The Moondrop Psyche is 17.5Ω at 97.4 dB/mW; the Moondrop Variations is 15.2Ω at 99.8 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.
The Psyche needs 2.4 dB more than the Variations to reach the same loudness — 1.8 mW against 1.0 mW.
| Specification | Psyche | Variations |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 17.5 Ω | 15.2 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 97.4 dB/mW | 99.8 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 115.0 dB/V | 118.0 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 1.8 mW | 1.0 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.18 V | 0.13 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 10.2 mA | 8.3 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 2.19 Ω | 1.90 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.
3 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Psyche under the one-eighth rule but not for the Variations (Astell&Kern HC3, RME Fireface UFX II, RME Fireface UFX III).
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 Psyche is more demanding than 53% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Variations than 40%. 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 | Psyche power | Psyche voltage | Variations power | Variations voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0.02 mW | 18 mV | 0.01 mW | 13 mV |
| 85 | 0.06 mW | 32 mV | 0.03 mW | 22 mV |
| 90 | 0.18 mW | 56 mV | 0.10 mW | 40 mV |
| 95 | 0.58 mW | 0.10 V | 0.33 mW | 71 mV |
| 100 | 1.8 mW | 0.18 V | 1.0 mW | 0.13 V |
| 105 | 5.8 mW | 0.32 V | 3.3 mW | 0.22 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, Psyche | Headroom, Variations | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JadeAudio JA11 | $20 | 9.6 dB | 11.3 dB | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 21.1 dB | 23.5 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR11 | $36 | 13.7 dB | 16.1 dB | 0.5 Ω | 8.0 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 280 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 208 of them are in the second group.
The cheapest of the 69 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 9.6 dB of headroom on the Psyche and 11.3 dB on the Variations, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 2.19 Ω and 1.90 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 20 dB and 17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psyche | 7Hz- 46kHz | not printed | not printed |
| 20Hz 20kHz (IEC60318-4, 3dB) | 3 dB | IEC60318-4 | |
| Variations | 9-40kHz (IEC61094, Free Field) | not printed | IEC61094 (free field) |
| 20-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB) | -3 dB | IEC60318-4 |
Moondrop prints two ranges, “7Hz- 46kHz” and “20Hz 20kHz (IEC60318-4, 3dB)”, for the Psyche and two ranges, “9-40kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)” and “20-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB)”, for the Variations.
Both sheets print a tolerance, which is rare enough to be worth pointing at: only 58 of the 490 models with a printed range do. These two ranges can be set against each other, because each of them says how far down the response is allowed to be at the ends.
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: Moondrop Psyche and Moondrop Variations. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop published, or is derived from it — what that maker publishes, counted.