Titan vs Triton: which needs more amplifier?

The Symphonium Titan is 3.0Ω at 79.8 dB/mW; the Symphonium Triton is 8.3Ω at 86.2 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.

The Titan needs 6.4 dB more than the Triton to reach the same loudness — 105 mW against 24 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationTitanTriton
Impedance3.0 Ω8.3 Ω
Sensitivity79.8 dB/mW86.2 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)105.0 dB/V107.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB105 mW24 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.56 V0.45 V
Current for 100 dB186.8 mA53.8 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
0.38 Ω1.04 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
85229

Where the two part company

144 of the 280 sources have the power for the Triton but not for the Titan — FiiO SnowSky Tiny B, FiiO KA11, Tanchjim Stargate II, 141 more.

67 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Triton under the one-eighth rule but not for the Titan (JadeAudio JA11, FiiO SnowSky Tiny A, FiiO SnowSky Tiny B, 64 more).

85 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.

What each one needs from 80 to 105 dB

The Titan is more demanding than 100% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Triton than 86%.

dB SPLTitan powerTitan voltageTriton powerTriton voltage
801.0 mW56 mV0.24 mW45 mV
853.3 mW100 mV0.76 mW79 mV
9010 mW0.18 V2.4 mW0.14 V
9533 mW0.32 V7.6 mW0.25 V
100105 mW0.56 V24 mW0.45 V
105331 mW1.00 V76 mW0.79 V

The cheapest source that satisfies both

SourcePriceHeadroom, TitanHeadroom, TritonOutput impedanceNoise
Schiit Magni Unity$1197.3 dB18.1 dB0.1 Ω1.59 µV
Topping L30 II$1498.0 dB18.8 dB0.1 Ω0.3 µV
SMSL HO100$1607.3 dB18.1 dB<0.1 Ω1.3 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 85 reach 100 dB on both. 22 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 22 is the Schiit Magni Unity, at $119. It leaves 7.3 dB of headroom on the Titan and 18.1 dB on the Triton, its output impedance is 0.1 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 0.38 Ω and 1.04 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 31 dB and 29 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.

Try any other source.

What each sheet prints, and what it is worth

ModelAs printedToleranceStandard
Titan8Hz - 24kHz, ± 2 dB±2 dBnot printed
Triton11Hz - 21kHz, ± 3 dB±3 dBnot printed

Symphonium prints 8Hz - 24kHz, ± 2 dB for the Titan and 11Hz - 21kHz, ± 3 dB for the Triton.

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 pages in full

Both have a page of their own. In full: Symphonium Titan and Symphonium Triton. Every figure on this page comes from what Symphonium published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.

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