Will a desktop DAC/amp drive the Shure SE846?

On power, yes — all of them. Every one of the 34 desktop DAC/amps in this database reaches 100 dB SPL on the Shure SE846, which needs 0.04 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 Aiyima A2 Pro at $75, which delivers 42 mW into 9Ω — 30 dB of headroom over the 0.04 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 0.00 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 Shure SE846 wants a source below 1.12Ω. Of the 19 desktop DAC/amps here that publish an output impedance, 16 are under it and 3 are not.

The furthest over is the Matrix mini-i Pro 4 at 11Ω, which is 10× 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 15 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 114.0 dB/mW and 9Ω, the Shure SE846 turns one microvolt of source noise into about 14 dB SPL — and the threshold where that stops being noticeable in a quiet room is around 20 dB SPL.

Of the 10 desktop DAC/amps here that publish a noise figure, 1 stay below that threshold with this headphone and 9 cross it.

The worst of them is the FiiO K11 R2R, whose published 7.2 µV works out to 32 dB SPL of hiss in these. The hiss calculator takes your own figures.

The remaining 24 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
Aiyima A2 Pro$7542 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
Creative Sound Blaster X3$10013 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
Loxjie A30$17028 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
SMSL C200$2191.5 Wnot publishednot publishedComfortable
iFi Zen DAC 3$22959 mW1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
Creative Sound Blaster X5$28534 mW1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
Aune X1s GT$31990 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
WiiM Ultra$34942 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M$39984 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
JDS Labs Element III MK2$449647 mW0.7 Ωnot publishedComfortable
Topping DX5$449506 mW0.1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
xDuoo XA-10$449844 mWnot publishednot 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 Shure SE846 on other categories: USB dongles · Bluetooth receivers · portable players · portable amplifiers · desktop amplifiers · audio interfaces.

The Shure SE846 page has every source in the database against this headphone, and the matcher takes your own numbers.