iBasso DX260 MK2: power output and what it will drive

The iBasso DX260 MK2 is a portable player at $949. It delivers 262 mW into 32Ω and 28 mW into 300Ω, which ranks it 143 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.

Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 551 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here, enough but not generous on 15 and not enough power for 1. Power is published at 16Ω; the rest of the table is derived from those figures.

Specifications

What it actually puts out

TypePortable player

Price$949

Power into 32 Ω262 mW

Power into 150 Ω56 mW

Power into 300 Ω28 mW

Power into 600 Ω14 mW

Output impedance0.6 Ω

Output noise1.0 µV

Comfortable headroom on 551 of 567 headphones (97%) · short of power on 1

Provenance

Where these numbers come from

The manufacturer publishes 525 mW into 16Ω. The rest of the table is worked out from those.

The balanced output is rated separately: 1.0 W into 32Ω through the 4.4mm jack.

Derived rows hold output voltage steady, as an amplifier does (method).

Source: ibasso.com, ibasso.com.

Load	Power	Status	How it was arrived at
16 Ω	525 mW	Published	the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load
32 Ω	262 mW	Derived	beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters
150 Ω	56 mW	Derived	beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters
300 Ω	28 mW	Derived	beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters
600 Ω	14 mW	Derived	beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters

Matching

Against 40 well-known headphones

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	+39 dB	Comfortable audible hiss
64 Audio U12t	12.6 Ω	108.0 dB/mW	0.16 mW	+34 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Shure SE215	17 Ω	107.0 dB/mW	0.20 mW	+34 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Moondrop Aria	32 Ω	107.1 dB/mW	0.19 mW	+31 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Audeze LCD-X 2021	20 Ω	103.0 dB/mW	0.50 mW	+29 dB	Comfortable
Truthear Hexa	20.5 Ω	103.1 dB/mW	0.49 mW	+29 dB	Comfortable
Sennheiser IE 200	18 Ω	101.6 dB/mW	0.69 mW	+28 dB	Comfortable
Sony MDR-7506	63 Ω	106.0 dB/mW	0.25 mW	+27 dB	Comfortable
Meze 99 Classics	32 Ω	103.0 dB/mW	0.50 mW	+27 dB	Comfortable
Focal Clear MG	55 Ω	104.0 dB/mW	0.40 mW	+26 dB	Comfortable
Philips SHP9500	32 Ω	101.0 dB	0.79 mW	+25 dB	Comfortable
Focal Utopia	80 Ω	104.0 dB/mW	0.40 mW	+24 dB	Comfortable
Meze Empyrean	32 Ω	100.0 dB	1.0 mW	+24 dB	Comfortable
Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020	9 Ω	94.0 dB	4.0 mW	+19 dB	Comfortable
Etymotic ER2SE	15 Ω	96.0 dB/mW	2.5 mW	+23 dB	Comfortable
AKG K371	32 Ω	99.1 dB/mW	1.2 mW	+23 dB	Comfortable
Audio-Technica ATH-M50X	38 Ω	99.0 dB/mW	1.3 mW	+22 dB	Comfortable
Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X	48 Ω	100.0 dB/mW	1.0 mW	+22 dB	Comfortable
Audeze LCD-2 Classic	70 Ω	101.0 dB/mW	0.79 mW	+22 dB	Comfortable
Grado SR80x	38 Ω	98.0 dB/mW	1.6 mW	+21 dB	Comfortable
Sennheiser HD 560S	120 Ω	100.8 dB/mW	0.83 mW	+19 dB	Comfortable
HiFiMAN Edition XS	18 Ω	92.0 dB	6.3 mW	+19 dB	Comfortable
HiFiMAN Arya Stealth	32 Ω	94.0 dB	4.0 mW	+18 dB	Comfortable
Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed	13 Ω	90.0 dB/mW	10 mW	+16 dB	Comfortable
Audeze LCD-5	14 Ω	90.0 dB/mW	10 mW	+17 dB	Comfortable
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω)	250 Ω	102.0 dB/mW	0.63 mW	+17 dB	Comfortable
HiFiMAN HE400se	25 Ω	91.0 dB	7.9 mW	+16 dB	Comfortable
HiFiMAN Sundara	32 Ω	92.0 dB	6.3 mW	+16 dB	Comfortable
Dan Clark Audio Stealth	23 Ω	90.0 dB/mW	10 mW	+16 dB	Comfortable
Fostex T50RP MK3	50 Ω	92.0 dB/mW	6.3 mW	+14 dB	Comfortable
AKG K702	62 Ω	92.9 dB/mW	5.1 mW	+14 dB	Comfortable
ZMF Verite Closed	300 Ω	99.0 dB/mW	1.3 mW	+13 dB	Comfortable
Sennheiser HD 650	300 Ω	97.8 dB/mW	1.7 mW	+12 dB	Comfortable
Sennheiser HD 800S	300 Ω	96.8 dB/mW	2.1 mW	+11 dB	Comfortable
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω)	250 Ω	96.0 dB	2.5 mW	+11 dB	Comfortable
Audio-Technica ATH-R70X	470 Ω	98.0 dB/mW	1.6 mW	+11 dB	Comfortable
ZMF Atrium	300 Ω	96.0 dB/mW	2.5 mW	+10 dB	Comfortable
Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC	50 Ω	88.0 dB/mW	16 mW	+10 dB	Comfortable
Sennheiser HD 600	300 Ω	91.8 dB/mW	6.6 mW	+6 dB	Enough
HiFiMAN Susvara	60 Ω	83.0 dB	50 mW	+4 dB	Enough

