The Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC is 50Ω at 88.0 dB/mW; the Dan Clark Audio Expanse is 26Ω at 90.0 dB/mW. This page is only about what they ask of an amplifier — not how they sound, which no specification on either sheet can tell you.
The Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC needs 2.0 dB more than the Dan Clark Audio Expanse to reach the same loudness — 16 mW against 10 mW.
| Specification | Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC | Dan Clark Audio Expanse |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 50 Ω | 26 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 88.0 dB/mW | 90.0 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 101.0 dB/V | 105.9 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 16 mW | 10 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.89 V | 0.51 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 17.8 mA | 19.6 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 6.25 Ω | 3.25 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 275 | 279 |
4 of the 280 sources have the power for the Dan Clark Audio Expanse but not for the Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Zoom AMS-22, Tascam US-2x2HR, 1 more.
1 source is low enough in output impedance for the Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC under the one-eighth rule but not for the Dan Clark Audio Expanse (Shanling H5).
275 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both. That count is about power only — the output-impedance and hiss lines above are separate questions, and a source can pass this one and fail those.
The gap between these two in decibels does not change with volume — it is a property of the two headphones. What changes is the size of the numbers, and it changes fast: every 10 dB costs ten times the power. The row that matters is the one nearest the level you listen at, and for most people that is nearer the top of this table than the bottom.
The Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC is more demanding than 97% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Dan Clark Audio Expanse than 87%. Both figures use the same measure as the rest of the site: whichever runs out first against a 2 V, 100 mW dongle, voltage or power.
| dB SPL | Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC power | Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC voltage | Dan Clark Audio Expanse power | Dan Clark Audio Expanse voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0.16 mW | 89 mV | 0.10 mW | 51 mV |
| 85 | 0.50 mW | 0.16 V | 0.32 mW | 91 mV |
| 90 | 1.6 mW | 0.28 V | 1.0 mW | 0.16 V |
| 95 | 5.0 mW | 0.50 V | 3.2 mW | 0.29 V |
| 100 | 16 mW | 0.89 V | 10 mW | 0.51 V |
| 105 | 50 mW | 1.58 V | 32 mW | 0.91 V |
105 dB is included because forum power figures are usually quoted there or higher. It is also a level that damages hearing in minutes — how many minutes is its own calculator.
| Source | Price | Headroom, Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC | Headroom, Dan Clark Audio Expanse | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JadeAudio JA11 | $20 | 0.8 dB | 3.9 dB | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 9.1 dB | 13.2 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR11 | $36 | 0.8 dB | 5.2 dB | 0.5 Ω | 8.0 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 275 reach 100 dB on both. That is the easy axis. 70 of them also publish an output impedance low enough for both under the one-eighth rule and a noise figure that stays below the audible-hiss threshold with both — the rest either fail one of those or never printed the number at all, and 203 of them are in the second group.
The cheapest of the 70 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 0.8 dB of headroom on the Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC and 3.9 dB on the Dan Clark Audio Expanse, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 6.25 Ω and 3.25 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 34 dB and 30 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.
Cheapest that satisfies three published numbers is not the same as best, and none of it is about how either headphone sounds. To put either model against a source this page does not mention, or to change the target loudness, use the amplifier matcher.
| Model | As printed | Tolerance | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC | 5 Hz - 45 KHz | not printed | not printed |
| Dan Clark Audio Expanse | “Yes, it has one” | not printed | not printed |
Abyss prints 5 Hz - 45 KHz for the AB-1266 Phi TC. Dan Clark Audio prints “Yes, it has one” for the Expanse.
Dan Clark Audio Expanse: The specification table has a frequency-response row. The value printed in it is the sentence "Yes, it has one".
One of these two sheets prints a range and the other prints a sentence declining to, and the second is the more informative of the two. The range given for the Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC carries no tolerance, so it says nothing about how loud that model is at either end of it — which is exactly the objection the other sheet is making out loud.
None of this is a measurement. What each maker publishes, and what it is worth, is set out in the frequency response audit.
Each model has a page of its own with the full source list, the hiss estimate and the provenance of every figure above: Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC and Dan Clark Audio Expanse. Every figure on this page comes from what Abyss and Dan Clark Audio published, or is derived from it — what Abyss publishes and what Dan Clark Audio publishes, both counted.