The Truthear Nova is 15Ω at 104.8 dB/mW; the Truthear PURE is 13.8Ω at 105.4 dB/mW. This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.
The Nova needs 0.6 dB more than the PURE to reach the same loudness — 0.33 mW against 0.29 mW.
| Specification | Nova | PURE |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 15 Ω | 13.8 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 104.8 dB/mW | 105.4 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 123.0 dB/V | 124.0 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 0.33 mW | 0.29 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 70 mV | 63 mV |
| Current for 100 dB | 4.7 mA | 4.6 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 1.88 Ω | 1.73 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.
1 source is low enough in output impedance for the Nova under the one-eighth rule but not for the PURE (Schiit Vali 2+).
2 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Nova but cross it with the PURE (Schiit Valhalla 3, Lake People G111 Mk II).
280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.
The Nova is more demanding than 21% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the PURE than 18%.
| dB SPL | Nova power | Nova voltage | PURE power | PURE voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 3.3 µW | 7 mV | 2.9 µW | 6 mV |
| 85 | 0.01 mW | 13 mV | 9.1 µW | 11 mV |
| 90 | 0.03 mW | 22 mV | 0.03 mW | 20 mV |
| 95 | 0.10 mW | 40 mV | 0.09 mW | 35 mV |
| 100 | 0.33 mW | 70 mV | 0.29 mW | 63 mV |
| 105 | 1.0 mW | 0.13 V | 0.91 mW | 0.11 V |
| Source | Price | Headroom, Nova | Headroom, PURE | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JadeAudio JA11 | $20 | 16.3 dB | 16.5 dB | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 28.4 dB | 28.6 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR13 | $59 | 25.3 dB | 25.5 dB | 0.6 Ω | 1.0 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 16.3 dB of headroom on the Nova and 16.5 dB on the PURE, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 1.88 Ω and 1.73 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 12 dB and 11 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.
| Model | As printed | Tolerance | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nova | 8-40kHz (IEC61094, Free Field) | not printed | IEC61094 (free field) |
| 20-20kHz (IEC60318-4,-3dB) | -3 dB | IEC60318-4 | |
| PURE | 7-40kHz (IEC61094, Free Field) | not printed | IEC61094 (free field) |
| 20-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB) | -3 dB | IEC60318-4 |
Truthear prints two ranges, “8-40kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)” and “20-20kHz (IEC60318-4,-3dB)”, for the Nova and two ranges, “7-40kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)” and “20-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB)”, for the PURE.
Both sheets print a tolerance, which is rare enough to be worth pointing at: only 58 of the 490 models with a printed range do. These two ranges can be set against each other, because each of them says how far down the response is allowed to be at the ends.
Not a measurement; maker by maker.
Both have a page of their own. In full: Truthear Nova and Truthear PURE. Every figure on this page comes from what Truthear published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.