K240 Studio vs K612 Pro: which needs more amplifier?

The AKG K240 Studio is 55Ω at 91.4 dB/mW; the AKG K612 Pro is 120Ω at 91.8 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.

In amplifier terms these two are the same headphone. The gap between what they need for 100 dB is under half a decibel, which is smaller than the step between two clicks of most volume controls.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationK240 StudioK612 Pro
Impedance55 Ω120 Ω
Sensitivity91.4 dB/mW91.8 dB/mW
Sensitivity (voltage)104.0 dB/V101.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB7.2 mW6.6 mW
Voltage for 100 dB0.63 V0.89 V
Current for 100 dB11.5 mA7.4 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
6.88 Ω15.00 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280277

Where the two part company

3 of the 280 sources have the power for the K240 Studio but not for the K612 Pro — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Steinberg UR22C, Sony NW-A306.

17 sources are low enough in output impedance for the K612 Pro under the one-eighth rule but not for the K240 Studio (Zoom AMS-22, Arturia MiniFuse 2, Arturia MiniFuse 1, 14 more).

277 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.

What each one needs from 80 to 105 dB

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 K612 Pro is more demanding than 97% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the K240 Studio than 92%. 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 SPLK240 Studio powerK240 Studio voltageK612 Pro powerK612 Pro voltage
800.07 mW63 mV0.07 mW89 mV
850.23 mW0.11 V0.21 mW0.16 V
900.72 mW0.20 V0.66 mW0.28 V
952.3 mW0.35 V2.1 mW0.50 V
1007.2 mW0.63 V6.6 mW0.89 V
10523 mW1.12 V21 mW1.58 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.

The cheapest source that satisfies both

SourcePriceHeadroom, K240 StudioHeadroom, K612 ProOutput impedanceNoise
JadeAudio JA11$203.8 dB0.8 dB0.5 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO KA11$2912.1 dB9.1 dB0.7 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO BTR11$363.8 dB0.7 dB0.5 Ω8.0 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 277 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 205 of them are in the second group.

The cheapest of the 70 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 3.8 dB of headroom on the K240 Studio and 0.8 dB on the K612 Pro, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 6.88 Ω and 15.00 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 31 dB and 34 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.

What each sheet prints, and what it is worth

ModelAs printedToleranceStandard
K240 Studio15 - 25000not printednot printed
K612 Pro12 - 39500 Hznot printednot printed

AKG prints 15 - 25000 for the K240 Studio and 12 - 39500 Hz for the K612 Pro.

Neither range has a tolerance printed beside it, and that is the whole of what this section can tell you. A wider range on one sheet is not deeper bass or more treble on that headphone: without a tolerance, neither number says how loud either model is at the ends of its own range, so the difference between the two is a difference between two pieces of marketing copy. A ±dB figure is what turns a range into a specification, and of the 490 models whose maker prints a range, 58 print it.

None of this is a measurement. What each maker publishes, and what it is worth, is set out in the frequency response audit.

Both pages in full

Each model has a page of its own with the full source list, the hiss estimate and the provenance of every figure above: AKG K240 Studio and AKG K612 Pro. Every figure on this page comes from what AKG published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.

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