Both are dongles, $70 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?
On raw power they are level: each reaches 100 dB on 561 of the 567 non-electrostatic models here.
| Specification | Tanchjim Space | Truthear SHIO |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 125 mW | 125 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 27 mW | 27 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 13 mW | 13 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 6.7 mW | 6.7 mW |
| Output impedance | not published | 0.3 Ω unverified |
| Output noise | 1.1 µV | 1.6 µV |
| Price | $70 | $70 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 561 | 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 | Tanchjim Space | Truthear SHIO |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Upper bound | Upper bound |
| 150 Ω | Upper bound | Upper bound |
| 300 Ω | Upper bound | Upper bound |
| 600 Ω | Upper bound | Upper bound |
Neither maker publishes a power rating at any load. Both columns above are ceilings, worked out from a maximum output voltage on the assumption that the amplifier holds it into the load — the most flattering reading available for either. 24 of the 280 sources here are in that position. Whichever of the two looks the stronger on power, the difference is unproven; the output-impedance and noise rows are the ones to go on.
What each of these labels means, and why a derived figure is still worth printing, is set out in how this data was built.
On power they are interchangeable across this whole database: there is no headphone here that one reaches 100 dB on and the other does not.
1 headphone stays below the audible-hiss threshold on the Tanchjim Space but crosses it on the Truthear SHIO (Tanchjim EA FORCE).
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.
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 | Tanchjim Space headroom | Truthear SHIO headroom | Tanchjim Space hiss | Truthear SHIO hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +29 dB | +29 dB | 15 dB | 19 dB |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +9 dB | +9 dB | -5 dB | -1 dB |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +19 dB | +19 dB | -7 dB | -3 dB |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +14 dB | +14 dB | -11 dB | -8 dB |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +11 dB | +11 dB | -12 dB | -9 dB |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +7 dB | +7 dB | -18 dB | -15 dB |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +3 dB | +3 dB | -22 dB | -19 dB |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +1 dB | +1 dB | -24 dB | -21 dB |
These two cost the same, $70, so price settles nothing. Out of the 567 models here, the Tanchjim Space keeps one model below the audible-hiss threshold — and on the other side there is no such advantage at all.
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: Tanchjim Space and Truthear SHIO. Or put either against your own headphones in the source comparison tool.