The Holo Audio Bliss KTE is a desktop amplifier at $3798. It delivers 3.0 W into 32Ω and 300 mW into 300Ω, which ranks it 24 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.
Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 565 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here and enough but not generous on 2. Power is published at 32Ω, 150Ω; the rest of the table is derived from those figures. Output noise is not published, so the hiss estimate cannot be run.
The shop listings these figures stand on quote 3.0 W into 32Ω, 600 mW into 150Ω. The rest of the table is worked out from those.
The balanced output is rated separately: 12.0 W into 32Ω through the 4-pin XLR jack.
Derived rows hold output voltage steady, as an amplifier does (method).
One caveat about the source. None of the addresses below is a Holo Audio document. The figures here stand on Kitsune HiFi, the US distributor, which is a transcription of the factory table rather than the table itself. A transcription is usually faithful and may well be exact here — but it can carry an old revision, and nothing on this site would notice if it did. Find these numbers on Holo Audio's own site and send the link; this paragraph comes off.
Source: kitsunehifi.com.
| Load | Power | Status | How it was arrived at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | 3.0 W | Quoted by a shop | a shop or distributor listing quotes this figure at this exact load; the maker publishes nothing this site could find |
| 150 Ω | 600 mW | Quoted by a shop | a shop or distributor listing quotes this figure at this exact load; the maker publishes nothing this site could find |
| 300 Ω | 300 mW | Derived | beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters |
| 600 Ω | 150 mW | Derived | beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters |
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 | +43 dB | Comfortable |
| 64 Audio U12t | 12.6 Ω | 108.0 dB/mW | 0.16 mW | +39 dB | Comfortable |
| Shure SE215 | 17 Ω | 107.0 dB/mW | 0.20 mW | +39 dB | Comfortable |
| Moondrop Aria | 32 Ω | 107.1 dB/mW | 0.19 mW | +42 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-X 2021 | 20 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +36 dB | Comfortable |
| Truthear Hexa | 20.5 Ω | 103.1 dB/mW | 0.49 mW | +36 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser IE 200 | 18 Ω | 101.6 dB/mW | 0.69 mW | +34 dB | Comfortable |
| Sony MDR-7506 | 63 Ω | 106.0 dB/mW | 0.25 mW | +38 dB | Comfortable |
| Meze 99 Classics | 32 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +38 dB | Comfortable |
| Focal Clear MG | 55 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +36 dB | Comfortable |
| Philips SHP9500 | 32 Ω | 101.0 dB | 0.79 mW | +36 dB | Comfortable |
| Focal Utopia | 80 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +35 dB | Comfortable |
| Meze Empyrean | 32 Ω | 100.0 dB | 1.0 mW | +35 dB | Comfortable |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +23 dB | Comfortable |
| Etymotic ER2SE | 15 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +27 dB | Comfortable |
| AKG K371 | 32 Ω | 99.1 dB/mW | 1.2 mW | +34 dB | Comfortable |
| Audio-Technica ATH-M50X | 38 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +33 dB | Comfortable |
| Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X | 48 Ω | 100.0 dB/mW | 1.0 mW | +33 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 101.0 dB/mW | 0.79 mW | +32 dB | Comfortable |
| Grado SR80x | 38 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +32 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 560S | 120 Ω | 100.8 dB/mW | 0.83 mW | +30 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Edition XS | 18 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Arya Stealth | 32 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +29 dB | Comfortable |
| Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed | 13 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-5 | 14 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 102.0 dB/mW | 0.63 mW | +28 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 91.0 dB | 7.9 mW | +25 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Sundara | 32 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +27 dB | Comfortable |
| Dan Clark Audio Stealth | 23 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +23 dB | Comfortable |
| Fostex T50RP MK3 | 50 Ω | 92.0 dB/mW | 6.3 mW | +25 dB | Comfortable |
| AKG K702 | 62 Ω | 92.9 dB/mW | 5.1 mW | +25 dB | Comfortable |
| ZMF Verite Closed | 300 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 650 | 300 Ω | 97.8 dB/mW | 1.7 mW | +23 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 800S | 300 Ω | 96.8 dB/mW | 2.1 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable |
| Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 96.0 dB | 2.5 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable |
| ZMF Atrium | 300 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable |
| Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC | 50 Ω | 88.0 dB/mW | 16 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 91.8 dB/mW | 6.6 mW | +17 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 83.0 dB | 50 mW | +15 dB | Comfortable |
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 1Ω output impedance, the one-eighth rule says this source suits headphones of 8.0Ω and above. 15 of the 567 models here fall below that. Most of them are 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schiit Magni Heresy | desktop amplifier | $99 | 410 mW | 0.25 Ω | 1.5 µV unverified |
| Schiit Magni Unity | desktop amplifier | $119 | 415 mW | 0.1 Ω | 1.59 µV |
| JDS Labs Atom Amp 2 | desktop amplifier | $129 | 284 mW | 0.7 Ω | 1.33 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 55 do everything the Holo Audio Bliss KTE 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 Schiit Magni Heresy at $99, against this one’s $3798 — $3699 less.
This counts the headphone output only; inputs, converters, the volume control and the build are outside it.
$3600 · 4.7 W into 32Ω · 0.15 Ω out
Compare →$3499 · 3.4 W into 32Ω · <0.1 Ω out
Compare →$3200 · 1.0 W into 32Ω · 0.18 Ω out
Compare →$3000 · 2.7 W into 32Ω · 0.18 Ω out
Compare →$3000 · 500 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$2995 · 7.1 W into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →Compared with its closest rivals: vs Benchmark HPA4 · vs Burson Soloist 3X GT · vs SPL Phonitor x · vs SPL Phonitor xe · vs Violectric V550 Pro.