Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT: how much amplifier do you need?

The Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT is 25Ω. Its maker prints a sensitivity of 113.0 dB and never says whether that is per milliwatt or per volt, so this page reads it as per milliwatt — on that reading it needs 0.05 mW to reach 100 dB SPL, or 35 mV across the drivers. If the figure is really per volt, it needs far more.

That puts it in the easy category. A phone, a laptop headphone jack or the cheapest USB dongle will drive it to painful levels. Of the 280 sources in the database, 280 have at least 10 dB of headroom and another 0 have enough. The cheapest portable source that does the job is the Apple USB-C dongle (US) at $9.

The two numbers that decide everything

Impedance25 Ω
Sensitivity (printed with no reference unit)113.0 dB
Sensitivity (voltage) (if the figure is per milliwatt)129.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB SPL (if the figure is per milliwatt)0.05 mW
Voltage for 100 dB SPL (if the figure is per milliwatt)35 mV
TypeOver-ear
Easy to drive — anything will do it
All 280 sources at 100 dB SPL into 25Ω
Comfortable 280Enough 0Marginal 0Not enough 0
Cheapest portable source that does it
$9 · USB dongle · +27 dB headroom
Cheapest desktop amp with 10 dB to spare
$75 · desktop DAC/amp · +34 dB headroom

This maker printed a decibel figure and no reference unit, so the number above is shown exactly as printed. Everything below reads it as per milliwatt, which is the commoner convention on a sheet that omits the unit — if it is really per volt, this headphone is about 16 dB harder to drive than the rest of this page assumes. The converter explains the difference.

Where this sensitivity figure comes from

Austrian Audio publishes a sensitivity of 113 dB and does not state whether that is per milliwatt or per volt — the spec sheet simply stops at the number.

Both readings are given here so you can judge for yourself. If that 113 dB is per milliwatt, the figures on this page are right as they stand. If it is per volt, the real sensitivity is 97.0 dB/mW — 16 dB lower at 25Ω — and everything above understates what these need by that much. The per-milliwatt reading is the one shown, because it is the more common convention on a spec sheet that omits the unit; treat it as an indication rather than a specification.

The maker adds a power recommendation of its own: Max Input Power: 150mW

Source: austrian.audio. How this data was built.

The unit as printed is not a unitAustrian Audio prints the sensitivity unit on this page as “113dBsl/V” — there is no such unit. The maker’s own Hi-X20 and The Arranger pages write “dBspl/V”, so this is almost certainly a dropped letter in “spl” rather than a different reference, and the database does not silently correct typos. Read as per volt it lands at about 97 dB/mW at 25Ω, which is ordinary for a closed-back of this size; the 113 shown above is the printed figure left as printed, and per milliwatt it would make this one of the most sensitive over-ears here. Treat the number above as the maker’s text, not as a specification you can calculate with.Check it yourself: austrian.audio

What is printed there, and what it is worth

As it is labelledAs printedToleranceStandard
Frequency range12Hz – 24kHZnot printednot printed

Austrian Audio prints 12Hz – 24kHZ for the Austrian Audio Hi-X25BT, under the heading “Frequency range”. Source: austrian.audio.

No tolerance is printed with it, so “12Hz – 24kHZ” says nothing about how loud this headphone actually is at 12 Hz.

Only what the maker printed; maker by maker.

Power, voltage and current by listening level

LevelWhat it isPowerVoltageCurrent
85 dB SPLquiet background listening0.00 mW6 mV0.3 mA
95 dB SPLnormal listening0.02 mW20 mV0.8 mA
100 dB SPLloud listening0.05 mW35 mV1.4 mA
105 dB SPLvery loud0.16 mW63 mV2.5 mA
110 dB SPLpeaks on dynamic music0.50 mW0.11 V4.5 mA

Most people listen between 75 and 85 dB; the 100 dB row leaves room for peaks.

The cheapest sources that drive them with room to spare

The 15 cheapest of the 280 sources here that reach 100 dB SPL into 25Ω with at least 10 dB of headroom and no known hiss or output-impedance problem with these headphones. All 280 sources, judged for these headphones.

SourceTypePricePower into 25ΩHeadroomVerdict
FiiO SnowSky Tiny AUSB dongle$2237 mW+29 dBComfortable
FiiO SnowSky Tiny BUSB dongle$2244 mW+29 dBComfortable
Tanchjim Stargate IIUSB dongle$4075 mW+32 dBComfortable
ddHiFi TC35ALUSB dongle$46164 mW+35 dBComfortable
ddHiFi TC35AirUSB dongle$46164 mW+35 dBComfortable
Fosi Audio N3Bluetooth receiver$50108 mW+33 dBComfortable
Hidizs SD2USB dongle$5055 mW+30 dBComfortable
iFi GO linkUSB dongle$5955 mW+30 dBComfortable
Kiwi Ears Allegro ProUSB dongle$6053 mW+30 dBComfortable
ddHiFi TC35Pro (Mountain2)USB dongle$6651 mW+30 dBComfortable
DUNU DTC 480USB dongle$7051 mW+30 dBComfortable
EPZ TP35 ProUSB dongle$7088 mW+32 dBComfortable
Aiyima A2 Prodesktop DAC/amp$75117 mW+34 dBComfortable
ddHiFi TC35Pro (Eye2)USB dongle$7651 mW+30 dBComfortable
ddHiFi TC44 Pro E2USB dongle$99195 mW+36 dBComfortable

The three ways a source goes wrong

Hiss. At 129.0 dB/V these are sensitive enough to reveal a source's own noise floor. The noisiest source in the database, the Schiit Mjolnir 3, would put its hiss at roughly 37 dB SPL in these headphones — clearly audible in quiet passages. Check your own source.

Output impedance. At 25Ω these want a source output impedance below 3.12Ω to satisfy the one-eighth rule; 35 of the 192 sources that publish one miss it. Check yours here.

Similar headphones

Compared with its stablemates: vs Hi-X15 · vs Hi-X20 · vs Hi-X55 · vs Hi-X60 · vs Hi-X65 · vs The Arranger · vs The Composer.

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