On power: 50 of the 51 USB dongles here reach 100 dB SPL on the Audeze LCD-5. It needs 10 mW at its 14Ω, 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.
The 1 that fall short are Apple USB-C dongle (EU). The closest of them, the Apple USB-C dongle (EU), delivers 6.6 mW into 14Ω against the 10 mW needed — 1.8 dB short.
The cheapest one that does reach it is the Apple USB-C dongle (US) at $9, which delivers 13 mW into 14Ω — 1 dB of headroom over the 10 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 0.32 mW, which is 15 dB less, and the answer above changes for most of the category. The model page has the full ladder.
Under the one-eighth rule the Audeze LCD-5 wants a source below 1.75Ω. Of the 18 USB dongles here that publish an output impedance, 17 are under it and 1 are not.
The furthest over is the Astell&Kern HC3 at 2Ω, which is 1× 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 33 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.
Hiss depends on the source’s own noise floor and on how sensitive the headphone is. At 90.0 dB/mW and 14Ω, the Audeze LCD-5 turns one microvolt of source noise into about -11 dB SPL — and the threshold where that stops being noticeable in a quiet room is around 20 dB SPL.
Of the 16 USB dongles here that publish a noise figure, 16 stay below that threshold with this headphone and 0 cross it.
The remaining 35 publish no noise figure, so they cannot be placed on either side.
| Source | Price | Into 14Ω | Output impedance | Hiss in these | Power verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 214 mW | 0.7 Ω | -7 dB SPL | Comfortable |
| Tempotec Sonata BHD Pro | $60 | 123 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
| FiiO KA3 | $79 | 105 mW | 0.5 Ω | -7 dB SPL | Comfortable |
| FiiO KA5 | $99 | 119 mW | 0.3 Ω | -7 dB SPL | Comfortable |
| ddHiFi TC44 Pro E2 | $99 | 109 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
| FiiO KA15 | $109 | 254 mW | 0.8 Ω | -7 dB SPL | Comfortable |
| Tanchjim LUNA | $140 | 153 mW | not published | -9 dB SPL | Comfortable |
| Moondrop Moonriver 2 Ti | $190 | 123 mW | not published | -8 dB SPL | Comfortable |
| THX Onyx | $200 | 115 mW | 0.2 Ω | not published | Comfortable |
| Qudelix T71 | $229 | 219 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
| Questyle M15 | $250 | 131 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
| EarMen Colibri | $299 | 131 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
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 Audeze LCD-5 on other categories: portable players · desktop amplifiers · desktop DAC/amps · audio interfaces.
The Audeze LCD-5 page has every source in the database against this headphone, and the matcher takes your own numbers.