The Fostex T50RP MK3 is 50Ω at 92.0 dB/mW; the HiFiMAN Edition XV is 12Ω at 92.0 dB (no reference unit printed). 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.
| Specification | Fostex T50RP MK3 | HiFiMAN Edition XV |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 50 Ω | 12 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 92.0 dB/mW | 92.0 dB |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 105.0 dB/V | 111.2 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 6.3 mW | 6.3 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.56 V | 0.28 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 11.2 mA | 22.9 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 6.25 Ω | 1.50 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 280 | 278 |
One caution before reading the rows. HiFiMAN Edition XV printed a decibel figure with no reference unit, so this page reads it as per milliwatt. If it is really per volt, that model needs far more than the table says. Why the two readings differ by so much.
2 of the 280 sources have the power for the Fostex T50RP MK3 but not for the HiFiMAN Edition XV — Apple USB-C dongle (EU), Steinberg UR22C.
6 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Fostex T50RP MK3 under the one-eighth rule but not for the HiFiMAN Edition XV (FiiO KA13, Schiit Vali 2+, Astell&Kern HC3, 3 more).
278 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 Fostex T50RP MK3 is more demanding than 88% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the HiFiMAN Edition XV than 70%. 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 | Fostex T50RP MK3 power | Fostex T50RP MK3 voltage | HiFiMAN Edition XV power | HiFiMAN Edition XV voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0.06 mW | 56 mV | 0.06 mW | 28 mV |
| 85 | 0.20 mW | 100 mV | 0.20 mW | 49 mV |
| 90 | 0.63 mW | 0.18 V | 0.63 mW | 87 mV |
| 95 | 2.0 mW | 0.32 V | 2.0 mW | 0.15 V |
| 100 | 6.3 mW | 0.56 V | 6.3 mW | 0.28 V |
| 105 | 20 mW | 1.00 V | 20 mW | 0.49 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, Fostex T50RP MK3 | Headroom, HiFiMAN Edition XV | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JadeAudio JA11 | $20 | 4.8 dB | 2.5 dB | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 13.1 dB | 14.6 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR11 | $36 | 4.8 dB | 7.3 dB | 0.5 Ω | 8.0 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 278 reach 100 dB on both. That is the easy axis. 69 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 206 of them are in the second group.
The cheapest of the 69 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 4.8 dB of headroom on the Fostex T50RP MK3 and 2.5 dB on the HiFiMAN Edition XV, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 6.25 Ω and 1.50 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 30 dB and 24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fostex T50RP MK3 | 15〜35,000Hz | not printed | not printed |
| HiFiMAN Edition XV | 8Hz – 50k Hz | not printed | not printed |
Fostex prints 15〜35,000Hz for the T50RP MK3. HiFiMAN prints 8Hz – 50k Hz for the Edition XV.
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.
Each model has a page of its own with the full source list, the hiss estimate and the provenance of every figure above: Fostex T50RP MK3 and HiFiMAN Edition XV. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones Fostex and HiFiMAN never published — what Fostex publishes and what HiFiMAN publishes, both counted.