The Moondrop Variations is 15.2Ω at 99.8 dB/mW; the Shure SE846 is 9Ω at 114.0 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 Moondrop Variations needs 14.2 dB more than the Shure SE846 to reach the same loudness — 1.0 mW against 0.04 mW.
| Specification | Moondrop Variations | Shure SE846 |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 15.2 Ω | 9 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 99.8 dB/mW | 114.0 dB/mW |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 118.0 dB/V | 134.5 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 1.0 mW | 0.04 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.13 V | 19 mV |
| Current for 100 dB | 8.3 mA | 2.1 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 1.90 Ω | 1.12 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.
8 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Moondrop Variations under the one-eighth rule but not for the Shure SE846 (FiiO KA13, FiiO K11, Schiit Vali 2+, 5 more).
49 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the Moondrop Variations but cross it with the Shure SE846 (Kiwi Ears Allegro Mini, FiiO BTR11, FiiO KA13, 46 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 Moondrop Variations is more demanding than 40% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Shure SE846 than 1%. 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 | Moondrop Variations power | Moondrop Variations voltage | Shure SE846 power | Shure SE846 voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0.01 mW | 13 mV | 0.4 µW | 2 mV |
| 85 | 0.03 mW | 22 mV | 1.3 µW | 3 mV |
| 90 | 0.10 mW | 40 mV | 4.0 µW | 6 mV |
| 95 | 0.33 mW | 71 mV | 0.01 mW | 11 mV |
| 100 | 1.0 mW | 0.13 V | 0.04 mW | 19 mV |
| 105 | 3.3 mW | 0.22 V | 0.13 mW | 34 mV |
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, Moondrop Variations | Headroom, Shure SE846 | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JadeAudio JA11 | $20 | 11.3 dB | 23.3 dB | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 23.5 dB | 35.4 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR13 | $59 | 20.4 dB | 32.3 dB | 0.6 Ω | 1.0 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. That is the easy axis. 23 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 23 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 11.3 dB of headroom on the Moondrop Variations and 23.3 dB on the Shure SE846, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 1.90 Ω and 1.12 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 17 dB and 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moondrop Variations | 9-40kHz (IEC61094, Free Field) | not printed | IEC61094 (free field) |
| 20-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB) | -3 dB | IEC60318-4 | |
| Shure SE846 | 15 Hz–20 kHz | not printed | not printed |
Moondrop prints two ranges, “9-40kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)” and “20-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB)”, for the Variations. Shure prints 15 Hz–20 kHz for the SE846.
Only one of the two is a specification. The range printed for the Moondrop Variations comes with a tolerance; the one printed for the Shure SE846 does not, and a range without a ±dB figure says nothing about how loud that model is at either end of it. The two cannot be compared number against number, however similar they look in the table. Of the 490 models whose maker prints a range, 58 print the tolerance.
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 Variations and Shure SE846. Every figure on this page comes from what Moondrop and Shure published, or is derived from it — what Moondrop publishes and what Shure publishes, both counted.