JOKER vs SKYLAND: which needs more amplifier?

The Moondrop JOKER is 68Ω at 94.3 dB/mW; the Moondrop SKYLAND is 60Ω at 83.8 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 SKYLAND needs 10.5 dB more than the JOKER to reach the same loudness — 42 mW against 3.7 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationJOKERSKYLAND
Impedance68 Ω60 Ω
Sensitivity94.3 dB/mW83.8 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)106.0 dB/V96.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB3.7 mW42 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.50 V1.58 V
Current for 100 dB7.4 mA26.4 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
8.50 Ω7.50 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280235

Where the two part company

45 of the 280 sources have the power for the JOKER but not for the SKYLAND — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Generic CX31993 dongles, 42 more.

235 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 JOKER and Moondrop SKYLAND. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.