[music_man]

I guess typical opinions. I saw many people in love with it. Then some guy says the amp is so-so. It is the "features" that make it sound so good? I do not want artificial fake good sound via crossfeed ETC. I want a good Amp.

Would you folks say Benchmark HPA4 is better?

I want a small high end SS Amp. I want to know it is good before I waste 3-4 Grand though. Which one would you say is better? I narrowed it down to those Two. I am using Z1R and Utopia with Silver Balanced cables from Axios.

I did read up on them. The issue is many say they are great, some don't. How can I form an opinion that way? I cannot listen in store but he will ship me for home audition. However not both at once! So I am asking you guy's. I feel either THX or crossfeed are fake sound but you can turn them both off. How are the Amps themselves?

I am going to trade in a RS Darkstar. The reason is even on Lo-Gain it is too powerful for these headphones. I think it is best to go at least half way on volume. On the RS I am on the second notch!

I am in Chicago but AXPONA is a PITA for me because I am in a Wheelchair. The Hotel is ADA compliant but the crowds make it too difficult. That is a shame but my own problem.

Thank you

 

[WildStyle-R11]

I have been curious about this as well. Not a lot of people talk about it.

 

[Nautrachkfriend]

Either way you go you will find someone who doesn't like one or the other. I've read some impressions of the HPA4 from people who have tried the HPA4 out at CanJam and other audio shows. They mostly comment that the HPA4 is a bright amp a long with a handful of other "meh" descriptions. But then on the other hand people who try it out at home in their own system end up saying it's a hyper-detailed yet smooth sounding amp. This is the same case with the Phonitor stuff as you were saying.

I know for a fact that you can't avoid the THX technology in the HPA4 because the THX circuitry makes up the amping stage of the HPA4. I wouldn't say though that THX circuitry really causes any artificial sounds to come out of the HPA4, it's merely a circuitry design following the "wire with gain" approach. Plus the THX circuitry is implemented very well on the HPA4.

I can't speak for the Phonitor stuff too much from personal opinion, but from what I've seen on various forums and reviews you can't go wrong with the Phonitor amps. You are able to mostly bypass all of the quirky features of the Phonitor amps if you choose to. They do seem really fun to play around with too which is just another part of the fun of this hobby. There is never too much fun!

Honestly you can't go wrong with either of the options. The Phonitor will be more fun and have quirky features and the HPA4 will be critically detailed. I wouldn't hesitate to own either of the amps.

 

[music_man]

Thank you. I really appreciate your detailed post about this. I cannot demo but can return. I am just going to order both and return the one I like less. Ultimately it is if I like them not anyone else. I mean as far as for myself goes of course. I figure these are the best two amps to choose from that are both solid state and about a half width rack. Either I believe is a high end amp. I mean without going crazy with money. Plus I can't say who is doing this but I am getting about 30% off MSRP on both of them. I can't say who for obvious reasons. However for that amount I doubt I could do any better. Whichever I choose I got a great amp for less money than most people have paid for them. Please, no one PM me I cannot say who it is. Although it is the same person that gave me the Utopia for $2,700

 

[music_man]

The Benchmark is more detailed and more resolving. The Phonitor is more involving and has much better headstage before I even play with the crossfeed. The benchmark is built better but the Phonitor is pretty well built too. Not even broken in at all. I have a feeling as of now I will keep the Phonitor. Although it has the opposite problem of the Darkstar. There is barely enough gain. Even with the dip switch engaged. This is odd for Utopia and Z1R. I have not tried PS2KE and others yet. It has barely enough gain. Meters are staying very close to Zero though. The HP4 has much more gain as well but obviously not as much as the Darkstar. Still, right now I am leaning towards keeping the Phonitor. Also the HP4 balances the RCA signal as soon as it enters the amp. The Phonitor is dual mono with RCA. Overall, not broken in I prefer the sound of the Phonitor which is very liquid. The HP4 is more clinical. I cannot keep them until they are fully broken in. As of now I believe I will be sending back the Benchmark. The Phonitor is also more to my liking than the Darkstar was on low gain. I have other amps but this may now be the best solid state one. The SNR is inky black at 150DB. Which may be the highest in existence. Not sure about that though.

 

[Relaxasaurus]

Check project86's amp review roundup for a good read:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rev...r-includes-large-high-end-amp-roundup.886668/

Search for hpa4 in that thread and you'll find a couple of opinions. Like you, I was all set to get a Phonitor e but after reading around more I settled on a used Violectric V280. I'm happy but still curious how the Phonitor would have sounded to my liking.

 

[music_man]

Doubt you could go wrong with the Violectric V280. Loaded it is twice the price of the Phonitor XE(without DAC). I was really only interested in these two. They are similar physical size but vastly different sound. The Benchmark will appeal to people that want resolving, clinical and focused sound. The Phonitor is also resolving but very to tapping friendly as well. Both are pro-audio kit. So good enough to use as a reference in a studio. Like you said for one person that likes anything another hates. So I just had to hear for myself. I am 95% decided on the Phonitor now. Will break in both a bit and make final decision. HPA4 may indeed open up and take on PRAT with some time. Out of the box I would take the Phonitor but not sure once they are broken a bit. Many consider the Benchmark to be the better amp but many love the Phonitor as well. Of course others hate either. Used Violectric V280 given the price may perform higher. I do not know.

