HiFiMAN Susvara vs Meze 109 Pro: which needs more amplifier?

The HiFiMAN Susvara is 60Ω at 83.0 dB (no reference unit printed); the Meze 109 Pro is 40Ω at 112.0 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 Susvara needs 29.0 dB more than the Meze 109 Pro to reach the same loudness — 50 mW against 0.06 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationHiFiMAN SusvaraMeze 109 Pro
Impedance60 Ω40 Ω
Sensitivity83.0 dB112.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)95.2 dB/V126.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB50 mW0.06 mW
Voltage for 100 dB1.73 V50 mV
Current for 100 dB28.9 mA1.3 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
7.50 Ω5.00 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
231280

One caution before reading the rows. HiFiMAN Susvara 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.

Where the two part company

49 of the 280 sources have the power for the Meze 109 Pro but not for the HiFiMAN Susvara — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Generic CX31993 dongles, 46 more.

13 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the HiFiMAN Susvara but cross it with the Meze 109 Pro (FiiO BTR11, FiiO K11 R2R, Lake People G103-S Mk II, 10 more).

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 Susvara and Meze 109 Pro. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones HiFiMAN and Meze never published — what HiFiMAN publishes and what Meze publishes, both counted.