Armature Art 12 vs Armature Art 24: which needs more amplifier?

The Moondrop Armature Art 12 is 5Ω at 98.0 dB/mW; the Moondrop Armature Art 24 is 5.8Ω at 96.6 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 Armature Art 24 needs 1.4 dB more than the Armature Art 12 to reach the same loudness — 2.2 mW against 1.6 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationArmature Art 12Armature Art 24
Impedance5 Ω5.8 Ω
Sensitivity98.0 dB/mW96.6 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)121.0 dB/V119.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB1.6 mW2.2 mW
Voltage for 100 dB89 mV0.11 V
Current for 100 dB17.8 mA19.4 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
0.62 Ω0.72 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280279

Where the two part company

1 of the 280 sources has the power for the Armature Art 12 but not for the Armature Art 24 — Steinberg UR22C.

5 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Armature Art 24 under the one-eighth rule but not for the Armature Art 12 (FiiO KA11, JDS Labs Atom+ (2nd gen), JDS Labs Atom Amp 2, 2 more).

279 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: Moondrop Armature Art 12 and Moondrop Armature Art 24. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.