The Moondrop Dusk (2024) is 14.5Ω at 100.6 dB/mW; the Moondrop Quarks is 16Ω at 98.0 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.
The Quarks needs 2.6 dB more than the Dusk (2024) to reach the same loudness — 1.6 mW against 0.87 mW.
| Specification | Dusk (2024) | Quarks |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 14.5 Ω | 16 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 100.6 dB/mW | 98.0 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 119.0 dB/V | 116.0 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 0.87 mW | 1.6 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.11 V | 0.16 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 7.8 mA | 10.0 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 1.81 Ω | 2.00 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.
3 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Quarks under the one-eighth rule but not for the Dusk (2024) (Astell&Kern HC3, RME Fireface UFX II, RME Fireface UFX III).
280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.
The Quarks is more demanding than 50% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Dusk (2024) than 37%.
| dB SPL | Dusk (2024) power | Dusk (2024) voltage | Quarks power | Quarks voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 8.7 µW | 11 mV | 0.02 mW | 16 mV |
| 85 | 0.03 mW | 20 mV | 0.05 mW | 28 mV |
| 90 | 0.09 mW | 36 mV | 0.16 mW | 50 mV |
| 95 | 0.28 mW | 63 mV | 0.50 mW | 90 mV |
| 100 | 0.87 mW | 0.11 V | 1.6 mW | 0.16 V |
| 105 | 2.8 mW | 0.20 V | 5.0 mW | 0.28 V |
| Source | Price | Headroom, Dusk (2024) | Headroom, Quarks | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JadeAudio JA11 | $20 | 11.9 dB | 9.8 dB | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 24.1 dB | 21.9 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR11 | $36 | 16.7 dB | 14.5 dB | 0.5 Ω | 8.0 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 69 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 69 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 11.9 dB of headroom on the Dusk (2024) and 9.8 dB on the Quarks, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 1.81 Ω and 2.00 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 16 dB and 19 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.
| Model | As printed | Tolerance | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dusk (2024) | 10Hz- 24kHz | not printed | not printed |
| 20Hz - 20kHz (IEC60318-4, 3dB) | 3 dB | IEC60318-4 | |
| Quarks | 20 - 20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB) | -3 dB | IEC60318-4 |
Moondrop prints two ranges, “10Hz- 24kHz” and “20Hz - 20kHz (IEC60318-4, 3dB)”, for the Dusk (2024) and 20 - 20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB) for the Quarks.
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 have a page of their own. In full: Moondrop Dusk (2024) and Moondrop Quarks. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.