The Moondrop JOKER is 68Ω at 94.3 dB/mW; the Moondrop Stellaris is 36Ω at 102.6 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.
The JOKER needs 8.3 dB more than the Stellaris to reach the same loudness — 3.7 mW against 0.55 mW.
| Specification | JOKER | Stellaris |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 68 Ω | 36 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 94.3 dB/mW | 102.6 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 106.0 dB/V | 117.0 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 3.7 mW | 0.55 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.50 V | 0.14 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 7.4 mA | 3.9 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 8.50 Ω | 4.50 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.
1 source is low enough in output impedance for the JOKER under the one-eighth rule but not for the Stellaris (Shanling H5).
1 source stays below the audible-hiss threshold with the JOKER but crosses it with the Stellaris (Schiit Mjolnir 3).
280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.
The JOKER is more demanding than 87% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Stellaris than 44%.
| dB SPL | JOKER power | JOKER voltage | Stellaris power | Stellaris voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0.04 mW | 50 mV | 5.5 µW | 14 mV |
| 85 | 0.12 mW | 89 mV | 0.02 mW | 25 mV |
| 90 | 0.37 mW | 0.16 V | 0.05 mW | 44 mV |
| 95 | 1.2 mW | 0.28 V | 0.17 mW | 79 mV |
| 100 | 3.7 mW | 0.50 V | 0.55 mW | 0.14 V |
| 105 | 12 mW | 0.89 V | 1.7 mW | 0.25 V |
| Source | Price | Headroom, JOKER | Headroom, Stellaris | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JadeAudio JA11 | $20 | 5.8 dB | 16.9 dB | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 14.1 dB | 25.1 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR11 | $36 | 5.8 dB | 16.9 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 5.8 dB of headroom on the JOKER and 16.9 dB on the Stellaris, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 8.50 Ω and 4.50 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 29 dB and 18 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.
| Model | As printed | Tolerance | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| JOKER | 15Hz- 22kHz | not printed | not printed |
| 20Hz-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB) | -3 dB | IEC60318-4 | |
| Stellaris | 10Hz-50kHz | not printed | not printed |
| 20Hz-20kHz (IEC60318-4, 3dB) | 3 dB | IEC60318-4 |
Moondrop prints two ranges, “15Hz- 22kHz” and “20Hz-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB)”, for the JOKER and two ranges, “10Hz-50kHz” and “20Hz-20kHz (IEC60318-4, 3dB)”, for the Stellaris.
JOKER: The wide range Moondrop prints for the Joker stops at 22 kHz — narrower than the headline range on most of its own models.
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 JOKER and Moondrop Stellaris. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.