Will an audio interface drive the AKG K612 Pro?

On power: 64 of the 65 audio interfaces here reach 100 dB SPL on the AKG K612 Pro. It needs 6.6 mW at its 120Ω, and 1 of them do not get there.

Power is one of three questions and the one that goes wrong least often. The other two — whether the source’s output impedance leaves the frequency response alone, and whether you will hear its noise floor — are answered further down, separately, because a source can pass one and fail another.

Whether it gets loud enough

The 1 that fall short are Steinberg UR22C. The closest of them, the Steinberg UR22C, delivers 5.0 mW into 120Ω against the 6.6 mW needed — 1.2 dB short.

The cheapest one that does reach it is the Zoom AMS-22 at $100, which delivers 7.4 mW into 120Ω — 0 dB of headroom over the 6.6 mW this headphone needs for 100 dB SPL.

100 dB SPL is a peak level, not a listening level. If you listen at 85 dB the same headphone needs 0.21 mW, which is 15 dB less, and the answer above changes for most of the category. The model page has the full ladder.

Whether it changes how they sound

Under the one-eighth rule the AKG K612 Pro wants a source below 15.00Ω. Of the 43 audio interfaces here that publish an output impedance, 29 are under it and 14 are not.

The furthest over is the Tascam US-2x2HR at 66Ω, which is 4× the ceiling. Above that threshold the source stops being a volume control and starts being part of the frequency response. The simulator shows what that looks like.

The other 22 publish nothing at all on this, so they are not on either side of that count. This site leaves them blank rather than assuming a figure.

Whether you will hear it between tracks

Hiss depends on the source’s own noise floor and on how sensitive the headphone is. At 91.8 dB/mW and 120Ω, the AKG K612 Pro turns one microvolt of source noise into about -19 dB SPL — and the threshold where that stops being noticeable in a quiet room is around 20 dB SPL.

The one audio interface here that publishes a noise figure stays below that threshold with this headphone.

The remaining 64 publish no noise figure, so they cannot be placed on either side.

The 12 best matches in this category

SourcePriceInto 120ΩOutput impedanceHiss in thesePower verdict
Audient iD4 MkII$19986 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
MOTU M2$21989 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
SSL 2 MkII$229100 mW1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
MOTU M4$27989 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
PreSonus Studio 68c$29970 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
SSL 2 Plus MkII$299100 mW1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
Audient iD14 MkII$34986 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
IK Multimedia AXE I/O$40075 mW<0.1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
MOTU M6$49989 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
SSL 12$599315 mW1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
Apogee Duet 3$649315 mW0.5 Ωnot publishedComfortable
MOTU UltraLite-mk5$699126 mW1 Ωnot publishedComfortable

Sorted by how many of the three questions the source answers well, then by price. A blank in a column is a blank in the manufacturer’s own documentation, not a zero.

The same headphone, other kinds of source

The AKG K612 Pro on other categories: USB dongles · portable players · desktop amplifiers.

The AKG K612 Pro page has every source in the database against this headphone, and the matcher takes your own numbers.