Ananda Nano vs HE6 Remastered: which needs more amplifier?

The HiFiMAN Ananda Nano is 14Ω at 94.0 dB (no reference unit printed); the HiFiMAN HE6 Remastered is 50Ω at 83.5 dB (no reference unit printed). This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.

The HE6 Remastered needs 10.5 dB more than the Ananda Nano to reach the same loudness — 45 mW against 4.0 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationAnanda NanoHE6 Remastered
Impedance14 Ω50 Ω
Sensitivity94.0 dB83.5 dB
Sensitivity (voltage)112.5 dB/V96.5 dB/V
Power for 100 dB4.0 mW45 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.24 V1.49 V
Current for 100 dB16.9 mA29.9 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
1.75 Ω6.25 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280240

One caution before reading the rows. HiFiMAN Ananda Nano and HiFiMAN HE6 Remastered printed a decibel figure with no reference unit, so this page reads it as per milliwatt. If it is really per volt, each of them needs far more than the table says. Why the two readings differ by so much.

Where the two part company

40 of the 280 sources have the power for the Ananda Nano but not for the HE6 Remastered — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Generic CX31993 dongles, 37 more.

5 sources are low enough in output impedance for the HE6 Remastered under the one-eighth rule but not for the Ananda Nano (Schiit Vali 2+, Astell&Kern HC3, Shanling H5, 2 more).

1 source stays below the audible-hiss threshold with the HE6 Remastered but crosses it with the Ananda Nano (Schiit Mjolnir 3).

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

What each one needs from 80 to 105 dB

The HE6 Remastered is more demanding than 99% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Ananda Nano than 65%.

dB SPLAnanda Nano powerAnanda Nano voltageHE6 Remastered powerHE6 Remastered voltage
800.04 mW24 mV0.45 mW0.15 V
850.13 mW42 mV1.4 mW0.27 V
900.40 mW75 mV4.5 mW0.47 V
951.3 mW0.13 V14 mW0.84 V
1004.0 mW0.24 V45 mW1.49 V
10513 mW0.42 V141 mW2.66 V

The cheapest source that satisfies both

SourcePriceHeadroom, Ananda NanoHeadroom, HE6 RemasteredOutput impedanceNoise
FiiO KA11$2917.3 dB4.6 dB0.7 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO BTR13$5914.2 dB1.5 dB0.6 Ω1.0 µV
iBasso DC03 Pro$6910.3 dB1.5 dB0.12 Ω0.9 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 240 reach 100 dB on both. 66 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 66 is the FiiO KA11, at $29. It leaves 17.3 dB of headroom on the Ananda Nano and 4.6 dB on the HE6 Remastered, its output impedance is 0.7 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 1.75 Ω and 6.25 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 23 dB and 39 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
Ananda Nano5Hz-55kHznot printednot printed
HE6 Remastered8 Hz - 65 kHznot printednot printed

HiFiMAN prints 5Hz-55kHz for the Ananda Nano and 8 Hz - 65 kHz for the HE6 Remastered.

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: HiFiMAN Ananda Nano and HiFiMAN HE6 Remastered. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones HiFiMAN never published — what that maker publishes, counted.

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