Will a desktop DAC/amp drive the Grado SR80x?

On power, yes — all of them. Every one of the 34 desktop DAC/amps in this database reaches 100 dB SPL on the Grado SR80x, which needs 1.6 mW at its 38Ω.

Power is one of three questions and the one that goes wrong least often. The other two — whether the source’s output impedance leaves the frequency response alone, and whether you will hear its noise floor — are answered further down, separately, because a source can pass one and fail another.

Whether it gets loud enough

The cheapest one that does reach it is the Aiyima A2 Pro at $75, which delivers 126 mW into 38Ω — 19 dB of headroom over the 1.6 mW this headphone needs for 100 dB SPL.

100 dB SPL is a peak level, not a listening level. If you listen at 85 dB the same headphone needs 0.05 mW, which is 15 dB less, and the answer above changes for most of the category. The model page has the full ladder.

Whether it changes how they sound

Under the one-eighth rule the Grado SR80x wants a source below 4.75Ω. Of the 19 desktop DAC/amps here that publish an output impedance, 17 are under it and 2 are not.

The furthest over is the Matrix mini-i Pro 4 at 11Ω, which is 2× the ceiling. Above that threshold the source stops being a volume control and starts being part of the frequency response. The simulator shows what that looks like.

The other 15 publish nothing at all on this, so they are not on either side of that count. This site leaves them blank rather than assuming a figure.

Whether you will hear it between tracks

Hiss depends on the source’s own noise floor and on how sensitive the headphone is. At 98.0 dB/mW and 38Ω, the Grado SR80x turns one microvolt of source noise into about -8 dB SPL — and the threshold where that stops being noticeable in a quiet room is around 20 dB SPL.

Of the 12 desktop DAC/amps here that publish a noise figure, 12 stay below that threshold with this headphone and 0 cross it.

The remaining 22 publish no noise figure, so they cannot be placed on either side.

The cheapest one that clears all three

SourcePriceInto 38 ΩHeadroomOutput impedanceHiss in these
FiiO K11$143439 mW24.4 dB1.2 Ω1 dB SPL
FiiO K11 R2R$176388 mW23.9 dB1.0 Ω9 dB SPL
FiiO K7$1991.0 W28.1 dB1.0 Ω2 dB SPL

11 of the 34 desktop DAC/amps here publish all three figures. 11 of those clear all three for the Grado SR80x, and the cheapest is the FiiO K11 at $143.

It delivers 439 mW into 38 Ω where this headphone needs 1.6 mW for 100 dB — 24.4 dB of headroom — its output impedance of 1.2 Ω sits under the one-eighth ceiling of 4.75 Ω, and its 2.8 µV of noise leaves the hiss 19 dB under the 20 dB SPL threshold this site uses.

Cheapest that satisfies three published numbers is not the same as best, and the sources left out of this count are left out for want of a published figure, not for failing one. How often that happens is its own page.

The 12 best matches in this category

SourcePriceInto 38ΩOutput impedanceHiss in thesePower verdict
Aiyima A2 Pro$75126 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
Creative Sound Blaster X3$10042 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
FiiO K11$143439 mW1.2 Ω1 dB SPLComfortable
Loxjie A30$17084 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
FiiO K11 R2R$176388 mW1 Ω9 dB SPLComfortable
FiiO K7$1991.0 W1 Ω2 dB SPLComfortable
Fosi Audio K7$199505 mWnot published0 dB SPLComfortable
SMSL C200$2191.1 Wnot publishednot publishedComfortable
iFi Zen DAC 3$229178 mW1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
Creative Sound Blaster X5$28565 mW1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
Aune X1s GT$319269 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
WiiM Ultra$349124 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable

Sorted by how many of the three questions the source answers well, then by price. A blank in a column is a blank in the manufacturer’s own documentation, not a zero.

The same headphone, other kinds of source

The Grado SR80x on other categories: desktop amplifiers · audio interfaces.

The Grado SR80x page has every source in the database against this headphone, and the matcher takes your own numbers.

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