SPL Auditor (unboxing video and impressions)

Hi all,

I just wanted to say I got my SPL Auditor in today and it's really a wonderful amp to say the least. Before I talk about the sound, I'd like to show you my unboxing video:

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:

Initial first impressiosn forthis amp is that it's much better than my other amps. It blows the Roc away to say the least and my modded WA3+ can not compare.

The sound itself is smooth but highly detailed and transparent with a lot of air. Jude's video about the Phonitor was spot on when he described it's sound. I can echo his words myself as it's a very neutral, revealing piece of gear but also musical and slightly warm. The amount of detail I can hear in the music is very nice indeed.

I played Alice in Chains MTV Unplugged album and the acoustics sounded very nice and full with good reverberation of the strings. This amp has some very good PRaT and it's much better than that of my other amps. I find the bass to be slightly more so than neutral but ever so slightly. The same thing can be said for the midrange and treble. The mids are fleshed out and quite liquid and not synthetic or "off" sounding. The treble is very extended and detailed beyond belief.

That's just some initial impressions guys, stay tuned for the video review in the coming weeks.

As for the Auditor I have been playing around with the different headphones I own and found that the K702 and HARX900 sound really good on this amp.

On my X-CANV8P the K702 sounds incredible but on the Auditor it go's to another level. The K702 sounds so full and natural. I think this is due to the higher output impedance of the amp. It just sounds so much better on the Auditor, but on the ROC it's still a bit better. A balanced K702 sounds better than when in single ended mode on my set-up.

The HARX900 gains so much bass and sounds smoother and a bit less up front. It kinda took a step back and became more reserved but in a good way. The headphone gained much needed mid-bass IMO. To me it just sounds much better on this amp.

It is indeed the most powerful solid state amp for 300Ohm-600Ohm headphones out there. It's the most powerful amp I own now.

It sounds exceptional with my HD600's and makes them a bit more lively. Not that the HD600 are any slouch but this amp just makes them sound so energetic. The HD600's bass is now extremely tight, even on the Roc it was a tad loose (but better than with my other amps), but now it's so much tighter and defined. Before the bass could sound a bit mushy or bloated but not anymore. The midrange is also much cleaner and transparent sounding. It's just a lot more open and detailed now. The highs are more open and not as smooshed sounding.

The T1 is far better than I ever expected it to be. Everything that was improved on the HD600 is here and far better. The treble is very clean and extended as is the bass. The T1 already had a very resolving midrange but this amp takes that further.

As a comparison with my ROC, the Auditor is just far better. The ROC has four separate amps inside it's case (one for each channel) and even when altogether aren't as detailed as the Auditor. I thought the ROC was "it" but the Auditor just shatters that notion.

Also on the Auditor, all my lower impedance headphones sound odd. The higher output impedance of the amp screw with their frequency response. They become slow and bassy (not in a good way). My SR-80i's sound just "blergh" out of the Auditor. For my lower impedance phones I end up using them on my ROC via balanced mode.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by vrln 

Great post, thanks :) I´m considering getting a desktop amp (if it comes with a built-in DAC that´s ok too) in addition to my Stax and my current options are the Auditor, V200 and the Centrance DacMini. Looking forward to your impressions... Especially regarding how it compares against the V200. I had one for a week once too, but back then I didn´t have a good DAC to plug it into so I was using the built in one. That was too hazy (I´m a fan of neutrality) for me, but I do remember the really black background and the hard bass slam in the V200. Haven´t heard the Auditor, but I could order one from Thomann (EU´s largest online music store) and they have a 30-day return policy with everything.

 

PS: the specs (http://spl.info/hardware/headphone-amps/auditor/specifications.html) indicate the Auditor is probably the most powerful amp on the market for 300-600 ohm headphones. It pumps 1.7 W @ 600 ohm, way more than the V200 can manage (and that is one of the most powerful solid state amps around). It was clearly designed for 300-600 ohm studio headphone gear. How does it pair with your T1/HD600? 

No it does not but I use the crossfeed plugin on foobar2000 for that.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Il Mostro 

Congratulations -- enjoy!  Seems like a terrific amp.  Does this have a cross-feed circuit like the Phonitor?  If so, is the effect noticeable?

 indeed. In the man cave as we speak listening to to Pink Floyd on this bad boy.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Il Mostro 

Thanks for the info, man.  Enjoy that bad-boy.