PARA vs VENUS: which needs more amplifier?

The Moondrop PARA is 8Ω at 80.0 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 PARA needs 2.6 dB more than the VENUS to reach the same loudness — 100 mW against 55 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationPARAVENUS
Impedance8 Ω18 Ω
Sensitivity80.0 dB/mW82.6 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)101.0 dB/V100.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB100 mW55 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.89 V0.99 V
Current for 100 dB111.8 mA55.3 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
1.00 Ω2.25 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
130225

Where the two part company

95 of the 280 sources have the power for the VENUS but not for the PARA — FiiO SnowSky Tiny B, Tanchjim Stargate II, ddHiFi TC35Air, 92 more.

12 sources are low enough in output impedance for the VENUS under the one-eighth rule but not for the PARA (FiiO KA13, FiiO K11, Schiit Vali 2+, 9 more).

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