The Moondrop Aria Snow Edition is 32Ω at 104.1 dB/mW; the Moondrop Kadenz is 35Ω at 107.4 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.
The Aria Snow Edition needs 3.3 dB more than the Kadenz to reach the same loudness — 0.39 mW against 0.18 mW.
| Specification | Aria Snow Edition | Kadenz |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 32 Ω | 35 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 104.1 dB/mW | 107.4 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 119.0 dB/V | 122.0 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 0.39 mW | 0.18 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.11 V | 80 mV |
| Current for 100 dB | 3.5 mA | 2.3 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 4.00 Ω | 4.38 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 280 | 280 |
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 Aria Snow Edition but cross it with the Kadenz (FiiO BTR11, Rupert Neve RNHP).
280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.
The Aria Snow Edition is more demanding than 36% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Kadenz than 26%.
| dB SPL | Aria Snow Edition power | Aria Snow Edition voltage | Kadenz power | Kadenz voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 3.9 µW | 11 mV | 1.8 µW | 8 mV |
| 85 | 0.01 mW | 20 mV | 5.8 µW | 14 mV |
| 90 | 0.04 mW | 35 mV | 0.02 mW | 25 mV |
| 95 | 0.12 mW | 63 mV | 0.06 mW | 45 mV |
| 100 | 0.39 mW | 0.11 V | 0.18 mW | 80 mV |
| 105 | 1.2 mW | 0.20 V | 0.58 mW | 0.14 V |
| Source | Price | Headroom, Aria Snow Edition | Headroom, Kadenz | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JadeAudio JA11 | $20 | 18.9 dB | 21.8 dB | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 27.1 dB | 30.0 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR13 | $59 | 24.1 dB | 27.0 dB | 0.6 Ω | 1.0 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 67 of them also publish an output impedance low enough for both under the one-eighth rule and a noise figure that stays below the audible-hiss threshold with both.
The cheapest of the 67 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 18.9 dB of headroom on the Aria Snow Edition and 21.8 dB on the Kadenz, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 4.00 Ω and 4.38 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 16 dB and 13 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.
| Model | As printed | Tolerance | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aria Snow Edition | 15Hz - 50kHz | not printed | not printed |
| 20Hz - 20kHz | not printed | not printed | |
| Kadenz | 8Hz-21kHz (IEC61094, Free Field) | not printed | IEC61094 (free field) |
| 20Hz-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB) | -3 dB | IEC60318-4 |
Moondrop prints two ranges, “15Hz - 50kHz” and “20Hz - 20kHz”, for the Aria Snow Edition and two ranges, “8Hz-21kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)” and “20Hz-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB)”, for the Kadenz.
Only one of the two is a specification. The range printed for the Kadenz comes with a tolerance; the one printed for the Aria Snow Edition does not, and a range without a ±dB figure says nothing about how loud that model is at either end of it. The two cannot be compared number against number, however similar they look in the table. Of the 490 models whose maker prints a range, 58 print the tolerance.
Not a measurement; maker by maker.
Both have a page of their own. In full: Moondrop Aria Snow Edition and Moondrop Kadenz. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.