The Dan Clark Audio Noire X is 13Ω with a sensitivity of 90.0 dB/mW, which is 108.9 dB/V. To reach 100 dB SPL — genuinely loud, louder than most people listen — it needs 10 mW, or 0.36 V across the drivers.
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, 158 have at least 10 dB of headroom and another 101 have enough. The cheapest portable source that does the job is the Generic CX31993 dongles at $12.
Sensitivity here is in dB per milliwatt. Why the unit matters.
Dan Clark Audio publishes this directly as 90 dB/mW, per milliwatt, so nothing was converted.
Source: danclarkaudio.com. How this data was built.
Dan Clark Audio's specification table has a frequency-response row for the Dan Clark Audio Noire X. What it prints in that row is: “Yes, it has one”. Source: danclarkaudio.com.
It is a joke, and it is a better argument than most of this page. A frequency range printed without a tolerance carries almost no information, and this maker would rather say nothing than say something meaningless. Of the 578 models checked so far, 490 have a maker-printed range and 58 of those come with the ±dB figure that would make the range mean something.
Only what the maker printed; maker by maker.
| Level | What it is | Power | Voltage | Current |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 dB SPL | quiet background listening | 0.32 mW | 64 mV | 4.9 mA |
| 95 dB SPL | normal listening | 3.2 mW | 0.20 V | 15.6 mA |
| 100 dB SPL | loud listening | 10 mW | 0.36 V | 27.7 mA |
| 105 dB SPL | very loud | 32 mW | 0.64 V | 49.3 mA |
| 110 dB SPL | peaks on dynamic music | 100 mW | 1.14 V | 87.7 mA |
Most people listen between 75 and 85 dB; the 100 dB row leaves room for peaks.
The 15 cheapest of the 280 sources here that reach 100 dB SPL into 13Ω 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.
| Source | Type | Price | Power into 13Ω | Headroom | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FiiO KA11 | USB dongle | $29 | 199 mW | +13 dB | Comfortable |
| FiiO KA5 | USB dongle | $99 | 111 mW | +10 dB | Comfortable |
| JDS Labs Atom+ (2nd gen) | desktop amplifier | $99 | 406 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| Schiit Magni Heresy | desktop amplifier | $99 | 2.3 W | +24 dB | Comfortable |
| ddHiFi TC44 Pro E2 | USB dongle | $99 | 102 mW | +10 dB | Comfortable |
| FiiO BTR15 | Bluetooth receiver | $109 | 134 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable |
| FiiO KA15 | USB dongle | $109 | 236 mW | +14 dB | Comfortable |
| Schiit Magni+ | desktop amplifier | $109 | 812 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| Schiit Magni Unity | desktop amplifier | $119 | 2.4 W | +24 dB | Comfortable |
| JDS Labs Atom Amp 2 | desktop amplifier | $129 | 1.1 W | +20 dB | Comfortable |
| Tanchjim LUNA | USB dongle | $140 | 142 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable |
| FiiO K11 | desktop DAC/amp | $143 | 585 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable |
| Schiit Vali 3 | desktop amplifier | $149 | 609 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable |
| Topping L30 II | desktop amplifier | $149 | 2.8 W | +25 dB | Comfortable |
| SMSL HO100 | desktop amplifier | $160 | 2.4 W | +24 dB | Comfortable |
Hiss. At 108.9 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 17 dB SPL in these headphones — clearly audible in quiet passages. Check your own source.
Output impedance. At 13Ω these want a source output impedance below 1.62Ω to satisfy the one-eighth rule; 41 of the 192 sources that publish one miss it. Check yours here.
13Ω · 90.0 dB/mW · Easy
See requirements →13Ω · 90.0 dB/mW · Easy
See requirements →13Ω · 90.0 dB/mW · Easy
See requirements →26Ω · 93.0 dB · Easy
See requirements →32Ω · 94.0 dB · Easy
See requirements →32Ω · 94.1 dB/mW · Easy
See requirements →Compared with its stablemates: vs E3 · vs Ether C Flow 1.1 · vs ÆON Core.