The Thieaudio Hype 10 is 18Ω at 87.6 dB/mW; the Thieaudio Monarch MKIV is 10Ω at 100.0 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.
The Hype 10 needs 12.4 dB more than the Monarch MKIV to reach the same loudness — 17 mW against 1.0 mW.
| Specification | Hype 10 | Monarch MKIV |
|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 18 Ω | 10 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 87.6 dB/mW | 100.0 dB |
| Sensitivity (voltage) | 105.0 dB/V | 120.0 dB/V |
| Power for 100 dB | 17 mW | 1.0 mW |
| Voltage for 100 dB | 0.56 V | 0.10 V |
| Current for 100 dB | 31.1 mA | 10.0 mA |
| Highest source impedance that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule) | 2.25 Ω | 1.25 Ω |
| Sources that reach 100 dB out of 280 | 264 | 280 |
One caution before reading the rows. Thieaudio Monarch MKIV 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.
16 of the 280 sources have the power for the Monarch MKIV but not for the Hype 10 — Apple USB-C dongle (US), Apple USB-C dongle (EU), JadeAudio JA11, 13 more.
8 sources are low enough in output impedance for the Hype 10 under the one-eighth rule but not for the Monarch MKIV (FiiO KA13, Schiit Vali 2+, Astell&Kern HC3, 5 more).
1 source stays below the audible-hiss threshold with the Hype 10 but crosses it with the Monarch MKIV (Schiit Mjolnir 3).
264 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 Hype 10 is more demanding than 88% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Monarch MKIV than 32%. 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 | Hype 10 power | Hype 10 voltage | Monarch MKIV power | Monarch MKIV voltage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0.17 mW | 56 mV | 0.01 mW | 10 mV |
| 85 | 0.55 mW | 99 mV | 0.03 mW | 18 mV |
| 90 | 1.7 mW | 0.18 V | 0.10 mW | 32 mV |
| 95 | 5.5 mW | 0.31 V | 0.32 mW | 56 mV |
| 100 | 17 mW | 0.56 V | 1.0 mW | 0.10 V |
| 105 | 55 mW | 0.99 V | 3.2 mW | 0.18 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, Hype 10 | Headroom, Monarch MKIV | Output impedance | Noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FiiO KA11 | $29 | 11.3 dB | 21.9 dB | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR11 | $36 | 3.8 dB | 14.5 dB | 0.5 Ω | 8.0 µV |
| FiiO BTR13 | $59 | 8.2 dB | 18.8 dB | 0.6 Ω | 1.0 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 264 reach 100 dB on both. That is the easy axis. 64 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 193 of them are in the second group.
The cheapest of the 64 is the FiiO KA11, at $29. It leaves 11.3 dB of headroom on the Hype 10 and 21.9 dB on the Monarch MKIV, its output impedance is 0.7 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 2.25 Ω and 1.25 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 30 dB and 15 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.
Each model has a page of its own with the full source list, the hiss estimate and the provenance of every figure above: Thieaudio Hype 10 and Thieaudio Monarch MKIV. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones Thieaudio never published — what that maker publishes, counted.