Armature Art 24 vs ILLUSTRIOUS: which needs more amplifier?

The Moondrop Armature Art 24 is 5.8Ω at 96.6 dB/mW; the Moondrop ILLUSTRIOUS is 25Ω at 108.0 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 11.4 dB more than the ILLUSTRIOUS to reach the same loudness — 2.2 mW against 0.16 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationArmature Art 24ILLUSTRIOUS
Impedance5.8 Ω25 Ω
Sensitivity96.6 dB/mW108.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)119.0 dB/V124.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB2.2 mW0.16 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.11 V63 mV
Current for 100 dB19.4 mA2.5 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
0.72 Ω3.12 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
279280

Where the two part company

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

49 sources are low enough in output impedance for the ILLUSTRIOUS under the one-eighth rule but not for the Armature Art 24 (FiiO SnowSky Tiny B, FiiO KA13, FiiO KA15, 46 more).

5 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Armature Art 24 but cross it with the ILLUSTRIOUS (FiiO BTR11, FiiO K11 R2R, Lake People G111 Mk II, 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 24 and Moondrop ILLUSTRIOUS. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.