The Tanchjim Space is a USB dongle at $70. It delivers 125 mW into 32Ω and 13 mW into 300Ω, which ranks it 189 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.
Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 505 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here, enough but not generous on 48, only marginal on 8 and not enough power for 6. Cheap, tiny and balanced, aimed squarely at in-ears rather than full-size headphones.
The manufacturer publishes a maximum output of 2.0 V but no power rating at any load. Every figure above is therefore a ceiling: the real output into a low impedance will be lower, possibly much lower.
The balanced output is rated separately: 500 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: tanchjim.com.
| Load | Power | Status | How it was arrived at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | 125 mW | Upper bound | the manufacturer publishes a maximum output voltage but no power rating, so this is a ceiling, not a rating |
| 150 Ω | 27 mW | Upper bound | the manufacturer publishes a maximum output voltage but no power rating, so this is a ceiling, not a rating |
| 300 Ω | 13 mW | Upper bound | the manufacturer publishes a maximum output voltage but no power rating, so this is a ceiling, not a rating |
| 600 Ω | 6.7 mW | Upper bound | the manufacturer publishes a maximum output voltage but no power rating, so this is a ceiling, not a rating |
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 | +29 dB | Comfortable audible hiss |
| 64 Audio U12t | 12.6 Ω | 108.0 dB/mW | 0.16 mW | +25 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Shure SE215 | 17 Ω | 107.0 dB/mW | 0.20 mW | +25 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Moondrop Aria | 32 Ω | 107.1 dB/mW | 0.19 mW | +28 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Audeze LCD-X 2021 | 20 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Truthear Hexa | 20.5 Ω | 103.1 dB/mW | 0.49 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable faint hiss |
| Sennheiser IE 200 | 18 Ω | 101.6 dB/mW | 0.69 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable |
| Sony MDR-7506 | 63 Ω | 106.0 dB/mW | 0.25 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable |
| Meze 99 Classics | 32 Ω | 103.0 dB/mW | 0.50 mW | +24 dB | Comfortable |
| Focal Clear MG | 55 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +23 dB | Comfortable |
| Philips SHP9500 | 32 Ω | 101.0 dB | 0.79 mW | +22 dB | Comfortable |
| Focal Utopia | 80 Ω | 104.0 dB/mW | 0.40 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable |
| Meze Empyrean | 32 Ω | 100.0 dB | 1.0 mW | +21 dB | Comfortable |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +9 dB | Enough |
| Etymotic ER2SE | 15 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +14 dB | Comfortable |
| AKG K371 | 32 Ω | 99.1 dB/mW | 1.2 mW | +20 dB | Comfortable |
| Audio-Technica ATH-M50X | 38 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X | 48 Ω | 100.0 dB/mW | 1.0 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 101.0 dB/mW | 0.79 mW | +19 dB | Comfortable |
| Grado SR80x | 38 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +18 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 560S | 120 Ω | 100.8 dB/mW | 0.83 mW | +16 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Edition XS | 18 Ω | 92.0 dB | 6.3 mW | +10 dB | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN Arya Stealth | 32 Ω | 94.0 dB | 4.0 mW | +15 dB | Comfortable |
| Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed | 13 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +7 dB | Enough |
| Audeze LCD-5 | 14 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +7 dB | Enough |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 102.0 dB/mW | 0.63 mW | +14 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 | +13 dB | Comfortable |
| Dan Clark Audio Stealth | 23 Ω | 90.0 dB/mW | 10 mW | +10 dB | Enough |
| Fostex T50RP MK3 | 50 Ω | 92.0 dB/mW | 6.3 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable |
| AKG K702 | 62 Ω | 92.9 dB/mW | 5.1 mW | +11 dB | Comfortable |
| ZMF Verite Closed | 300 Ω | 99.0 dB/mW | 1.3 mW | +10 dB | Comfortable |
| Sennheiser HD 650 | 300 Ω | 97.8 dB/mW | 1.7 mW | +9 dB | Enough |
| Sennheiser HD 800S | 300 Ω | 96.8 dB/mW | 2.1 mW | +8 dB | Enough |
| Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 96.0 dB | 2.5 mW | +8 dB | Enough |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 98.0 dB/mW | 1.6 mW | +7 dB | Enough |
| ZMF Atrium | 300 Ω | 96.0 dB/mW | 2.5 mW | +7 dB | Enough |
| Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC | 50 Ω | 88.0 dB/mW | 16 mW | +7 dB | Enough |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 91.8 dB/mW | 6.6 mW | +3 dB | Enough |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 83.0 dB | 50 mW | +1 dB | Marginal |
At 1.1 µV of output noise, here is where that noise lands in the five most revealing in-ears in the database.
This one hisses. With the most sensitive in-ears in the database its own noise lands around 22 dB SPL, which you will hear between tracks and in quiet passages.
| In-ear | Impedance | Sensitivity | Hiss level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simgot EA500 | 16 Ω | 141.0 dB/V | 22 dB SPL |
| Tanchjim EA FORCE | 17 Ω | 137.7 dB/V | 19 dB SPL |
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 134.5 dB/V | 15 dB SPL |
| Campfire Audio Clara | 13.3 Ω | 134.1 dB/V | 15 dB SPL |
| 64 Audio Fourte | 10 Ω | 134.0 dB/V | 15 dB SPL |
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 BTR13 | Bluetooth receiver | $59 | 10.0 mW | 0.6 Ω | 1.0 µV |
Of the 280 sources here, 1 do everything the Tanchjim Space does as a headphone output: reach 100 dB on every headphone it reaches and stay under the audible-hiss threshold wherever it does. The cheapest of them is the FiiO BTR13 at $59, against this one’s $70 — $11 less, and a Bluetooth receiver rather than a USB dongle.
The cheaper one also publishes an output impedance, which the Tanchjim Space 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.
$70 · 125 mW into 32Ω · 0.3 Ω out
Compare →$70 · 65 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$70 · 112 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$69 · 98 mW into 32Ω · 0.12 Ω out
Compare →$66 · 65 mW into 32Ω · output Ω not published
Compare →$75 · 125 mW into 32Ω · 0.3 Ω out
Compare →Worked out in advance against its closest rivals: vs DUNU DTC 480 · vs FiiO KA13 · vs Tanchjim LUNA · vs Tanchjim Stargate II · vs Truthear SHIO. 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 Tanchjim source in the database, and how much of what this site says about them came from Tanchjim’s own documents.