The Audient EVO 16 is an audio interface at $750. It delivers 87 mW into 32Ω and 32 mW into 300Ω, which ranks it 220 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.
Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 512 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here, enough but not generous on 45, only marginal on 1 and not enough power for 9. Power is published at 30Ω, 60Ω, 600Ω; the rest of the table is derived from those figures. Output noise is not published, so the hiss estimate cannot be run. Audient prints a peak voltage, an RMS voltage and a power on the same line, and the power is about twice what its own RMS voltage gives. The figures here are the ones Audient printed; the <a href="/amp-spec-audit/">amplifier audit</a> works through the discrepancy.
The manufacturer publishes 86 mW into 30Ω, 104 mW into 60Ω, 24 mW into 600Ω. The rest of the table is worked out from those.
Derived rows hold output voltage steady, as an amplifier does (method).
Source: audient.com.
| Load | Power | Status | How it was arrived at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Ω | 86 mW | Published | the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load |
| 32 Ω | 87 mW | Derived | worked out between two published loads, holding output voltage linear between them |
| 60 Ω | 104 mW | Published | the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load |
| 150 Ω | 49 mW | Derived | worked out between two published loads, holding output voltage linear between them |
| 300 Ω | 32 mW | Derived | worked out between two published loads, holding output voltage linear between them |
| 600 Ω | 24 mW | Published | the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load |
Easiest to hardest to drive, with headroom at a 100 dB SPL peak.
| Headphone | Impedance | Sensitivity | Needs | Headroom | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 114.0 dB/mW | 0.04 mW | +28 dB | Comfortable damping |
| 64 Audio U12t | 12.6 Ω | 108.0 dB/mW | 0.16 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Shure SE215 | 17 Ω | 107.0 dB/mW | 0.20 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Moondrop Aria | 32 Ω | 107.1 dB/mW | 0.19 mW | +26 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Audeze LCD-X 2021 | 20 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Truthear Hexa | 20.5 Ω | 103.1 dB/mW | 0.49 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Sennheiser IE 200 | 18 Ω | 101.6 dB/mW | 0.69 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Sony MDR-7506 | 63 Ω | 106.0 dB/mW | 0.25 mW | +26 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Meze 99 Classics | 32 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Focal Clear MG | 55 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Philips SHP9500 | 32 Ω | 101.0 dB | 0.79 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Focal Utopia | 80 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +23 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Meze Empyrean | 32 Ω | 100.0 dB | 1.0 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +8 dB | Enough damping |
| Etymotic ER2SE | 15 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable damping |
| AKG K371 | 32 Ω | 99.1 dB/mW | 1.2 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Audio-Technica ATH-M50X | 38 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X | 48 Ω | 100.0 dB/mW | 1.0 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 101.0 dB/mW | 0.79 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Grado SR80x | 38 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Sennheiser HD 560S | 120 Ω | 100.8 dB/mW | 0.83 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable damping |
| HiFiMAN Edition XS | 18 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +9 dB | Enough damping |
| HiFiMAN Arya Stealth | 32 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +13 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed | 13 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +6 dB | Enough damping |
| Audeze LCD-5 | 14 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +6 dB | Enough damping |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 102.0 dB/mW | 0.63 mW | +17 dB | Comfortable damping |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 91.0 dB | 7.9 mW | +10 dB | Enough damping |
| HiFiMAN Sundara | 32 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Dan Clark Audio Stealth | 23 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +8 dB | Enough damping |
| Fostex T50RP MK3 | 50 Ω | 92.0 dB/mW | 6.3 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable damping |
| AKG K702 | 62 Ω | 92.9 dB/mW | 5.1 mW | +13 dB | Comfortable damping |
| ZMF Verite Closed | 300 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +14 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Sennheiser HD 650 | 300 Ω | 97.8 dB/mW | 1.7 mW | +13 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Sennheiser HD 800S | 300 Ω | 96.8 dB/mW | 2.1 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 96.0 dB | 2.5 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable |
| ZMF Atrium | 300 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable damping |
| Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC | 50 Ω | 88.0 dB/mW | 16 mW | +8 dB | Enough damping |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 91.8 dB/mW | 6.6 mW | +7 dB | Enough damping |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 83.0 dB | 50 mW | +3 dB | Enough damping |
The manufacturer does not publish an output noise figure for this source, so there is no hiss estimate here. If you have a measured figure, the hiss calculator takes it.
At 50Ω output impedance, the one-eighth rule says this source suits headphones of 400.0Ω and above. 561 of the 567 models here fall below that. That is most of the database, not a niche — 222 of them multi-driver in-ears, and the mismatch tilts the frequency response audibly rather than subtly.
| Source | Type | Price | Into 300 Ω | Output impedance | Output noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FiiO KA11 | USB dongle | $29 | 22 mW | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR13 | Bluetooth receiver | $59 | 10.0 mW | 0.6 Ω | 1.0 µV |
| iBasso DC03 Pro | USB dongle | $69 | 10 mW | 0.12 Ω | 0.9 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 88 do everything the Audient EVO 16 does as a headphone output: reach 100 dB on every headphone it reaches and stay inside the one-eighth rule wherever it does. The cheapest of them is the FiiO KA11 at $29, against this one’s $750 — $721 less, and a USB dongle rather than an audio interface.
The cheaper one also publishes a noise figure, which the Audient EVO 16 does not — so on the paperwork it is ahead, not merely level.
This counts the headphone output only; inputs, converters, the volume control and the build are outside it.
$720 · 86 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$699 · 55 mW into 32Ω · 11 Ω out
Compare →$699 · 471 mW into 32Ω · 1 Ω out
Compare →$809 · 190 mW into 32Ω · 50 Ω out
Compare →$649 · 1.2 W into 32Ω · 0.5 Ω out
Compare →$899 · 374 mW into 32Ω · 10 Ω out
Compare →Compared with its closest rivals: vs Apogee Duet 3 · vs Audient EVO 4 · vs Audient EVO 8 · vs Audient Horizon 8P · vs Audient iD14 MkII · vs Audient iD24 · vs Audient iD4 MkII · vs Audient iD44 MkII · vs Audient iD48 · vs Audient NERO · vs Audient ORIA · vs Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 4th gen · vs MOTU UltraLite-mk5 · vs RME Babyface Pro FS · vs SSL 12 · vs Universal Audio Volt 876.