On power, yes — all of them. Every one of the 34 desktop DAC/amps in this database reaches 100 dB SPL on the Shure SE846, which needs 0.04 mW at its 9Ω.
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.
The cheapest one that does reach it is the Aiyima A2 Pro at $75, which delivers 42 mW into 9Ω — 30 dB of headroom over the 0.04 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 0.00 mW, which is 15 dB less, and the answer above changes for most of the category. The model page has the full ladder.
Under the one-eighth rule the Shure SE846 wants a source below 1.12Ω. Of the 19 desktop DAC/amps here that publish an output impedance, 16 are under it and 3 are not.
The furthest over is the Matrix mini-i Pro 4 at 11Ω, which is 10× 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.
Hiss depends on the source’s own noise floor and on how sensitive the headphone is. At 114.0 dB/mW and 9Ω, the Shure SE846 turns one microvolt of source noise into about 14 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, 2 stay below that threshold with this headphone and 10 cross it.
The worst of them is the FiiO K11 R2R, whose published 7.2 µV works out to 32 dB SPL of hiss in these. The hiss calculator takes your own figures.
The remaining 22 publish no noise figure, so they cannot be placed on either side.
| Source | Price | Into 9 Ω | Headroom | Output impedance | Hiss in these |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RME ADI-2/4 Pro SE | $2499 | 534 mW | 41.3 dB | 0.1 Ω | 15 dB SPL |
| Chord Hugo TT 2 | $5695 | 6.5 W | 52.1 dB | 0.042 Ω | 19 dB SPL |
11 of the 34 desktop DAC/amps here publish all three figures. 2 of those clear all three for the Shure SE846, and the cheapest is the RME ADI-2/4 Pro SE at $2499.
It delivers 534 mW into 9 Ω where this headphone needs 0.04 mW for 100 dB — 41.3 dB of headroom — its output impedance of 0.1 Ω sits under the one-eighth ceiling of 1.12 Ω, and its 1.09 µV of noise leaves the hiss 5 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.
| Source | Price | Into 9Ω | Output impedance | Hiss in these | Power verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aiyima A2 Pro | $75 | 42 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
| Creative Sound Blaster X3 | $100 | 13 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
| Loxjie A30 | $170 | 28 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
| SMSL C200 | $219 | 1.5 W | not published | not published | Comfortable |
| iFi Zen DAC 3 | $229 | 59 mW | 1 Ω | not published | Comfortable |
| Creative Sound Blaster X5 | $285 | 34 mW | 1 Ω | not published | Comfortable |
| Aune X1s GT | $319 | 90 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
| WiiM Ultra | $349 | 42 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
| Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M | $399 | 84 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
| Topping DX5 | $449 | 506 mW | 0.1 Ω | not published | Comfortable |
| xDuoo XA-10 | $449 | 844 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
| HiFiMAN EF500 | $459 | 371 mW | not published | not published | Comfortable |
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 Shure SE846 on other categories: USB dongles · Bluetooth receivers · portable players · portable amplifiers · desktop amplifiers · audio interfaces.
The Shure SE846 page has every source in the database against this headphone, and the matcher takes your own numbers.