Will an audio interface drive the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω)?

On power: 63 of the 65 audio interfaces here reach 100 dB SPL on the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω). It needs 2.5 mW at its 600Ω, and 2 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 2 that fall short are Zoom AMS-22, Steinberg UR22C. The closest of them, the Zoom AMS-22, delivers 1.8 mW into 600Ω against the 2.5 mW needed — 1.4 dB short.

The cheapest one that does reach it is the Steinberg IXO22 at $119, which delivers 2.7 mW into 600Ω — 0 dB of headroom over the 2.5 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 0.08 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 Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω) wants a source below 75.00Ω. Of the 43 audio interfaces here that publish an output impedance, 43 are under it and 0 are not.

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 96.0 dB and 600Ω, the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω) turns one microvolt of source noise into about -22 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 600ΩOutput impedanceHiss in thesePower verdict
Audient iD4 MkII$19950 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
Audient iD14 MkII$34950 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
Audient iD24$59952 mW50 Ωnot publishedComfortable
SSL 12$59963 mW1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
Apogee Duet 3$64963 mW0.5 Ωnot publishedComfortable
Audient iD44 MkII$80954 mW50 Ωnot publishedComfortable
Universal Audio Volt 876$99935 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
Audient iD48$1300126 mW50 Ωnot publishedComfortable
RME ADI-2 DAC FS$139964 mW0.1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
Apogee Symphony Desktop$149590 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
RME ADI-2 Pro FS R$2199158 mW0.1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
RME ADI-2 Pro EX$2499185 mW0.1 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 Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω) on other categories: USB dongles · Bluetooth receivers · portable players · desktop amplifiers.

The Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω) page has every source in the database against this headphone, and the matcher takes your own numbers.