The Letshuoer Cadenza12 is 16Ω at 110.0 dB/mW; the Letshuoer DZ4 is 12Ω at 104.0 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 DZ4 needs 6.0 dB more than the Cadenza12 to reach the same loudness — 0.40 mW against 0.10 mW.
| Specification | Cadenza12 | DZ4 |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 16 Ω | 12 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 110.0 dB/mW | 104.0 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 128.0 dB/V | 123.2 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 0.10 mW | 0.40 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 40 mV | 69 mV |
| Current for 100 dB | 2.5 mA | 5.8 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 2.00 Ω | 1.50 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 280 | 280 |
Every source in the database that drives one of them drives the other. On power, the choice between these two changes nothing about what amplifier you need.
5 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Cadenza12 under the one-eighth rule but not for the DZ4 (FiiO KA13, Schiit Vali 2+, Astell&Kern HC3, 2 more).
13 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the DZ4 but cross it with the Cadenza12 (Lake People G103-S Mk II, Schiit Valhalla 3, Lake People G111 Mk II, 10 more).
280 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 DZ4 is more demanding than 20% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Cadenza12 than 7%. 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 | Cadenza12 power | Cadenza12 voltage | DZ4 power | DZ4 voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 1.0 µW | 4 mV | 4.0 µW | 7 mV |
| 85 | 3.2 µW | 7 mV | 0.01 mW | 12 mV |
| 90 | 0.01 mW | 13 mV | 0.04 mW | 22 mV |
| 95 | 0.03 mW | 22 mV | 0.13 mW | 39 mV |
| 100 | 0.10 mW | 40 mV | 0.40 mW | 69 mV |
| 105 | 0.32 mW | 71 mV | 1.3 mW | 0.12 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, Cadenza12 | Headroom, DZ4 | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JadeAudio JA11 | $20 | 21.8 dB | 14.5 dB | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 33.9 dB | 26.6 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR13 | $59 | 30.8 dB | 23.5 dB | 0.6 Ω | 1.0 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. That is the easy axis. 54 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 208 of them are in the second group.
The cheapest of the 54 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 21.8 dB of headroom on the Cadenza12 and 14.5 dB on the DZ4, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 2.00 Ω and 1.50 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 7 dB and 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadenza12 | nothing printed | — | — |
| DZ4 | nothing printed | — | — |
Letshuoer prints the same thing for both the Cadenza12 and the DZ4: nothing at all.
There is nothing here to compare, and that is worth saying plainly rather than filling the gap with somebody else’s measurement. Of the 578 models checked against a maker document so far, 490 carry a printed range and only 58 of those print the ±dB tolerance that would make a range mean anything.
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: Letshuoer Cadenza12 and Letshuoer DZ4. Every figure on this page comes from what Letshuoer published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.