The EarMen Colibri is a USB dongle at $299. It delivers 75 mW into 32Ω and 8.0 mW into 300Ω, which ranks it 234 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.
Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 487 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here, enough but not generous on 69, only marginal on 7 and not enough power for 4. Power is published at 16Ω, 32Ω; the rest of the table is derived from those figures. Output impedance is not published. Output noise is not published, so the hiss estimate cannot be run.
The manufacturer publishes 150 mW into 16Ω, 75 mW into 32Ω. Everything else in the table above is worked out from those figures, and this table says which is which.
The balanced output is rated separately: 280 mW into 32Ω through the 4.4mm jack.
Derivation holds output voltage steady between and beyond the published loads rather than output power, because that is what an amplifier actually does. The full method is written up here.
Source: earmen-shop.com.
| Load | Power | Status | How it was arrived at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Ω | 150 mW | Published | the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load |
| 32 Ω | 75 mW | Published | the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load |
| 150 Ω | 16 mW | Derived | beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters |
| 300 Ω | 8.0 mW | Derived | beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters |
| 600 Ω | 4.0 mW | Derived | beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters |
Ordered from easiest to hardest to drive. Headroom is measured at 100 dB SPL, which is louder than almost anyone listens — a small negative number means the source still plays loud, just without reserve for peaks.
These figures come from each manufacturer's own sensitivity rating. A handful of planars — the HiFiMAN Susvara and the Abyss AB-1266 in particular — are widely reported to need far more than their published sensitivity implies, so treat a bare pass on those as optimistic rather than settled.
| Headphone | Impedance | Sensitivity | Needs | Headroom | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 114.0 dB/mW | 0.04 mW | +33 dB | Comfortable |
| 64 Audio U12t | 12.6 Ω | 108.0 dB/mW | 0.16 mW | +29 dB | Comfortable |
| Shure SE215 | 17 Ω | 107.0 dB/mW | 0.20 mW | +28 dB | Comfortable |
| Moondrop Aria | 32 Ω | 107.1 dB/mW | 0.19 mW | +26 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-X 2021 | 20 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable |
| Truthear Hexa | 20.5 Ω | 103.1 dB/mW | 0.49 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser IE 200 | 18 Ω | 101.6 dB/mW | 0.69 mW | +23 dB | Comfortable |
| Sony MDR-7506 | 63 Ω | 106.0 dB/mW | 0.25 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable |
| Meze 99 Classics | 32 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable |
| Focal Clear MG | 55 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable |
| Philips SHP9500 | 32 Ω | 101.0 dB | 0.79 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable |
| Focal Utopia | 80 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| Meze Empyrean | 32 Ω | 100.0 dB | 1.0 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +13 dB | Comfortable |
| Etymotic ER2SE | 15 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +17 dB | Comfortable |
| AKG K371 | 32 Ω | 99.1 dB/mW | 1.2 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable |
| Audio-Technica ATH-M50X | 38 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +17 dB | Comfortable |
| Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X | 48 Ω | 100.0 dB/mW | 1.0 mW | +17 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 101.0 dB/mW | 0.79 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| Grado SR80x | 38 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 560S | 120 Ω | 100.8 dB/mW | 0.83 mW | +14 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Edition XS | 18 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +13 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Arya Stealth | 32 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +13 dB | Comfortable |
| Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed | 13 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-5 | 14 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 102.0 dB/mW | 0.63 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 91.0 dB | 7.9 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Sundara | 32 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable |
| Dan Clark Audio Stealth | 23 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +10 dB | Comfortable |
| Fostex T50RP MK3 | 50 Ω | 92.0 dB/mW | 6.3 mW | +9 dB | Enough |
| AKG K702 | 62 Ω | 92.9 dB/mW | 5.1 mW | +9 dB | Enough |
| ZMF Verite Closed | 300 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +8 dB | Enough |
| Sennheiser HD 650 | 300 Ω | 97.8 dB/mW | 1.7 mW | +7 dB | Enough |
| Sennheiser HD 800S | 300 Ω | 96.8 dB/mW | 2.1 mW | +6 dB | Enough |
| Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 96.0 dB | 2.5 mW | +6 dB | Enough |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +5 dB | Enough |
| ZMF Atrium | 300 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +5 dB | Enough |
| Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC | 50 Ω | 88.0 dB/mW | 16 mW | +5 dB | Enough |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 91.8 dB/mW | 6.6 mW | +1 dB | Marginal |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 83.0 dB | 50 mW | -1 dB | Not enough |
The manufacturer does not publish an output noise figure for this source, so the hiss estimate that runs on every other page here cannot be run on this one. Rather than substitute a plausible number, this page leaves the question open.
If you know the noise figure from a measurement you trust, the hiss calculator takes it directly and tells you where that noise lands in your own in-ears.
The manufacturer does not publish an output impedance for this source. That is the one number that decides whether it leaves your headphones alone or acts as a tone control, so its absence matters more than it looks: without it, nothing here can tell you how this source will behave with a multi-driver in-ear.
If you find a measured figure you trust, the checker will work out the consequence for any headphone.
| Source | Type | Price | Into 300 Ω | Output impedance | Output noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FiiO KA11 | USB dongle | $29 | 22 mW | 0.7 Ω | 1.7 µV |
| FiiO BTR13 | Bluetooth receiver | $59 | 10.0 mW | 0.6 Ω | 1.0 µV |
| Tempotec Sonata BHD Pro | USB dongle | $60 | 30 mW | 0.6 Ω unverified | 4 µV unverified |
Of the 280 sources here, 47 do everything the EarMen Colibri does as a headphone output: reach 100 dB on every headphone it reaches. The cheapest of them is the FiiO KA11 at $29, against this one’s $299 — $270 less.
The cheaper one also publishes an output impedance and a noise figure, which the EarMen Colibri does not — so on the paperwork it is ahead, not merely level.
This counts a headphone output and nothing else. Inputs, converters, microphone preamps, balanced outputs, the volume control, the case and the warranty are all outside it, and any of them can be the reason to buy the dearer box. What the count does say is that the three numbers a maker can be held to do not separate them.
$269 · 160 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$259 · 137 mW into 32Ω · 0.8 Ω out
Compare →$250 · 300 mW into 32Ω · 0.5 Ω out
Compare →$229 · 500 mW into 32Ω · 0.3 Ω out
Compare →$219 · 125 mW into 32Ω · 0.9 Ω out
Compare →$210 · 121 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →Worked out in advance against its closest rivals: vs Astell&Kern HC4 · vs Cayin RU7 · vs ddHiFi TC44 Pro · vs EPZ TP50 · vs iBasso DC-Elite · vs iBasso DC07 Pro · vs Luxury & Precision W4 · vs Shanling UA5. Each of those pages lists the headphones that tell the two apart.
Or put any two side by side in the source comparison tool, or run your own headphones through the amplifier matcher. Or see every EarMen source in the database, and how much of what this site says about them came from EarMen’s own documents.