Sam Spade
100+ Head-Fier
First off, I neglected to mention that Zach at ZMF uses the SparkoS Aries as his solid-state reference when tuning his headphone designs. He also owns a HeadAmp GSX mk2, but tells me he uses the Aries over it "9 times out of 10". That's certainly high praise from a respected 3rd party who has no skin in the game (if anything, it's a competitor for his Pendant amp).
I add that just to give you an idea that your Verite probably makes a superb match with the Aries. I have not checked out those latest AT woodies but your mention of "highly resolving, neutral, and transparent" is pretty much the exact description of this amp.
I've heard the Phonitor X somewhat briefly, but not the XE. Honestly I don't even know what the differences are. As has pretty much always been my experience with SPL products, I liked but didn't love the Phonitor X. My quick impression is that it's just a good general performer with a slightly warm, vague presentation, good for most headphones and genres without any particular standout trait. Not a bad choice by any means but also not as compelling as some others in that price range. You;ll note I did not include it in my recent Darko roundup of 4 higher-end headphone amps, despite it fitting perfectly in terms of price. That should tell you something.
I know we've discussed this but it would be great to add the buurson soloist or conductor 3x to this group of reviews. I assume the bursons are slightly cheaper?
This comes from a person with a Sparko Aries and burson conductor 3x ref who has been too lazy to compare them myself they both sound unbelievable and when i put them on i lose motivation to test lol. Also the burson is perfect for my home system with the DAC remote and connectivity options. In contrast the chord Qutest and aries combo on my desk is no frills pure performance. Dont need bluetooth, wifi or a remote when everything is in arns reach