PreSonus HP4: power output and what it will drive

The PreSonus HP4 is a desktop amplifier at $150. It delivers 69 mW into 32Ω and 26 mW into 300Ω, which ranks it 239 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.

Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 500 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here, enough but not generous on 57, only marginal on 1 and not enough power for 9. Power is published at 60Ω; the rest of the table is derived from those figures. Output impedance is not published. Output noise is not published, so the hiss estimate cannot be run.

Specifications

What it actually puts out

TypeDesktop amplifier

Price$150

Power into 32 Ω69 mW

Power into 150 Ω52 mW

Power into 300 Ω26 mW

Power into 600 Ω13 mW

Output impedancenot published

Output noisenot published

Comfortable headroom on 500 of 567 headphones (88%) · short of power on 9

Provenance

Where these numbers come from

The manufacturer publishes 130 mW into 60Ω. The rest of the table is worked out from those.

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

Source: presonus.com.

Load	Power	Status	How it was arrived at
32 Ω	69 mW	Derived	beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters
60 Ω	130 mW	Published	the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load
150 Ω	52 mW	Derived	beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters
300 Ω	26 mW	Derived	beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters
600 Ω	13 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	+27 dB	Comfortable
64 Audio U12t	12.6 Ω	108.0 dB/mW	0.16 mW	+22 dB	Comfortable
Shure SE215	17 Ω	107.0 dB/mW	0.20 mW	+23 dB	Comfortable
Moondrop Aria	32 Ω	107.1 dB/mW	0.19 mW	+26 dB	Comfortable
Audeze LCD-X 2021	20 Ω	103.0 dB/mW	0.50 mW	+19 dB	Comfortable
Truthear Hexa	20.5 Ω	103.1 dB/mW	0.49 mW	+20 dB	Comfortable
Sennheiser IE 200	18 Ω	101.6 dB/mW	0.69 mW	+18 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	+21 dB	Comfortable
Focal Clear MG	55 Ω	104.0 dB/mW	0.40 mW	+25 dB	Comfortable
Philips SHP9500	32 Ω	101.0 dB	0.79 mW	+19 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	+18 dB	Comfortable
Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020	9 Ω	94.0 dB	4.0 mW	+7 dB	Enough
Etymotic ER2SE	15 Ω	96.0 dB/mW	2.5 mW	+11 dB	Comfortable
AKG K371	32 Ω	99.1 dB/mW	1.2 mW	+18 dB	Comfortable
Audio-Technica ATH-M50X	38 Ω	99.0 dB/mW	1.3 mW	+18 dB	Comfortable
Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X	48 Ω	100.0 dB/mW	1.0 mW	+20 dB	Comfortable
Audeze LCD-2 Classic	70 Ω	101.0 dB/mW	0.79 mW	+21 dB	Comfortable
Grado SR80x	38 Ω	98.0 dB/mW	1.6 mW	+17 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	+8 dB	Enough
HiFiMAN Arya Stealth	32 Ω	94.0 dB	4.0 mW	+12 dB	Comfortable
Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed	13 Ω	90.0 dB/mW	10 mW	+4 dB	Enough
Audeze LCD-5	14 Ω	90.0 dB/mW	10 mW	+5 dB	Enough
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	+8 dB	Enough
HiFiMAN Sundara	32 Ω	92.0 dB	6.3 mW	+10 dB	Comfortable
Dan Clark Audio Stealth	23 Ω	90.0 dB/mW	10 mW	+7 dB	Enough
Fostex T50RP MK3	50 Ω	92.0 dB/mW	6.3 mW	+12 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	+10 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	+8 dB	Enough
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?

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.

Damping

Output impedance and the one-eighth rule

The manufacturer does not publish an output impedance for this source. Without it, nothing here can say how this source will behave with a multi-driver in-ear.

With a measured figure, the checker works out the consequence.

Why this page says the figure is not publishedThe headphone section prints “Impedance (working range): 32 Ohm to 600 Ohm”. That is the range of headphones the four outputs are meant to drive, not the impedance each output presents to them.Check it yourself: presonus.com

Cheaper

The cheapest thing here that does the same job

Source	Type	Price	Into 300 Ω	Output impedance	Output noise
FiiO KA11	USB dongle	$29	22 mW	0.7 Ω	1.7 µV
ddHiFi TC35AL	USB dongle	$46	22 mW	not published	not published
ddHiFi TC35Air	USB dongle	$46	22 mW	not published	not published

Of the 280 sources here, 39 do everything the PreSonus HP4 does as a headphone output: reach 100 dB on every headphone it reaches. The cheapest of them is the FiiO KA11 at $29, against this one’s $150 — $121 less, and a USB dongle rather than a desktop amplifier.

The cheaper one also publishes an output impedance and a noise figure, which the PreSonus HP4 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.

Alternatives

Compared with its closest rivals: vs Geshelli Archel Pro · vs iFi Zen CAN · vs JDS Labs Atom Amp 2 · vs Schiit Magni+ · vs Schiit Vali 2+ · vs Schiit Vali 3 · vs SMSL HO100 · vs xDuoo MT-604.

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

PreSonus HP4: 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 desktop amplifiers at a similar price

Topping L30 II

Schiit Vali 2+

Schiit Vali 3

SMSL HO100

xDuoo MT-604

ART HeadAmp 4 Pro