The JadeAudio JA11 is a USB dongle at $20. It delivers 30 mW into 32Ω and 3.2 mW into 300Ω, which ranks it 261 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.
Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 382 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here, enough but not generous on 129, only marginal on 36 and not enough power for 20. FiiO's budget sub-brand. About as cheap as a dongle gets that still has a real DAC chip and a published spec sheet.
The shop listings these figures stand on quote 30 mW into 32Ω. The rest of the table is worked out from those.
Derived rows hold output voltage steady, as an amplifier does (method).
One caveat about the source. None of the addresses below is a JadeAudio document. The figures here stand on FiiO's German distributor shop and Gadget n Music, a retailer, which are transcriptions 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 JadeAudio's own site and send the link; this paragraph comes off.
Source: fiio-shop.de, gadgetnmusic.com.
| Load | Power | Status | How it was arrived at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | 30 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 |
| 150 Ω | 6.4 mW | Derived | beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters |
| 300 Ω | 3.2 mW | Derived | beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters |
| 600 Ω | 1.6 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 | +23 dB | Comfortable audible hiss |
| 64 Audio U12t | 12.6 Ω | 108.0 dB/mW | 0.16 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable audible hiss |
| Shure SE215 | 17 Ω | 107.0 dB/mW | 0.20 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Moondrop Aria | 32 Ω | 107.1 dB/mW | 0.19 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Audeze LCD-X 2021 | 20 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Truthear Hexa | 20.5 Ω | 103.1 dB/mW | 0.49 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Sennheiser IE 200 | 18 Ω | 101.6 dB/mW | 0.69 mW | +14 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Sony MDR-7506 | 63 Ω | 106.0 dB/mW | 0.25 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Meze 99 Classics | 32 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Focal Clear MG | 55 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Philips SHP9500 | 32 Ω | 101.0 dB | 0.79 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Focal Utopia | 80 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +15 dB | Comfortable |
| Meze Empyrean | 32 Ω | 100.0 dB | 1.0 mW | +15 dB | Comfortable |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +3 dB | Enough |
| Etymotic ER2SE | 15 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +7 dB | Enough |
| AKG K371 | 32 Ω | 99.1 dB/mW | 1.2 mW | +14 dB | Comfortable |
| Audio-Technica ATH-M50X | 38 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +13 dB | Comfortable |
| Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X | 48 Ω | 100.0 dB/mW | 1.0 mW | +13 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 101.0 dB/mW | 0.79 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable |
| Grado SR80x | 38 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 560S | 120 Ω | 100.8 dB/mW | 0.83 mW | +10 dB | Enough |
| HiFiMAN Edition XS | 18 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +4 dB | Enough |
| HiFiMAN Arya Stealth | 32 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +9 dB | Enough |
| Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed | 13 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +1 dB | Marginal |
| Audeze LCD-5 | 14 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +1 dB | Marginal |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 102.0 dB/mW | 0.63 mW | +8 dB | Enough |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 91.0 dB | 7.9 mW | +5 dB | Enough |
| HiFiMAN Sundara | 32 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +7 dB | Enough |
| Dan Clark Audio Stealth | 23 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +3 dB | Enough |
| Fostex T50RP MK3 | 50 Ω | 92.0 dB/mW | 6.3 mW | +5 dB | Enough |
| AKG K702 | 62 Ω | 92.9 dB/mW | 5.1 mW | +5 dB | Enough |
| ZMF Verite Closed | 300 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +4 dB | Enough |
| Sennheiser HD 650 | 300 Ω | 97.8 dB/mW | 1.7 mW | +3 dB | Marginal |
| Sennheiser HD 800S | 300 Ω | 96.8 dB/mW | 2.1 mW | +2 dB | Marginal |
| Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 96.0 dB | 2.5 mW | +2 dB | Marginal |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +1 dB | Marginal |
| ZMF Atrium | 300 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +1 dB | Marginal |
| Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC | 50 Ω | 88.0 dB/mW | 16 mW | +1 dB | Marginal |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 91.8 dB/mW | 6.6 mW | -3 dB | Not enough |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 83.0 dB | 50 mW | -5 dB | Not enough |
At 1.7 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 26 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 | 26 dB SPL |
| Tanchjim EA FORCE | 17 Ω | 137.7 dB/V | 22 dB SPL |
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 134.5 dB/V | 19 dB SPL |
| Campfire Audio Clara | 13.3 Ω | 134.1 dB/V | 19 dB SPL |
| 64 Audio Fourte | 10 Ω | 134.0 dB/V | 19 dB SPL |
At 0.5Ω output impedance, the one-eighth rule says this source suits headphones of 4.0Ω 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.
| As published | JadeAudio JA11 |
|---|---|
| Outputs | 3.5 mm (TRRS, supports CTIA/OMTP in-line controls) |
| Connection | USB-C, attached Type-C cable |
| Formats | PCM 384 kHz/32-bit, DSD128 (DoP only; no native DSD) |
| Microphone | In-line headset microphone and remote supported (calls, recording); enable in FiiO Control app |
| Weight | 5 g |
| Dimensions | About 11 x 9 x 90 mm (body, cable included) |
Copied from the makers’ own pages: jadeaudio.com/details, fiio.com/newsinfo/928503.html. Battery life is the maker’s own test figure.
Nothing cheaper in this database does everything the JadeAudio JA11 does. Of the 280 sources here, not one at a lower price will 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. That is a plain result and it is not the usual one — most of the catalogue has something cheaper that matches it.
This counts the headphone output only; inputs, converters, the volume control and the build are outside it.
$22 · 34 mW into 32Ω · 0.5 Ω out
Compare →$22 · 34 mW into 32Ω · 1.0 Ω out
Compare →$24 · 30 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$12 · 60 mW into 32Ω · 1.5 Ω out
Compare →$29 · 200 mW into 32Ω · 0.7 Ω out
Compare →$9 · 30 mW into 32Ω · 1 Ω out
Compare →Compared with its closest rivals: vs FiiO KA11 · vs FiiO SnowSky Tiny A · vs FiiO SnowSky Tiny B · vs Kiwi Ears Allegro Mini.