The Thieaudio Hype 2 is 16Ω at 104.0 dB (no figure from the maker at all); the Thieaudio Monarch MKIV is 10Ω at 100.0 dB (no reference unit printed). This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.
The Monarch MKIV needs 4.0 dB more than the Hype 2 to reach the same loudness — 1.0 mW against 0.40 mW.
| Specification | Hype 2 | Monarch MKIV |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 16 Ω | 10 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 104.0 dB | 100.0 dB |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 122.0 dB/V | 120.0 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 0.40 mW | 1.0 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 80 mV | 0.10 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 5.0 mA | 10.0 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 2.00 Ω | 1.25 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 280 | 280 |
One caution before reading the rows. Thieaudio Monarch MKIV 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. For Thieaudio Hype 2 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.
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.
8 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Hype 2 under the one-eighth rule but not for the Monarch MKIV (FiiO KA13, Schiit Vali 2+, Astell&Kern HC3, 5 more).
2 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Monarch MKIV but cross it with the Hype 2 (FiiO BTR11, Rupert Neve RNHP).
280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.
The Monarch MKIV is more demanding than 32% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Hype 2 than 26%.
| dB SPL | Hype 2 power | Hype 2 voltage | Monarch MKIV power | Monarch MKIV voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 4.0 µW | 8 mV | 0.01 mW | 10 mV |
| 85 | 0.01 mW | 14 mV | 0.03 mW | 18 mV |
| 90 | 0.04 mW | 25 mV | 0.10 mW | 32 mV |
| 95 | 0.13 mW | 45 mV | 0.32 mW | 56 mV |
| 100 | 0.40 mW | 80 mV | 1.0 mW | 0.10 V |
| 105 | 1.3 mW | 0.14 V | 3.2 mW | 0.18 V |
| Source | Price | Headroom, Hype 2 | Headroom, Monarch MKIV | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JadeAudio JA11 | $20 | 15.8 dB | 9.7 dB | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 27.9 dB | 21.9 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR13 | $59 | 24.8 dB | 18.8 dB | 0.6 Ω | 1.0 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 63 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 63 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 15.8 dB of headroom on the Hype 2 and 9.7 dB on the Monarch MKIV, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 2.00 Ω and 1.25 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 13 dB and 15 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: Thieaudio Hype 2 and Thieaudio Monarch MKIV. 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.