Letshuoer S12 Pro vs Moondrop Aria: which needs more amplifier?

The Letshuoer S12 Pro is 16Ω at 102.0 dB/mW; the Moondrop Aria is 32Ω at 107.1 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 Letshuoer S12 Pro needs 5.1 dB more than the Moondrop Aria to reach the same loudness — 0.63 mW against 0.19 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationLetshuoer S12 ProMoondrop Aria
Impedance16 Ω32 Ω
Sensitivity102.0 dB/mW107.1 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)120.0 dB/V122.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.63 mW0.19 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.10 V79 mV
Current for 100 dB6.3 mA2.5 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
2.00 Ω4.00 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280280

Where the two part company

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.

2 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Letshuoer S12 Pro but cross it with the Moondrop Aria (FiiO BTR11, Rupert Neve RNHP).

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.

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: Letshuoer S12 Pro and Moondrop Aria. Every figure on this page comes from what Letshuoer and Moondrop published, or is derived from it — what Letshuoer publishes and what Moondrop publishes, both counted.