Fudu Verse 1 vs Zetian Wu: which needs more amplifier?

The Tangzu Fudu Verse 1 is 16Ω at 106.0 dB (no reference unit printed); the Tangzu Zetian Wu is 16Ω at 100.0 dB (no reference unit printed). This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.

The Zetian Wu needs 6.0 dB more than the Fudu Verse 1 to reach the same loudness — 1.0 mW against 0.25 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationFudu Verse 1Zetian Wu
Impedance16 Ω16 Ω
Sensitivity106.0 dB100.0 dB
Sensitivity (voltage)124.0 dB/V118.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.25 mW1.0 mW
Voltage for 100 dB63 mV0.13 V
Current for 100 dB4.0 mA7.9 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
2.00 Ω2.00 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280280

One caution before reading the rows. Tangzu Fudu Verse 1 and Tangzu Zetian Wu printed a decibel figure with no reference unit, so this page reads it as per milliwatt. If it is really per volt, each of them needs far more than the table says. Why the two readings differ by so much.

Where the two part company

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.

4 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Zetian Wu but cross it with the Fudu Verse 1 (FiiO BTR11, FiiO K11 R2R, Lake People G111 Mk II, 1 more).

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

What each one needs from 80 to 105 dB

The Zetian Wu is more demanding than 40% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Fudu Verse 1 than 18%.

dB SPLFudu Verse 1 powerFudu Verse 1 voltageZetian Wu powerZetian Wu voltage
802.5 µW6 mV0.01 mW13 mV
857.9 µW11 mV0.03 mW22 mV
900.03 mW20 mV0.10 mW40 mV
950.08 mW36 mV0.32 mW71 mV
1000.25 mW63 mV1.0 mW0.13 V
1050.79 mW0.11 V3.2 mW0.22 V

The cheapest source that satisfies both

SourcePriceHeadroom, Fudu Verse 1Headroom, Zetian WuOutput impedanceNoise
JadeAudio JA11$2017.8 dB11.8 dB0.5 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO KA11$2929.9 dB23.9 dB0.7 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO BTR13$5926.8 dB20.8 dB0.6 Ω1.0 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 65 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 65 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 17.8 dB of headroom on the Fudu Verse 1 and 11.8 dB on the Zetian Wu, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 2.00 Ω for both, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 11 dB and 17 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
Fudu Verse 120 Hz - 20 kHznot printednot printed
Zetian Wu20- 20khznot printednot printed

Tangzu prints 20 Hz - 20 kHz for the Fudu Verse 1. Concept Kart, a retailer lists 20- 20khz for the Zetian Wu. That figure stands on Concept Kart, a retailer, not on a document published by the maker.

Neither range has a tolerance printed beside it, so a wider range on one sheet is not deeper bass or more treble.

Not a measurement; maker by maker.

Both pages in full

Both have a page of their own. In full: Tangzu Fudu Verse 1 and Tangzu Zetian Wu. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones Tangzu never published — what that maker publishes, counted.

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