The Simgot EA500 is 16Ω at 123.0 dB (no reference unit printed); the Simgot EM10 is 41.6Ω at 106.2 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.
The EM10 needs 16.8 dB more than the EA500 to reach the same loudness — 0.24 mW against 0.01 mW.
| Specification | EA500 | EM10 |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 16 Ω | 41.6 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 123.0 dB | 106.2 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 141.0 dB/V | 120.0 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 0.01 mW | 0.24 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 9 mV | 100 mV |
| Current for 100 dB | 0.6 mA | 2.4 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 2.00 Ω | 5.20 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 280 | 280 |
One caution before reading the rows. Simgot EA500 printed a decibel figure with no reference unit, so this page reads it as per milliwatt. If it is really per volt, that model needs far more than the table says. Why the two readings differ by so much.
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 EM10 under the one-eighth rule but not for the EA500 (Shanling H5).
77 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the EM10 but cross it with the EA500 (JadeAudio JA11, Kiwi Ears Allegro Mini, FiiO KA11, 74 more).
280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.
The EM10 is more demanding than 32% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the EA500 than 0%.
| dB SPL | EA500 power | EA500 voltage | EM10 power | EM10 voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0.1 µW | 1 mV | 2.4 µW | 10 mV |
| 85 | 0.2 µW | 2 mV | 7.6 µW | 18 mV |
| 90 | 0.5 µW | 3 mV | 0.02 mW | 32 mV |
| 95 | 1.6 µW | 5 mV | 0.08 mW | 56 mV |
| 100 | 5.0 µW | 9 mV | 0.24 mW | 100 mV |
| 105 | 0.02 mW | 16 mV | 0.76 mW | 0.18 V |
| Source | Price | Headroom, EA500 | Headroom, EM10 | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topping L30 II | $149 | 58.4 dB | 39.9 dB | 0.1 Ω | 0.3 µV |
| Topping A30 Pro | $249 | 60.8 dB | 42.5 dB | 0.1 Ω | 0.3 µV |
| Topping A90 | $499 | 53.0 dB | 38.1 dB | 0.1 Ω | 0.2 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 5 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 5 is the Topping L30 II, at $149. It leaves 58.4 dB of headroom on the EA500 and 39.9 dB on the EM10, its output impedance is 0.1 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 2.00 Ω and 5.20 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 9 dB and 30 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.
Both have a page of their own. In full: Simgot EA500 and Simgot EM10. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones Simgot never published — what that maker publishes, counted.