Both are dongles, $179 against $259. This page puts them side by side on the only three things a maker can be held to — power, output impedance and noise — and then asks the question that actually matters: which headphones do they treat differently?
The Shanling UA5 reaches 100 dB on 562 of the 567 models here, the Astell&Kern HC3 on 561.
| Specification | Astell&Kern HC3 | Shanling UA5 |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 125 mW | 137 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 27 mW | 29 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 13 mW | 15 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 6.7 mW | 7.3 mW |
| Output impedance | 2.0 Ω | 0.8 Ω |
| Output noise | not published | 3.5 µV unverified |
| Price | $179 | $259 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 561 | 562 |
A figure marked not published is missing from the maker’s own material, which is not the same as being good or bad. Where one of these two publishes a number and the other does not, the comparison on that axis cannot be made at all — and saying so is more useful than guessing.
| Load | Astell&Kern HC3 | Shanling UA5 |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Upper bound | Published |
| 150 Ω | Upper bound | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Upper bound | Derived |
| 600 Ω | Upper bound | Derived |
These two columns are not the same kind of number, and that matters more than the gap between them. Shanling UA5 publishes a power rating (at 32 Ω); Astell&Kern HC3 publishes no power figure at any load, only a maximum output voltage, so every milliwatt in its column is a ceiling worked out from that voltage.
A ceiling assumes the amplifier holds that voltage into the load, and nothing on Astell&Kern HC3’s own sheet says it does. It is the most flattering reading available, and it is used here only because the alternative is a blank. Where the Astell&Kern HC3 column looks the stronger of the two, treat the difference as unproven rather than measured. 24 of the 280 sources here are in that position, with no published power rating at any load.
What each of these labels means, and why a derived figure is still worth printing, is set out in how this data was built.
1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the Shanling UA5 but not on the Astell&Kern HC3 — Symphonium Zenith.
77 headphones are left alone by the Shanling UA5 under the one-eighth rule but coloured by the Astell&Kern HC3 (64 Audio Aspire 1, 64 Audio Fourte, 64 Audio Ocean, 74 more).
561 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both. That is a power count and nothing more; whether either source suits a given headphone also depends on the two lines above.
The counts above say how many models the two treat differently. This says by how much. The same 8 headphones appear on every page of this kind, ordered from the easiest to drive to the hardest, so a row can be read across pages as well as across columns. Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.
Across all eight the two stay within half a decibel of each other, which is a way of saying that on power this pair is one product.
The hiss columns are empty for Astell&Kern HC3 and Shanling UA5 because neither maker publishes no output noise figure. That is a gap in the specification, not a quiet amplifier, and it is left blank here rather than filled with a plausible number.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | Astell&Kern HC3 headroom | Shanling UA5 headroom | Astell&Kern HC3 hiss | Shanling UA5 hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +29 dB damping | +30 dB | not published | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +9 dB damping | +10 dB | not published | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +19 dB | +19 dB | not published | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +14 dB | +14 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +11 dB | +11 dB | not published | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +7 dB | +8 dB | not published | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +3 dB | +3 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +1 dB | +2 dB | not published | not published |
The Shanling UA5 costs $80 more than the Astell&Kern HC3. Out of the 567 models here, that difference buys 1 more model driven to 100 dB and 77 more models left alone under the one-eighth rule.
Nothing runs the other way: there is no axis here on which the cheaper of the two does better.
Everything in this paragraph counts only figures the two makers published. An advantage on an axis one of them leaves blank cannot be counted, and is not counted — how often that happens is its own page.
Each has a page of its own with every power figure traced to what the maker published and a full headphone list: Astell&Kern HC3 and Shanling UA5. Or put either against your own headphones in the source comparison tool.