Blessing 2 vs DARKSABER: which needs more amplifier?

The Moondrop Blessing 2 is 22Ω at 100.4 dB/mW; the Moondrop DARKSABER is 22Ω at 111.4 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.

The Blessing 2 needs 11.0 dB more than the DARKSABER to reach the same loudness — 0.91 mW against 0.07 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationBlessing 2DARKSABER
Impedance22 Ω22 Ω
Sensitivity100.4 dB/mW111.4 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)117.0 dB/V128.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.91 mW0.07 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.14 V40 mV
Current for 100 dB6.4 mA1.8 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
2.75 Ω2.75 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.

16 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Blessing 2 but cross it with the DARKSABER (FiiO BTR11, FiiO K11 R2R, Lake People G103-S Mk II, 13 more).

280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.

What each one needs from 80 to 105 dB

The Blessing 2 is more demanding than 44% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the DARKSABER than 6%.

dB SPLBlessing 2 powerBlessing 2 voltageDARKSABER powerDARKSABER voltage
809.1 µW14 mV0.7 µW4 mV
850.03 mW25 mV2.3 µW7 mV
900.09 mW45 mV7.2 µW13 mV
950.29 mW80 mV0.02 mW22 mV
1000.91 mW0.14 V0.07 mW40 mV
1052.9 mW0.25 V0.23 mW71 mV

The cheapest source that satisfies both

SourcePriceHeadroom, Blessing 2Headroom, DARKSABEROutput impedanceNoise
JadeAudio JA11$2013.5 dB24.5 dB0.5 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO KA11$2923.8 dB34.8 dB0.7 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO BTR13$5920.7 dB31.7 dB0.6 Ω1.0 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 55 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 55 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 13.5 dB of headroom on the Blessing 2 and 24.5 dB on the DARKSABER, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 2.75 Ω for both, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 18 dB and 7 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.

Try any other source.

What each sheet prints, and what it is worth

ModelAs printedToleranceStandard
Blessing 29-37kHz(1/4 Inch Free-field mic, -3dB)-3 dB1/4″ free field
 20-20kHz (IEC60318-4)not printedIEC60318-4
DARKSABER7Hz-41kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)not printedIEC61094 (free field)
 20-20kHz (IEC60318-4, 3dB)3 dBIEC60318-4

Moondrop prints two ranges, “9-37kHz(1/4 Inch Free-field mic, -3dB)” and “20-20kHz (IEC60318-4)”, for the Blessing 2 and two ranges, “7Hz-41kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)” and “20-20kHz (IEC60318-4, 3dB)”, for the DARKSABER.

Both sheets print a tolerance, which is rare enough to be worth pointing at: only 58 of the 490 models with a printed range do. These two ranges can be set against each other, because each of them says how far down the response is allowed to be at the ends.

Not a measurement; maker by maker.

Both pages in full

Both have a page of their own. In full: Moondrop Blessing 2 and Moondrop DARKSABER. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.

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