HD 6XX (Drop) vs HD 800: which needs more amplifier?

The Sennheiser HD 6XX (Drop) is 300Ω at 97.8 dB/mW; the Sennheiser HD 800 is 300Ω at 96.8 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 HD 800 needs 1.0 dB more than the HD 6XX (Drop) to reach the same loudness — 2.1 mW against 1.7 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationHD 6XX (Drop)HD 800
Impedance300 Ω300 Ω
Sensitivity97.8 dB/mW96.8 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)103.0 dB/V102.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB1.7 mW2.1 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.71 V0.79 V
Current for 100 dB2.4 mA2.6 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
37.50 Ω37.50 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280277

Where the two part company

3 of the 280 sources have the power for the HD 6XX (Drop) but not for the HD 800 — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Steinberg UR22C, Sony NW-A306.

277 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: Sennheiser HD 6XX (Drop) and Sennheiser HD 800. Every figure on this page comes from what Sennheiser published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.