HiFiMAN Susvara vs Sennheiser HD 660S2: which needs more amplifier?

The HiFiMAN Susvara is 60Ω at 83.0 dB (no reference unit printed); the Sennheiser HD 660S2 is 300Ω at 98.8 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 Susvara needs 15.8 dB more than the Sennheiser HD 660S2 to reach the same loudness — 50 mW against 1.3 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationHiFiMAN SusvaraSennheiser HD 660S2
Impedance60 Ω300 Ω
Sensitivity83.0 dB98.8 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)95.2 dB/V104.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB50 mW1.3 mW
Voltage for 100 dB1.73 V0.63 V
Current for 100 dB28.9 mA2.1 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
7.50 Ω37.50 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 Sennheiser HD 660S2 but not for the HiFiMAN Susvara — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Generic CX31993 dongles, 46 more.

19 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Sennheiser HD 660S2 under the one-eighth rule but not for the HiFiMAN Susvara (Zoom AMS-22, Arturia MiniFuse 2, Arturia MiniFuse 1, 16 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 Sennheiser HD 660S2. 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.