Noise

Will it hiss?

At 1.0 µV of output noise, here is where that noise lands in the five most revealing in-ears in the database.

This one hisses. With the most sensitive in-ears in the database its own noise lands around 21 dB SPL, which you will hear between tracks and in quiet passages.

In-ear	Impedance	Sensitivity	Hiss level
Simgot EA500	16 Ω	141.0 dB/V	21 dB SPL
Tanchjim EA FORCE	17 Ω	137.7 dB/V	18 dB SPL
Shure SE846	9 Ω	134.5 dB/V	14 dB SPL
Campfire Audio Clara	13.3 Ω	134.1 dB/V	14 dB SPL
64 Audio Fourte	10 Ω	134.0 dB/V	14 dB SPL

Damping

Output impedance and the one-eighth rule

At 0.6Ω output impedance, the one-eighth rule says this source suits headphones of 4.8Ω and above. 1 of the 567 models here falls below that. The one model below that line is the Symphonium Titan, and the mismatch tilts the frequency response audibly rather than subtly.

Check any pair.

Cheaper

The cheapest thing here that does the same job

Source	Type	Price	Into 300 Ω	Output impedance	Output noise
Topping L30 II	desktop amplifier	$149	560 mW	0.1 Ω	0.3 µV
SMSL HO100	desktop amplifier	$160	200 mW	<0.1 Ω	1.3 µV
Topping A30 Pro	desktop amplifier	$249	840 mW	0.1 Ω	0.3 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 6 do everything the iBasso DX260 MK2 does as a headphone output: reach 100 dB on every headphone it reaches, stay inside the one-eighth rule wherever it does and stay under the audible-hiss threshold wherever it does. The cheapest of them is the Topping L30 II at $149, against this one’s $949 — $800 less, and a desktop amplifier rather than a portable player.

This counts the headphone output only; inputs, converters, the volume control and the build are outside it.

Alternatives

Compared with its closest rivals: vs FiiO M15S · vs FiiO M33 R2R · vs HiBy RS6 · vs iBasso DX320 · vs Shanling M6 Ultra.

Compare any two or match your own headphones. Every iBasso source here.

iBasso DX260 MK2: power output and what it will drive

What it actually puts out

Where these numbers come from

Against 40 well-known headphones

Will it hiss?

Output impedance and the one-eighth rule

The cheapest thing here that does the same job

Other portable players at a similar price

iBasso DX260

Shanling M6 Ultra

HiBy RS6

Sony NW-ZX707

Astell&Kern SR35

FiiO M15S