Will a USB dongle drive the Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020?

On power, yes — all of them. Every one of the 51 USB dongles in this database reaches 100 dB SPL on the Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020, which needs 4.0 mW at its 9Ω.

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 cheapest one that does reach it is the Apple USB-C dongle (EU) at $9, which delivers 4.2 mW into 9Ω — 0 dB of headroom over the 4.0 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 0.13 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 Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 wants a source below 1.12Ω. Of the 18 USB dongles here that publish an output impedance, 16 are under it and 2 are not.

The furthest over is the Astell&Kern HC3 at 2Ω, which is 2× 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.

Whether you will hear it between tracks

Hiss depends on the source’s own noise floor and on how sensitive the headphone is. At 94.0 dB and 9Ω, the Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 turns one microvolt of source noise into about -6 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.

The 12 best matches in this category

SourcePriceInto 9ΩOutput impedanceHiss in thesePower verdict
FiiO KA11$29138 mW0.7 Ω-1 dB SPLComfortable
Tanchjim Stargate II$4046 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
ddHiFi TC35AL$4659 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
ddHiFi TC35Air$4659 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
Tempotec Sonata BHD Pro$6079 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
FiiO KA3$7967 mW0.5 Ω-1 dB SPLComfortable
FiiO KA5$9976 mW0.3 Ω-1 dB SPLComfortable
ddHiFi TC44 Pro E2$9970 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
FiiO KA15$109163 mW0.8 Ω-1 dB SPLComfortable
Onix Alpha XI1$10951 mW0.4 Ωnot publishedComfortable
Tanchjim LUNA$14098 mWnot published-3 dB SPLComfortable
FiiO KA17$14962 mW1 Ω0 dB SPLComfortable

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 Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 on other categories: Bluetooth receivers · portable players · portable amplifiers · desktop amplifiers · desktop DAC/amps · audio interfaces.

The Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 page has every source in the database against this headphone, and the matcher takes your own numbers.