Falcon Ultra vs Titan S2: which needs more amplifier?

The Dunu Falcon Ultra is 16Ω at 108.0 dB (no reference unit printed); the Dunu Titan S2 is 16Ω at 107.0 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.

The Titan S2 needs 1.0 dB more than the Falcon Ultra to reach the same loudness — 0.20 mW against 0.16 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationFalcon UltraTitan S2
Impedance16 Ω16 Ω
Sensitivity108.0 dB107.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)126.0 dB/V125.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.16 mW0.20 mW
Voltage for 100 dB50 mV57 mV
Current for 100 dB3.1 mA3.5 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
2.00 Ω2.00 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280280

One caution before reading the rows. Dunu Falcon Ultra 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

Every source in the database that drives one of them drives the other. On power, the choice between these two changes nothing about what amplifier you need.

5 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Titan S2 but cross it with the Falcon Ultra (FiiO M33 R2R, SPL Phonitor se, SPL Phonitor xe, 2 more).

280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.

What each one needs from 80 to 105 dB

The Titan S2 is more demanding than 14% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Falcon Ultra than 11%.

dB SPLFalcon Ultra powerFalcon Ultra voltageTitan S2 powerTitan S2 voltage
801.6 µW5 mV2.0 µW6 mV
855.0 µW9 mV6.3 µW10 mV
900.02 mW16 mV0.02 mW18 mV
950.05 mW28 mV0.06 mW32 mV
1000.16 mW50 mV0.20 mW57 mV
1050.50 mW90 mV0.63 mW0.10 V

The cheapest source that satisfies both

SourcePriceHeadroom, Falcon UltraHeadroom, Titan S2Output impedanceNoise
JadeAudio JA11$2019.8 dB18.8 dB0.5 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO KA11$2931.9 dB30.9 dB0.7 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO BTR13$5928.8 dB27.8 dB0.6 Ω1.0 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 57 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 57 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 19.8 dB of headroom on the Falcon Ultra and 18.8 dB on the Titan S2, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 2.00 Ω for both, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 9 dB and 10 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.

Try any other source.

What each sheet prints, and what it is worth

ModelAs printedToleranceStandard
Falcon Ultra5Hz-40kHznot printednot printed
Titan S25 Hz - 40 kHznot printednot printed

Dunu prints 5Hz-40kHz for the Falcon Ultra and 5 Hz - 40 kHz for the Titan S2.

Neither range has a tolerance printed beside it, so a wider range on one sheet is not deeper bass or more treble.

Not a measurement; maker by maker.

Both pages in full

Both have a page of their own. In full: Dunu Falcon Ultra and Dunu Titan S2. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones Dunu never published — what that maker publishes, counted.

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