Hype 10 vs Origin: which needs more amplifier?

The Thieaudio Hype 10 is 18Ω at 87.6 dB/mW; the Thieaudio Origin is 9Ω at 102.0 dB (no reference unit printed). This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.

The Hype 10 needs 14.4 dB more than the Origin to reach the same loudness — 17 mW against 0.63 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationHype 10Origin
Impedance18 Ω9 Ω
Sensitivity87.6 dB/mW102.0 dB
Sensitivity (voltage)105.0 dB/V122.5 dB/V
Power for 100 dB17 mW0.63 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.56 V75 mV
Current for 100 dB31.1 mA8.4 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
2.25 Ω1.12 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
264280

One caution before reading the rows. Thieaudio Origin 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.

Where the two part company

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

11 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Hype 10 under the one-eighth rule but not for the Origin (FiiO KA13, FiiO K11, Schiit Vali 2+, 8 more).

3 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Hype 10 but cross it with the Origin (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 Origin than 24%.

dB SPLHype 10 powerHype 10 voltageOrigin powerOrigin voltage
800.17 mW56 mV6.3 µW8 mV
850.55 mW99 mV0.02 mW13 mV
901.7 mW0.18 V0.06 mW24 mV
955.5 mW0.31 V0.20 mW42 mV
10017 mW0.56 V0.63 mW75 mV
10555 mW0.99 V2.0 mW0.13 V

The cheapest source that satisfies both

SourcePriceHeadroom, Hype 10Headroom, OriginOutput impedanceNoise
FiiO KA11$2911.3 dB23.4 dB0.7 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO BTR13$598.2 dB20.3 dB0.6 Ω1.0 µV
iBasso DC03 Pro$695.0 dB16.4 dB0.12 Ω0.9 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 264 reach 100 dB on both. 59 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 59 is the FiiO KA11, at $29. It leaves 11.3 dB of headroom on the Hype 10 and 23.4 dB on the Origin, its output impedance is 0.7 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 2.25 Ω and 1.12 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 Origin. 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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