The HiFiMAN Edition XS is 18Ω at 92.0 dB (no reference unit printed); the Sennheiser HD 800S is 300Ω at 96.8 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 HiFiMAN Edition XS needs 4.8 dB more than the Sennheiser HD 800S to reach the same loudness — 6.3 mW against 2.1 mW.
| Specification | HiFiMAN Edition XS | Sennheiser HD 800S |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 18 Ω | 300 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 92.0 dB | 96.8 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 109.4 dB/V | 102.0 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 6.3 mW | 2.1 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.34 V | 0.79 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 18.7 mA | 2.6 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 2.25 Ω | 37.50 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 280 | 277 |
One caution before reading the rows. HiFiMAN Edition XS 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.
3 of the 280 sources have the power for the HiFiMAN Edition XS but not for the Sennheiser HD 800S — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Steinberg UR22C, Sony NW-A306.
20 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Sennheiser HD 800S under the one-eighth rule but not for the HiFiMAN Edition XS (Zoom AMS-22, Arturia MiniFuse 2, Arturia MiniFuse 1, 17 more).
277 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.
Each model has a page of its own with the full source list, the hiss estimate and the provenance of every figure above: HiFiMAN Edition XS and Sennheiser HD 800S. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones HiFiMAN and Sennheiser never published — what HiFiMAN publishes and what Sennheiser publishes, both counted.