Both are dongles, $79 against $70. 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 Truthear SHIO reaches 100 dB on 561 of the 567 models here, the FiiO KA13 on 555.
| Specification | FiiO KA13 | Truthear SHIO |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 50 mW | 125 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 10 mW | 27 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 5.0 mW | 13 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 2.5 mW | 6.7 mW |
| Output impedance | 1.7 Ω | 0.3 Ω unverified |
| Output noise | 2.5 µV | 1.6 µV |
| Price | $79 | $70 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 555 | 561 |
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 | FiiO KA13 | Truthear SHIO |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Published | Upper bound |
| 150 Ω | Derived | Upper bound |
| 300 Ω | Published | Upper bound |
| 600 Ω | Derived | Upper bound |
These two columns are not the same kind of number, and that matters more than the gap between them. FiiO KA13 publishes a power rating (at 32 Ω and at 300 Ω); Truthear SHIO 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 Truthear SHIO’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 Truthear SHIO 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 FiiO KA13 but not on the Truthear SHIO — Symphonium Zenith.
7 headphones reach 100 dB on the Truthear SHIO but not on the FiiO KA13 — Beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition (600Ω), Beyerdynamic DT 990 Edition (600Ω), HiFiMAN HE-6se V2, 4 more.
8 headphones stay below the audible-hiss threshold on the Truthear SHIO but cross it on the FiiO KA13 (64 Audio Fourte, Campfire Audio Andromeda 10, Campfire Audio Andromeda 2023, 5 more).
554 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.
The widest gap on the list is the Audio-Technica ATH-R70X: Truthear SHIO has +7 dB of headroom there against +3 dB. 4 dB is about 2.7 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
Hiss is this source’s own noise, in decibels SPL, in that headphone — not a rating. Below about 20 dB SPL it is under the threshold of hearing in a quiet room; a negative figure means it is far below it.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | FiiO KA13 headroom | Truthear SHIO headroom | FiiO KA13 hiss | Truthear SHIO hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +30 dB damping | +29 dB | 22 dB | 19 dB |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +10 dB damping | +9 dB | 2 dB | -1 dB |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +15 dB | +19 dB | 1 dB | -3 dB |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +10 dB | +14 dB | -4 dB | -8 dB |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +8 dB | +11 dB | -5 dB | -9 dB |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +3 dB | +7 dB | -11 dB | -15 dB |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | -1 dB | +3 dB | -15 dB | -19 dB |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | -3 dB | +1 dB | -17 dB | -21 dB |
The FiiO KA13 costs $9 more than the Truthear SHIO. Out of the 567 models here, that difference buys 1 more model driven to 100 dB.
It does not run one way only: the cheaper Truthear SHIO drives 7 models to 100 dB and keeps 8 below the audible-hiss threshold that the FiiO KA13 does not, which is the part worth checking against your own headphones before paying the difference.
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: FiiO KA13 and Truthear SHIO. Or put either against your own headphones in the source comparison tool.