The HiFiMAN Edition XV is 12Ω at 92.0 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 8.5 dB more than the Edition XV to reach the same loudness — 45 mW against 6.3 mW.
| Specification | Edition XV | HE6 Remastered |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 12 Ω | 50 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 92.0 dB | 83.5 dB |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 111.2 dB/V | 96.5 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 6.3 mW | 45 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.28 V | 1.49 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 22.9 mA | 29.9 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 1.50 Ω | 6.25 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 278 | 240 |
One caution before reading the rows. HiFiMAN Edition XV 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.
38 of the 280 sources have the power for the Edition XV but not for the HE6 Remastered — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Generic CX31993 dongles, JadeAudio JA11, 35 more.
6 sources are low enough in output impedance for the HE6 Remastered under the one-eighth rule but not for the Edition XV (FiiO KA13, Schiit Vali 2+, Astell&Kern HC3, 3 more).
240 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.
The HE6 Remastered is more demanding than 99% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Edition XV than 70%.
| dB SPL | Edition XV power | Edition XV voltage | HE6 Remastered power | HE6 Remastered voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0.06 mW | 28 mV | 0.45 mW | 0.15 V |
| 85 | 0.20 mW | 49 mV | 1.4 mW | 0.27 V |
| 90 | 0.63 mW | 87 mV | 4.5 mW | 0.47 V |
| 95 | 2.0 mW | 0.15 V | 14 mW | 0.84 V |
| 100 | 6.3 mW | 0.28 V | 45 mW | 1.49 V |
| 105 | 20 mW | 0.49 V | 141 mW | 2.66 V |
| Source | Price | Headroom, Edition XV | Headroom, HE6 Remastered | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 14.6 dB | 4.6 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR13 | $59 | 11.5 dB | 1.5 dB | 0.6 Ω | 1.0 µV |
| iBasso DC03 Pro | $69 | 7.7 dB | 1.5 dB | 0.12 Ω | 0.9 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 240 reach 100 dB on both. 67 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 67 is the FiiO KA11, at $29. It leaves 14.6 dB of headroom on the Edition XV and 4.6 dB on the HE6 Remastered, its output impedance is 0.7 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 1.50 Ω and 6.25 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 24 dB and 39 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.
| Model | As printed | Tolerance | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edition XV | 8Hz – 50k Hz | not printed | not printed |
| HE6 Remastered | 8 Hz - 65 kHz | not printed | not printed |
HiFiMAN prints 8Hz – 50k Hz for the Edition XV 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 have a page of their own. In full: HiFiMAN Edition XV 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.