Sensitivity
How loud a headphone or speaker plays at a given input power, expressed in dB/mW (headphones) or dB/W (speakers). Higher sensitivity = louder at lower power.
Sensitivity tells you how much volume a transducer produces per unit of input power. A 100 dB/mW headphone hits 100 dB SPL with 1 mW; an 85 dB/mW headphone needs ~32× more power for the same volume.
Comfortable listening
- Conversation / background music — 60–70 dB.
- Engaged listening — 75–85 dB.
- Loud / hearing-damage zone (sustained) — 90+ dB.
Pairing with sources
A phone's headphone-jack DAC outputs ~25 mW into 32 Ω. With a 100 dB/mW headphone, that's 114 dB peak — plenty. With an 85 dB/mW, you might only get peaks around 99 dB — comfortable max, no headroom for transients.
How to use Sensitivity in a real comparison
How loud a headphone or speaker plays at a given input power, expressed in dB/mW (headphones) or dB/W (speakers). Higher sensitivity = louder at lower power. In practice, this is most useful as one part of a decision rather than a standalone quality badge. Compare it alongside the workload, room, ecosystem, budget, and ownership constraints that apply to you; the strongest published figure is not automatically the best outcome for every buyer.
What to check next
On vsMars, read together so the value has product-specific context. It is especially relevant in .
Avoid the one-number trap
Manufacturers can describe the same capability under different conditions. Compare like-for-like variants, check the unit and test condition where available, and use a head-to-head page to see whether a measurable difference is material for your own use.
vsMars presents structured catalog values to make trade-offs legible. The linked product and spec pages are the right place to inspect the underlying values before buying.