SPL’s Phonitor and Auditor

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The build quality of both amplifiers are first class. Typical German craftmanship, with a smooth turning volume knob, precise clicks on the toggle switches, and first class finishing on the enclosure. I notice that the Phonitor uses an ALPS blue velvet potentiometer, and the Auditor probably does too. It’s a pity that the only thing the Auditor share with the Phonitor, in terms of aesthetics, is the huge volume knob, and none of the sexy VU dials reminiscent of a classic italian sports car. Good looks does come at a price. Would you spend an extra $1,000 just so you can have a better looking amp? That’s a possibility, at least in this hobby.

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While the Auditor only comes with a stereo/mono switch, the Phonitor comes with an abundance of toggle switches, knobs, and two level meters. The toggle switches give access to a lot of features that may be handy in the hands of recording engineers. I won’t go into explaining what each switch does, since the user manual explains them very well. The volume knob does come very handy with number markings, indicating dB levels. The dB level is relative, of course, depending on the signal from the input source, as well as the particular impedance and sensitivity of the headphones you’re using, but nonetheless, they’re handy for remembering where you had the volume level set to when doing comparisons and such. The three smaller knobs on the left and right sides of the volume knob controls the parameters of the crossfeed, and we will discuss their functions more thoroughly later.

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Talking about the amplifier performance, the Phonitor and the Auditor really delivers. I find that both amplifiers mange to come very close to the current king of solid state amplifiers, AMB Labs’ Beta22 design. Both the SPL and the Beta22 retains a very natural sound with a slight touch of warmth, with the SPL a little ahead from the Beta22 in terms of imaging capability, but the Beta22 retaining the trophy on musicality. The Grace m902 is another amplifier that was designed to be used for monitoring. I do find that while the SPL does sound more analog and slightly warmer, the Grace still retains its very unique sound signature with more sparkle and wider soundstage, that ultimately, the choice depends more on system sinergy and musical preference. Of course, where the Phonitor truly shines is that the Beta22 doesn’t come any crossfeed whatsoever, and while the m902 does come with a crossfeed, the only control you get over it is an on/off switch.

3.9/5 - (7 votes)
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21 Comments

  • Reply March 2, 2010

    YpoCaramel

    I’ll be honest and say that the Phonitor’s VU dials almost had me sold right away 😉

  • Reply July 18, 2010

    Ivan Nadeau

    Do you recommend OPPO CD player???

    When the upgraded HiFiMAN 801 will be available??? …I mean the one with a upgraded amp.

    How with it sound with HD800 & JH16???

    From your personal choice which desk top amp would you recommend for an optimized HD800 listening ???

    Thank you your site is great

    Ivan

    • Reply July 19, 2010

      Mike

      Hi Ivan. The Oppos are supposed to be good for the price, but I never really tried them myself.
      I believe the HM801 with the GAME amp is already available, and the amp is optimized for IEMs. Please contact Hifiman about that. The HM801 combo with the HD800 and JH16 sounds very good and will challenge many desktop systems.
      As for a desktop amp, wait for the Burson HA-160 review, perhaps you will like it. 🙂

  • Reply November 2, 2010

    Cortes

    Mike,

    how do you compare the Auditor/Phonitor with the CEC HD53n ?.

    In particular for pop, jazz, and female voices what would be your take?. thx.

    • Reply November 2, 2010

      Mike

      Hi Cortes,
      Pop, Jazz, and Female voices, I would take the CEC HD53N over the Auditor/Phonitor. The CEC is tuned to be colored in a pleasing way, where the Auditor/Phonitor is a very neutral colorless amplifier.

  • Reply November 20, 2010

    Mike

    Hi Victor,
    Unfortunately I don't have the Phonitor anymore. It's a very neutral amplifier. What headphone are you using it with currently, and how do you like the combination?

    The LCD-2 is a very easy to like headphone, and I feel you can enjoy it with the neutral sounding Phonitor. Just make sure that the Phonitor can do a good job of driving the orthodynamic driver.

  • Reply July 16, 2011

    yoav tzfati

    Hey mike, great review. Since I don’t have enough money for the Phonitor, what crossfeed plug-ins would you reccomend for use on a Mac? Windows?
    Thanks.

    • Reply July 18, 2011

      Anonymous

      Hi Yoav,
      I’m mostly a Mac user, and for Mac I use the Canz3D. The amount of
      control you have with that plug in is quite in depth, perhaps even more
      in depth than the Phonitor.

      http://www.midnightwalrus.com/Canz3D/

  • Reply September 1, 2011

    Harj

    Hi Mike,

    Could you tell how the auditor paired up with hd800? I’m getting mixed views from a different forum.

    FYI

    I will be using the cambridge audio 840c (similar to dacmagic) as my source.

    Thanks in advance.

    Harj

    • Reply September 2, 2011

      Anonymous

      Hi Harj,
      The Phonitor and Auditor amp has what I would call an ultra-colorless, sterile in nature sound. It would be perfect for monitoring, but usually music listeners would like a little more color in the bass, in the mids, and would find them too flat. Pair it with the HD800 which is also semi-colorless, semi-sterile, and you’re looking at a very flat presentation.

      The Cambridge 840C, if I am not mistaken uses an AD1855 (or AD-something chip), rather than the WM8740 in the Dacmagic. I may be wrong though.

  • Reply November 30, 2011

    Steve

    I now own this unit and the Senn. HD-800. These are a great combination for me.

    • Reply December 1, 2011

      Mike

      Awesome, Steve.

  • Reply December 27, 2011

    Sickdrummer182

    Hey, can you let me know if the Auditor has enough power to drive the Hifiman HE-6 to high volume without clipping?

    • Reply April 1, 2012

      Zombie_X

      Yo,

      The Auditor does not have enough output current to drive them well at all. I’d recommend something like the Schiit Audio Lyr or Violectric V200.

      • Reply April 2, 2012

        Mike

        Yes or a speaker amp.

  • Reply April 1, 2012

    Zombie_X

    I own the Auditor and it’s an exceptional amp with the most neutral sound I’ve ever heard out of a headphone amp before.

    • Reply October 16, 2012

      Mike

      Have to agree @Zombie250:disqus

  • Reply October 16, 2012

    Jaro

    Hi Mike,

    would you recommend SPL Auditor for AKG K702?

    thank you in advance

    • Reply October 16, 2012

      Mike

      Jaro,
      If you are looking for a super-neutral set up, then yes. Otherwise it may lack a little musicality for music listening.

      • Reply October 16, 2012

        Jaro

        Hi Mike,

        sorry I forgot to be more specific. I meant in term of driving them properly. If I am not wrong Auditor output impedance is quite high, so I am worring about damping factor.

        • Reply October 16, 2012

          Mike

          Sorry it’s been so long since I did the review. All I can remember is that the Phonitor / Auditor amp is extremely neutral. Good for monitoring but not really my favorite for music listening.

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