Headphone Sensitivity Calculator — dB/mW to dB/V Conversion

dB/mW measures how loud the headphone gets for a given power input (1 milliwatt). dB/V measures loudness for a given voltage input (1 volt RMS). The relationship depends on impedance. Low-impedance headphones appear more sensitive in dB/V because they draw more power at the same voltage.

dB/V is more practical for most users because headphone amplifiers are typically voltage sources. A headphone with high dB/V sensitivity will be easier to drive to loud volumes from any source. dB/mW is useful when comparing headphones at different impedances on a power-limited source.

For portable use, 100+ dB/mW or 110+ dB/V is ideal. Studio headphones are typically 90-105 dB/mW. Planar magnetic headphones often have lower sensitivity (85-95 dB/mW) and require dedicated amplification.

dB/V = dB/mW - 10 × log10(impedance/1000). For 32-ohm headphones: dB/V = dB/mW + 14.95. For 300-ohm headphones: dB/V = dB/mW + 5.23. Higher impedance headphones have a smaller gap between the two ratings.