HE400i 2020 vs Susvara: which needs more amplifier?

The HiFiMAN HE400i 2020 is 35Ω at 93.0 dB (no reference unit printed); the HiFiMAN Susvara is 60Ω at 83.0 dB (no reference unit printed). 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 Susvara needs 10.0 dB more than the HE400i 2020 to reach the same loudness — 50 mW against 5.0 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationHE400i 2020Susvara
Impedance35 Ω60 Ω
Sensitivity93.0 dB83.0 dB
Sensitivity (voltage)107.6 dB/V95.2 dB/V
Power for 100 dB5.0 mW50 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.42 V1.73 V
Current for 100 dB12.0 mA28.9 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
4.38 Ω7.50 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280231

One caution before reading the rows. HiFiMAN HE400i 2020 and HiFiMAN Susvara 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

49 of the 280 sources have the power for the HE400i 2020 but not for the Susvara — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Generic CX31993 dongles, 46 more.

1 source is low enough in output impedance for the Susvara under the one-eighth rule but not for the HE400i 2020 (Shanling H5).

231 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: HiFiMAN HE400i 2020 and HiFiMAN Susvara. 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.