Dusk (2024) vs Starfield II: which needs more amplifier?

The Moondrop Dusk (2024) is 14.5Ω at 100.6 dB/mW; the Moondrop Starfield II is 15Ω at 103.8 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.

The Dusk (2024) needs 3.2 dB more than the Starfield II to reach the same loudness — 0.87 mW against 0.42 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationDusk (2024)Starfield II
Impedance14.5 Ω15 Ω
Sensitivity100.6 dB/mW103.8 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)119.0 dB/V122.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.87 mW0.42 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.11 V79 mV
Current for 100 dB7.8 mA5.3 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
1.81 Ω1.88 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.

2 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Dusk (2024) but cross it with the Starfield II (FiiO BTR11, Rupert Neve RNHP).

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

What each one needs from 80 to 105 dB

The Dusk (2024) is more demanding than 37% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Starfield II than 25%.

dB SPLDusk (2024) powerDusk (2024) voltageStarfield II powerStarfield II voltage
808.7 µW11 mV4.2 µW8 mV
850.03 mW20 mV0.01 mW14 mV
900.09 mW36 mV0.04 mW25 mV
950.28 mW63 mV0.13 mW44 mV
1000.87 mW0.11 V0.42 mW79 mV
1052.8 mW0.20 V1.3 mW0.14 V

The cheapest source that satisfies both

SourcePriceHeadroom, Dusk (2024)Headroom, Starfield IIOutput impedanceNoise
JadeAudio JA11$2011.9 dB15.3 dB0.5 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO KA11$2924.1 dB27.4 dB0.7 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO BTR13$5921.0 dB24.3 dB0.6 Ω1.0 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 67 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 67 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 11.9 dB of headroom on the Dusk (2024) and 15.3 dB on the Starfield II, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 1.81 Ω and 1.88 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 16 dB and 13 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
Dusk (2024)10Hz- 24kHznot printednot printed
 20Hz - 20kHz (IEC60318-4, 3dB)3 dBIEC60318-4
Starfield II12Hz-24kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)not printedIEC61094 (free field)
 20Hz-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB)-3 dBIEC60318-4

Moondrop prints two ranges, “10Hz- 24kHz” and “20Hz - 20kHz (IEC60318-4, 3dB)”, for the Dusk (2024) and two ranges, “12Hz-24kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)” and “20Hz-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB)”, for the Starfield II.

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 Dusk (2024) and Moondrop Starfield II. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.

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