Will an audio interface drive the HiFiMAN Ananda Nano?

On power, yes — all of them. Every one of the 65 audio interfaces in this database reaches 100 dB SPL on the HiFiMAN Ananda Nano, which needs 4.0 mW at its 14Ω.

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 Zoom AMS-22 at $100, which delivers 8.8 mW into 14Ω — 3 dB of headroom over the 4.0 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 0.13 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 HiFiMAN Ananda Nano wants a source below 1.75Ω. Of the 43 audio interfaces here that publish an output impedance, 13 are under it and 30 are not.

The furthest over is the Tascam US-2x2HR at 66Ω, which is 38× 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 22 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 94.0 dB and 14Ω, the HiFiMAN Ananda Nano turns one microvolt of source noise into about -7 dB SPL — and the threshold where that stops being noticeable in a quiet room is around 20 dB SPL.

Of the 4 audio interfaces here that publish a noise figure, 4 stay below that threshold with this headphone and 0 cross it.

The remaining 61 publish no noise figure, so they cannot be placed on either side.

The cheapest one that clears all three

SourcePriceInto 14 ΩHeadroomOutput impedanceHiss in these
RME ADI-2 DAC FS$1399822 mW23.2 dB0.1 Ω-1 dB SPL
RME ADI-2 Pro FS R$21991.3 W25.1 dB0.1 Ω-1 dB SPL
RME ADI-2 Pro EX$24991.8 W26.6 dB0.1 Ω-1 dB SPL

4 of the 65 audio interfaces here publish all three figures. 3 of those clear all three for the HiFiMAN Ananda Nano, and the cheapest is the RME ADI-2 DAC FS at $1399.

It delivers 822 mW into 14 Ω where this headphone needs 4.0 mW for 100 dB — 23.2 dB of headroom — its output impedance of 0.1 Ω sits under the one-eighth ceiling of 1.75 Ω, and its 2.18 µV of noise leaves the hiss 21 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 14ΩOutput impedanceHiss in thesePower verdict
Audient iD4 MkII$19952 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
PreSonus Quantum ES 2$19946 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
MOTU M2$219146 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
SSL 2 MkII$229164 mW1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
MOTU M4$279146 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
Apogee BOOM$299105 mW0.5 Ωnot publishedComfortable
SSL 2 Plus MkII$299164 mW1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
M-Audio AIR 192|14$32970 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
Audient iD14 MkII$34952 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
IK Multimedia AXE I/O$40050 mW<0.1 Ωnot publishedComfortable
MOTU M6$499146 mWnot publishednot publishedComfortable
SSL 12$599518 mW1 Ωnot 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 HiFiMAN Ananda Nano on other categories: USB dongles · portable players · desktop amplifiers · desktop DAC/amps.

The HiFiMAN Ananda Nano page has every source in the database against this headphone, and the matcher takes your own numbers.

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