 

[music_man]

Oh wait. I was incorrect. Brand new the Violectric V280 is half the price of the two I have here. Used is a completely different price range. Still, if you are happy with it that is all that matters. I see it has dual mono PSU so may represent a very good deal. Although the Phonitor has a larger, higher quality single toroid split into two rails for pseudo dual mono PSU.

 

[music_man]

I am keeping the Phonitor. It is an excellent amp IMO. Anyone else would need to listen to it themselves to decide if they like/dislike it. As with anything else. I can only speak for myself. I feel it is much better than both the RS Darkstar and Benchmark HP4. Those are my personal feelings however and YMMV.

 

[music_man]

I decided this is actually outstanding with the Utopia and Z1R. I am glad I sent back the Benchmark. The Benchmark is a great amp it is just much different sounding. I can't say if anyone would like the sound of either. You must listen yourself. Preferably not at a crowded noisy meet. As far as the sound signature of this I figure it does not get any better. Obviously it is not some junk if people are paying almost $3,000 for it. It depends on you though. For myself I would call this end game with these two particular headphones at least. I have high end setups like SR009 and now HE-1. These happen to be my two favorite headphones and this amp was definitely in order as it makes them truly sing. To me at least. I was actually surprised it was much better than the Darkstar. However the Darkstar is not good at driving very easy to drive headphones. So I guess that should be no surprise. At first I thought the Phonitor was actually broken. I had to flip the #2 dip switch to match my DAC and now it is working at the proper volume. I would personally highly recommend this depending on your cans and your sound preference. Either way I doubt anyone can deny this is "up there" It just depends on if it appeals to you. For a completely different sound there is the Benchmark of course. Both very high end amps IMO. I have not pulled out any Grado's yet but I imagine I will like it with those too. It is actually right up Grado's alley IMO. This is honestly the closest solid state I have heard to tubes on my headphones. I just prefer not to mess around with tubes. That is just personal preference. This amp is very warm and liquid and nearly holographic in nature. Like warm maple syrup. It is very resolving but not clinical like the Benchmark. That is just my opinion though. I am surprised more people were not interested in this. Well, it has probably been discussed to death already anyways. As usual some love it like me and others hate it. At least I had narrowed it down to just two contenders.

 

[MohawkUS]

I owned the Phonitor e for a short period of time, I would agree that its a liquid & holographic amplifier but would argue that it falls dead neutral on the warm v bright slider. I'm someone who likes brighter clinical gear and the only fault I could lay on the Phonitor was that I've heard tighter bass. The Phonitor goes more for the natural sound down low and handles it well for all electronic music I tried. It was organic enough for acoustic but the definition didn't live up to the rest of the band, but for metal it was too slow. Take that in the proper context, I just happen to be very picky about bass control.

The best trait about the Phonitor is how it balances resolution/propulsion & smoothness/fatigue-free, I own a Ragnarok now and have owned a Burson 160 which both become harsh with poor recordings. The Rag has a grit to it and the Burson would get flabby/tizzy. I'm using the Rag now but would hesitate to call it the superior amp, just my preferred amp.

For a slight detour from pure solid-state amps the Apex Sangaku takes the Phonitor recipe and doubles down. More organic, more staging, clearly in the warm camp, smooth. One exception, the sound is tighter. Resolution matched the Phonitor however you lose some of the SS 'blackground' and cleanliness for tube's holographics and color. I ultimately sold it for this reason which is how I ended up with the ragnarok, I have the tightness I want and most of the resolution/cleanliness from the Phonitor. In trade its a little rough and maybe less resolved than either, if so its subtle.

Ragnarok: You'll rock out one album at a time getting the full dose of grit & slam.
Sangaku: You'll listen all day trying album after album to see how they sound with the rose-tinted holographics and smoothness. All genres apply because you still have solid-state speed & control.
Phonitor: You'll stay up all night slowly raising the volume as you listen on. It never becomes fatiguing or sounds strained, it tempts you to keep pushing it to get just a bit more.

 

[music_man]

Thank you. this is reassuring and it was only the 'e' the 'XE' is miles ahead of the 'e'.

 

[sean-xenos]

I bought my SPL Phonitor 2 some years ago and also know the smaller Phonitor Mini by experience. There are more expensive Phonitor models now but my impression is that they all share the same sound signature and the 120V (2x60V) voltage swing technology.

In a way the Phonitors are boring for many headphone geeks... they don't add anything to the sound of your system, absolutely neutral, dead quiet, very powerful amps. Made for monitoring and studio use.

No sound tuning via opamp or tube rolling, no extra warmth, no bass hump, just plain neutral.

 

[sean-xenos]

I forgot to mention that I always use my Phonitor 2 fully balanced, balanced XLR inputs and balanced XLR headphone outputs. So far I listened to the Beyerdynamic T1, Hifiman HE-1000 V2 and Sennheiser HD 800 S. The balanced outputs for the headphone are a bit odd on the Phonitor 2, two 3-pin XLR male outlets on the rear of the amp. The newer SPL Phonitor models x and xe use balanced 4-pin XLR outlets on the front (the common kind of balanced outlets found on most amps) and also include an internal DAC (the xe has the more advanced DAC). For my preferences the older (and cheaper) Phonitor 2 is fine because I use an external DAC (RME fireface) and I soldered an 2x 3-pin to 1x 4-pin XLR adapter for the common XLR balanced plugs.

I found the SQ via the single-ended outlet to be inferior to a fully balanced setup, fully balanced the Phonitor 2 sounds crisper, faster, more resolving.

 

[GoodEnoughGear]

Thanks for posting your observations, @music_man - much appreciated.