JOKER vs VENUS: which needs more amplifier?

The Moondrop JOKER is 68Ω at 94.3 dB/mW; the Moondrop VENUS is 18Ω at 82.6 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 VENUS needs 11.7 dB more than the JOKER to reach the same loudness — 55 mW against 3.7 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationJOKERVENUS
Impedance68 Ω18 Ω
Sensitivity94.3 dB/mW82.6 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)106.0 dB/V100.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB3.7 mW55 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.50 V0.99 V
Current for 100 dB7.4 mA55.3 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
8.50 Ω2.25 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280225

Where the two part company

55 of the 280 sources have the power for the JOKER but not for the VENUS — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Generic CX31993 dongles, 52 more.

1 source is low enough in output impedance for the JOKER under the one-eighth rule but not for the VENUS (Shanling H5).

225 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 VENUS. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.