Hype 10 vs Oracle MKII: which needs more amplifier?

The Thieaudio Hype 10 is 18Ω at 87.6 dB/mW; the Thieaudio Oracle MKII is 15Ω at 104.0 dB (no figure from the maker at all). This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.

The Hype 10 needs 16.4 dB more than the Oracle MKII to reach the same loudness — 17 mW against 0.40 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationHype 10Oracle MKII
Impedance18 Ω15 Ω
Sensitivity87.6 dB/mW104.0 dB
Sensitivity (voltage)105.0 dB/V122.2 dB/V
Power for 100 dB17 mW0.40 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.56 V77 mV
Current for 100 dB31.1 mA5.2 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
2.25 Ω1.88 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
264280

One caution before reading the rows. For Thieaudio Oracle MKII the maker publishes no sensitivity figure at all. The number in the table was collected when this database was first built and has never been traced to a manufacturer document, so treat every row below it as an estimate rather than a specification.

Where the two part company

16 of the 280 sources have the power for the Oracle MKII but not for the Hype 10 — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Apple USB-C dongle (EU), JadeAudio JA11, 13 more.

3 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Hype 10 under the one-eighth rule but not for the Oracle MKII (Astell&Kern HC3, RME Fireface UFX II, RME Fireface UFX III).

3 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Hype 10 but cross it with the Oracle MKII (FiiO BTR11, Rupert Neve RNHP, Schiit Mjolnir 3).

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

What each one needs from 80 to 105 dB

The Hype 10 is more demanding than 88% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Oracle MKII than 24%.

dB SPLHype 10 powerHype 10 voltageOracle MKII powerOracle MKII voltage
800.17 mW56 mV4.0 µW8 mV
850.55 mW99 mV0.01 mW14 mV
901.7 mW0.18 V0.04 mW24 mV
955.5 mW0.31 V0.13 mW43 mV
10017 mW0.56 V0.40 mW77 mV
10555 mW0.99 V1.3 mW0.14 V

The cheapest source that satisfies both

SourcePriceHeadroom, Hype 10Headroom, Oracle MKIIOutput impedanceNoise
FiiO KA11$2911.3 dB27.6 dB0.7 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO BTR13$598.2 dB24.5 dB0.6 Ω1.0 µV
iBasso DC03 Pro$695.0 dB20.6 dB0.12 Ω0.9 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 264 reach 100 dB on both. 66 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 66 is the FiiO KA11, at $29. It leaves 11.3 dB of headroom on the Hype 10 and 27.6 dB on the Oracle MKII, its output impedance is 0.7 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 2.25 Ω and 1.88 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 30 dB and 13 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.

Try any other source.

Both pages in full

Both have a page of their own. In full: Thieaudio Hype 10 and Thieaudio Oracle MKII. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones Thieaudio never published — what that maker publishes, counted.

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