Grado SR80x vs Sennheiser HD 600: which needs more amplifier?

The Grado SR80x is 38Ω at 98.0 dB/mW; the Sennheiser HD 600 is 300Ω at 91.8 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 Sennheiser HD 600 needs 6.2 dB more than the Grado SR80x to reach the same loudness — 6.6 mW against 1.6 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationGrado SR80xSennheiser HD 600
Impedance38 Ω300 Ω
Sensitivity98.0 dB/mW91.8 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)112.2 dB/V97.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB1.6 mW6.6 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.25 V1.41 V
Current for 100 dB6.5 mA4.7 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
4.75 Ω37.50 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280261

Where the two part company

19 of the 280 sources have the power for the Grado SR80x but not for the Sennheiser HD 600 — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Apple USB-C dongle (EU), JadeAudio JA11, 16 more.

19 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Sennheiser HD 600 under the one-eighth rule but not for the Grado SR80x (Zoom AMS-22, Arturia MiniFuse 2, Arturia MiniFuse 1, 16 more).

261 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: Grado SR80x and Sennheiser HD 600. Every figure on this page comes from what Grado and Sennheiser published, or is derived from it — what Grado publishes and what Sennheiser publishes, both counted.