9 dB of headroom on the AEON RT and 6.0 dB on the ÆON Core, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 1.62 Ω and 2.12 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 27 dB and 24 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.
| Model | As printed | Tolerance | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| AEON RT | “Yes, it has one” | not printed | not printed |
| ÆON Core | “Yes, it has one” | not printed | not printed |
Dan Clark Audio prints the same thing for both the AEON RT and the ÆON Core: “Yes, it has one”.
For both: The specification table has a frequency-response row. The value printed in it is the sentence "Yes, it has one".
Neither sheet prints a frequency range, and in both cases that is on purpose: the row is there and what stands in it is a sentence rather than a number. It is a better argument than most of this page. A range printed without a tolerance says nothing about how loud a headphone is at either end of it, and of the 490 models whose maker prints a range, 58 print the ±dB figure that would make the range mean something.
Not a measurement; maker by maker.
Both have a page of their own. In full: Dan Clark Audio AEON RT and Dan Clark Audio ÆON Core. Every figure on this page comes from what Dan Clark Audio published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.