The Steinberg UR22C is an audio interface at $199. It delivers 12 mW into 32Ω and 2.0 mW into 300Ω, which ranks it 280 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.
Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 275 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here, enough but not generous on 177, only marginal on 60 and not enough power for 55. Power is published at 40Ω; 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 15 mW into 40Ω. Everything else in the table above is worked out from those figures, and this table says which is which.
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: download.steinberg.net.
| Load | Power | Status | How it was arrived at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | 12 mW | Derived | beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters |
| 40 Ω | 15 mW | Published | the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load |
| 150 Ω | 4.0 mW | Derived | beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters |
| 300 Ω | 2.0 mW | Derived | beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters |
| 600 Ω | 1.0 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 | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| 64 Audio U12t | 12.6 Ω | 108.0 dB/mW | 0.16 mW | +15 dB | Comfortable |
| Shure SE215 | 17 Ω | 107.0 dB/mW | 0.20 mW | +15 dB | Comfortable |
| Moondrop Aria | 32 Ω | 107.1 dB/mW | 0.19 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-X 2021 | 20 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable |
| Truthear Hexa | 20.5 Ω | 103.1 dB/mW | 0.49 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser IE 200 | 18 Ω | 101.6 dB/mW | 0.69 mW | +10 dB | Enough |
| Sony MDR-7506 | 63 Ω | 106.0 dB/mW | 0.25 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| Meze 99 Classics | 32 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +14 dB | Comfortable |
| Focal Clear MG | 55 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +14 dB | Comfortable |
| Philips SHP9500 | 32 Ω | 101.0 dB | 0.79 mW | +12 dB | Comfortable |
| Focal Utopia | 80 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +13 dB | Comfortable |
| Meze Empyrean | 32 Ω | 100.0 dB | 1.0 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | -1 dB | Not enough |
| Etymotic ER2SE | 15 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +4 dB | Enough |
| AKG K371 | 32 Ω | 99.1 dB/mW | 1.2 mW | +10 dB | Enough |
| Audio-Technica ATH-M50X | 38 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable |
| Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X | 48 Ω | 100.0 dB/mW | 1.0 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 101.0 dB/mW | 0.79 mW | +10 dB | Comfortable |
| Grado SR80x | 38 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +10 dB | Enough |
| Sennheiser HD 560S | 120 Ω | 100.8 dB/mW | 0.83 mW | +8 dB | Enough |
| HiFiMAN Edition XS | 18 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +0 dB | Marginal |
| HiFiMAN Arya Stealth | 32 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +5 dB | Enough |
| Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed | 13 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | -3 dB | Not enough |
| Audeze LCD-5 | 14 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | -3 dB | Not enough |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 102.0 dB/mW | 0.63 mW | +6 dB | Enough |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 91.0 dB | 7.9 mW | +1 dB | Marginal |
| HiFiMAN Sundara | 32 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +3 dB | Marginal |
| Dan Clark Audio Stealth | 23 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | -1 dB | Not enough |
| Fostex T50RP MK3 | 50 Ω | 92.0 dB/mW | 6.3 mW | +3 dB | Marginal |
| AKG K702 | 62 Ω | 92.9 dB/mW | 5.1 mW | +3 dB | Marginal |
| ZMF Verite Closed | 300 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +2 dB | Marginal |
| Sennheiser HD 650 | 300 Ω | 97.8 dB/mW | 1.7 mW | +1 dB | Marginal |
| Sennheiser HD 800S | 300 Ω | 96.8 dB/mW | 2.1 mW | -0 dB | Not enough |
| Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 96.0 dB | 2.5 mW | -0 dB | Not enough |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | -1 dB | Not enough |
| ZMF Atrium | 300 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | -1 dB | Not enough |
| Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC | 50 Ω | 88.0 dB/mW | 16 mW | -1 dB | Not enough |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 91.8 dB/mW | 6.6 mW | -5 dB | Not enough |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 83.0 dB | 50 mW | -7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple USB-C dongle (US) | USB dongle | $9 | 4.0 mW | 1 Ω unverified | 6 µV unverified |
| Generic CX31993 dongles | USB dongle | $12 | 9.0 mW | 1.5 Ω unverified | 8 µV unverified |
| JadeAudio JA11 | USB dongle | $20 | 3.2 mW | 0.5 Ω | 1.7 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 82 do everything the Steinberg UR22C does as a headphone output: reach 100 dB on every headphone it reaches. The cheapest of them is the Apple USB-C dongle (US) at $9, against this one’s $199 — $190 less, and a USB dongle rather than an audio interface.
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.
$199 · 31 mW into 32Ω · 50 Ω out
Compare →$199 · 112 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$199 · 84 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$199 · 106 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$199 · 18 mW into 32Ω · 66 Ω out
Compare →$200 · 30 mW into 32Ω · 10 Ω out
Compare →Worked out in advance against its closest rivals: vs Apogee BOOM · vs Audient iD4 MkII · vs Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th gen · vs Focusrite Vocaster Two · vs MOTU M2 · vs MOTU M4 · vs PreSonus Quantum ES 2 · vs PreSonus Studio 24c · vs PreSonus Studio 68c · vs Steinberg IXO22 · vs Steinberg UR24C · vs Steinberg UR44C · vs Universal Audio Volt 1 · vs Universal Audio Volt 2 · vs Universal Audio Volt 276. 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 Steinberg source in the database, and how much of what this site says about them came from Steinberg’s own documents.