The Tin HiFi C5 is 9Ω at 98.5 dB/mW; the Tin HiFi T3 Plus is 32Ω at 105.0 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.
The C5 needs 6.5 dB more than the T3 Plus to reach the same loudness — 1.4 mW against 0.32 mW.
| Specification | C5 | T3 Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 9 Ω | 32 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 98.5 dB/mW | 105.0 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 119.0 dB/V | 119.9 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 1.4 mW | 0.32 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.11 V | 0.10 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 12.5 mA | 3.1 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 1.12 Ω | 4.00 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 280 | 280 |
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.
11 sources are low enough in output impedance for the T3 Plus under the one-eighth rule but not for the C5 (FiiO KA13, FiiO K11, Schiit Vali 2+, 8 more).
280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.
The C5 is more demanding than 38% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the T3 Plus than 34%.
| dB SPL | C5 power | C5 voltage | T3 Plus power | T3 Plus voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0.01 mW | 11 mV | 3.2 µW | 10 mV |
| 85 | 0.04 mW | 20 mV | 0.01 mW | 18 mV |
| 90 | 0.14 mW | 36 mV | 0.03 mW | 32 mV |
| 95 | 0.45 mW | 63 mV | 0.10 mW | 57 mV |
| 100 | 1.4 mW | 0.11 V | 0.32 mW | 0.10 V |
| 105 | 4.5 mW | 0.20 V | 1.0 mW | 0.18 V |
| Source | Price | Headroom, C5 | Headroom, T3 Plus | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JadeAudio JA11 | $20 | 7.8 dB | 19.8 dB | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 19.9 dB | 28.0 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR11 | $36 | 12.5 dB | 19.8 dB | 0.5 Ω | 8.0 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 62 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 62 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 7.8 dB of headroom on the C5 and 19.8 dB on the T3 Plus, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 1.12 Ω and 4.00 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 16 dB and 15 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.
| Model | As printed | Tolerance | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| C5 | nothing printed | — | — |
| T3 Plus | 10-20kHz | not printed | not printed |
Tin HiFi prints nothing at all for the C5 and 10-20kHz for the T3 Plus.
T3 Plus: The figure stands in a list headed "Earphone parameters" inside the product description.
So one side of this comparison has a frequency-response number and the other does not — which changes less than it looks. The range printed for the T3 Plus comes with no tolerance beside it, and a range without a ±dB figure says nothing about how loud the headphone is at either end of it: thirty decibels down at the bottom and the sentence would still be true. On the only reading that would have made it a specification, the two sheets say the same amount: nothing.
Not a measurement; maker by maker.
Both have a page of their own. In full: Tin HiFi C5 and Tin HiFi T3 Plus. Every figure on this page comes from what Tin HiFi published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.