The Kiwi Ears Astral is 23Ω at 105.0 dB (no reference unit printed); the Kiwi Ears Cadenza II is 18Ω at 106.0 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 Astral needs 1.0 dB more than the Cadenza II to reach the same loudness — 0.32 mW against 0.25 mW.
| Specification | Astral | Cadenza II |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 23 Ω | 18 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 105.0 dB | 106.0 dB |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 121.4 dB/V | 123.4 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 0.32 mW | 0.25 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 85 mV | 67 mV |
| Current for 100 dB | 3.7 mA | 3.7 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 2.88 Ω | 2.25 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 280 | 280 |
One caution before reading the rows. Kiwi Ears Astral and Kiwi Ears Cadenza II 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.
Every source in the database that drives one of them drives the other. On power, the choice between these two changes nothing about what amplifier you need.
4 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Astral but cross it with the Cadenza II (FiiO BTR11, FiiO K11 R2R, Lake People G111 Mk II, 1 more).
280 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: Kiwi Ears Astral and Kiwi Ears Cadenza II. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones Kiwi Ears never published — what that maker publishes, counted.