Final Audio D8000 Pro Edition: how much amplifier do you need?

The Final Audio D8000 Pro Edition is 60Ω with a sensitivity of 98.0 dB/mW, which is 110.2 dB/V. To reach 100 dB SPL — genuinely loud, louder than most people listen — it needs 1.6 mW, or 0.31 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, 274 have at least 10 dB of headroom and another 6 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

Impedance60 Ω
Sensitivity98.0 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)110.2 dB/V
Power for 100 dB SPL1.6 mW
Voltage for 100 dB SPL0.31 V
TypeOver-ear
Easy to drive — anything will do it
All 280 sources at 100 dB SPL into 60Ω
Comfortable 274Enough 6Marginal 0Not enough 0
Cheapest portable source that does it
$9 · USB dongle · +10 dB headroom
Cheapest desktop amp with 10 dB to spare
$75 · desktop DAC/amp · +17 dB headroom

Sensitivity here is in dB per milliwatt. Why the unit matters.

Where this sensitivity figure comes from

Final Audio publishes this directly as 98 dB/mW, per milliwatt, so nothing was converted.

Source: snext-final.com. How this data was built.

What is printed there, and what it is worth

Final Audio prints no frequency range for the Final Audio D8000 Pro Edition at all. Source: snext-final.com.

Only what the maker printed; maker by maker.

Power, voltage and current by listening level

LevelWhat it isPowerVoltageCurrent
85 dB SPLquiet background listening0.05 mW55 mV0.9 mA
95 dB SPLnormal listening0.50 mW0.17 V2.9 mA
100 dB SPLloud listening1.6 mW0.31 V5.1 mA
105 dB SPLvery loud5.0 mW0.55 V9.1 mA
110 dB SPLpeaks on dynamic music16 mW0.98 V16.3 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 60Ω 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 60ΩHeadroomVerdict
JadeAudio JA11USB dongle$2016 mW+10 dBComfortable
FiiO SnowSky Tiny AUSB dongle$2218 mW+11 dBComfortable
FiiO SnowSky Tiny BUSB dongle$2218 mW+11 dBComfortable
Kiwi Ears Allegro MiniUSB dongle$2416 mW+10 dBComfortable
FiiO KA11USB dongle$29107 mW+18 dBComfortable
Tanchjim Stargate IIUSB dongle$4040 mW+14 dBComfortable
ddHiFi TC35ALUSB dongle$46112 mW+18 dBComfortable
ddHiFi TC35AirUSB dongle$46112 mW+18 dBComfortable
Fosi Audio N3Bluetooth receiver$5074 mW+17 dBComfortable
Hidizs SD2USB dongle$5037 mW+14 dBComfortable
FiiO BTR13Bluetooth receiver$5953 mW+15 dBComfortable
iFi GO linkUSB dongle$5940 mW+14 dBComfortable
Kiwi Ears Allegro ProUSB dongle$6036 mW+14 dBComfortable
ddHiFi TC35Pro (Mountain2)USB dongle$6635 mW+13 dBComfortable
iBasso DC03 ProUSB dongle$6952 mW+15 dBComfortable

The three ways a source goes wrong

Hiss. At 110.2 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 18 dB SPL in these headphones — clearly audible in quiet passages. Check your own source.

Output impedance. At 60Ω these want a source output impedance below 7.50Ω to satisfy the one-eighth rule; 34 of the 192 sources that publish one miss it. Check yours here.

Similar headphones

↑