Moondrop Blessing 3 vs Sennheiser IE 600: which needs more amplifier?

The Moondrop Blessing 3 is 14.8Ω at 101.7 dB/mW; the Sennheiser IE 600 is 18Ω at 100.6 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 Sennheiser IE 600 needs 1.1 dB more than the Moondrop Blessing 3 to reach the same loudness — 0.87 mW against 0.68 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationMoondrop Blessing 3Sennheiser IE 600
Impedance14.8 Ω18 Ω
Sensitivity101.7 dB/mW100.6 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)120.0 dB/V118.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.68 mW0.87 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.10 V0.13 V
Current for 100 dB6.8 mA7.0 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
1.85 Ω2.25 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.

3 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Sennheiser IE 600 under the one-eighth rule but not for the Moondrop Blessing 3 (Astell&Kern HC3, RME Fireface UFX II, RME Fireface UFX III).

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: Moondrop Blessing 3 and Sennheiser IE 600. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop and Sennheiser published, or is derived from it — what Moondrop publishes and what Sennheiser publishes, both counted.