These are a lot of controls to play with, and at the end of the day, are they just a gimmick? Most of us are used to listening headphones the way headphones are designed to be, with the permanent super-stereo effect. For music listening, this effect is not necessarily a bad thing, as it does give you a zoomed in impression of the music. I think this effect is partly responsible for the magic when we listen to CDs in the music store through headphones. Having used to the super-stereo effect, I did find that the crossfeed alters the sound to something that I’m unfamiliar with, at first. But, after only a few days of listening and adjusting the crossfeed controls on the Phonitor, I have to say that the effect is indeed very comforting for long term listening. Even when I’m listening for only 1-2 hours, the crossfeed filter makes the sound far easier on the brain.
The set up that I was using to evaluate the Phonitor was using the Sennheiser HD800 and with the CEC TL51XZ CD player. With the crossfeed off, the Phonitor is far from a bright and fatiquing amplifier. So what I’m talking about is not fatigue from an overly bright set up. My only guess is that our brain works in the background constantly to process information that’s coming from the senses. When fed with a super stereo signal (ie. when using headphones), the brain has to work harder to do its own simulation of the stereo image. This is why during an evaluation of headphone gears, we constantly look for soundstage and imaging performance, because the better the soundwave that’s coming out of the headphones, the better our brain can use it to simulate an image. The crossfeed filters, in effect, helps the brain by doing some of the required simulation. And it really works, I honestly feel that music listening becomes much more natural with the crossfeed on, albeit with seemingly less fidelity. But that’s the reality of music listening, just as a speaker set up will have distortions from the soundwaves travelling and bouncing off the walls (hence the need of accoustic treatments), so a crossfeed filter will also create a simulation of those distortions.
At the end of the day, I personally think that the Phonitor, with its crossfeed filters, creates a kind of sound that you cannot achieve with any other amplifier. Yes, a tube amplifier may have a liquid and lush sound that’s non fatiquing, but the super-stereo effect is still there. The Phonitor is different. It actually corrects that super-stereo effect. While other amplifiers like Meier’s and the Grace has crossfeed filters, the lack of parameter control makes the crossfeed filter sort of hit and miss, depending on the particular recording and headphone combination that you’re listening to.
Bravo to SPL for taking headphone listening to another level.
System for auditioning:
Headphones: Sennheiser HD800, AKG K501
Source: CEC TL51XZ via Coaxial to Lavry DA11
Amplifier: SPL Auditor, SPL Phonitor.
Interconnect: Transparent Musiclink Plus XLR, Purist Audio Design Maximus XLR, Stereovox Digital Interconnect, DIY Copper with Eichman Bullet RCA
YpoCaramel
I’ll be honest and say that the Phonitor’s VU dials almost had me sold right away 😉
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
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. 🙂
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.
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.
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.
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.
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/
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
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.
Steve
I now own this unit and the Senn. HD-800. These are a great combination for me.
Mike
Awesome, Steve.
Sickdrummer182
Hey, can you let me know if the Auditor has enough power to drive the Hifiman HE-6 to high volume without clipping?
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.
Mike
Yes or a speaker amp.
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.
Mike
Have to agree @Zombie250:disqus
Jaro
Hi Mike,
would you recommend SPL Auditor for AKG K702?
thank you in advance
Mike
Jaro,
If you are looking for a super-neutral set up, then yes. Otherwise it may lack a little musicality for music listening.
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.
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.