[Cante Ista]

Quote:

 
Waiting to hear your impression about the GS-X mk2.

That is gonna be sometime in late spring/early summer. I am (one of) the first people who ordered the 2nd run of the mk2. I will def compare them when I get the GS-X. However, I have read a review by Dreadhead that said that they are VERY similar, espeically running single ended. When I get the GSX I will def post something here though.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

That is gonna be sometime in late spring/early summer. I am (one of) the first people who ordered the 2nd run of the mk2. I will def compare them when I get the GS-X. However, I have read a review by Dreadhead that said that they are VERY similar, espeically running single ended. When I get the GSX I will def post something here though.

 
Okay, I thought it's already running hot...maybe in the meanwhile I'll read Dreadhead review. looks like the Phonitor have a strong competition with the GS-X, and the Bryston BHA-1, both are balanced amps, I wish the Phonitor had the balance option as well.
 
Now, boths amp the GS-X, and the Bryston BHA-1 are made by a hifi companies, and the SPL's are more high end studio /mastering company, and this parameter can also be a minus, or a plus. . 

 

[Cante Ista]

Quote:

 
Okay, I thought it's already running hot...maybe in the meanwhile I'll read Dreadhead review. looks like the Phonitor have a strong competition with the GS-X, and the Bryston BHA-1, both are balanced amps, I wish the Phonitor had the balance option as well.
 
Now, boths amp the GS-X, and the Bryston BHA-1 are made by a hifi companies, and the SPL's are more high end studio /mastering company, and this parameter can also be a minus, or a plus. . 

I also wish Phonitor was balanced. I wonder if you could do the corssfeed then. Could you?

 

[RedBull]

Not yet discontinued ^^ their was a news misleading us at Audio GD but in fact PCM1704 is still in production

http://www.ti.com/product/pcm1704

It is discontinued

www.ti.com/product/docs/productfolder.tsp?genericPartNumber=PCM1704&site_preference=NORMAL

It is replaced by pcm1795. It is just there to support existing customer, probably as spare parts.

Sorry for ot, just curious to understand which is true.

 

[HaVoC-28]

And their is links to buy from distributors like Digikey ? / mouser (any one can buy from this sources) ,  strange for something discontinued wich should be only sold to "existing customers" .
 
PCM63 for exemple is clearly out of production .
 
This NRDN status is not very clear .

 

[Acix]

Quote:

I also wish Phonitor was balanced. I wonder if you could do the corssfeed then. Could you?

 
They probably will need much more space for a full dual mono balanced amp design, about the corssfeed maybe the second time will be even easier, but unfortunately I don't have this knowledge yet, just logic for now.
 
BTW, the Phonitor XLR balanced out can drive well a balanced T1, the sound is great the bass got tight...but you'll need to be careful with the volume of the foobar player/or the DAC, the volume needs to be at 20% for the start point. Because there is no way to control the level volume coming out from the Phonitor, the XLR out is even strong for the 300ohm of the T1.
 
I do have sometimes a mixed feelings about those beautifully designs dual mono balanced amps, but when I power up the Phonitor and connect my hps those thoughts disappear in the speed of light.

 

[Cante Ista]

Quote:

 
They probably will need much more space for a full dual mono balanced amp design, about the corssfeed maybe the second time will be even easier, but unfortunately I don't have this knowledge yet, just logic for now.
 
BTW, the Phonitor XLR balanced out can drive well a balanced T1, the sound is great the bass got tight...but you'll need to be careful with the volume of the foobar player/or the DAC, the volume needs to be at 20% for the start point. Because there is no way to control the level volume coming out from the Phonitor, the XLR out is even strong for the 300ohm of the T1.
 
I do have sometimes a mixed feelings about those beautifully designs dual mono balanced amps, but when I power up the Phonitor and connect my hps those thoughts disappear in the speed of light.

It sound like the back XLR outputs amp the signal. I thought it was only passive out! Ohhhh man! If I knew that earlier I would have gotten balanced cable for my HD800 in a heartbeat! I already have a preamp for volume control on my m51. So the balanced out on the Phonitor rear works like a power amp, without the crossfeed or volume contorl? Do I have that right?

 

[Acix]

Quote:

It sound like the back XLR outputs amp the signal. I thought it was only passive out! Ohhhh man! If I knew that earlier I would have gotten balanced cable for my HD800 in a heartbeat! I already have a preamp for volume control on my m51. So the balanced out on the Phonitor rear works like a power amp, without the crossfeed or volume contorl? Do I have that right?

 
I'm also a bit confused, the XLR outputs should be passive of course...the crossfeed and the volume knob do not have any effect on the hps sound, and yet the hps got quite a signal out of the XLR outputs. Maybe I should ask SPL.

 

[Acix]

This is SPL support team answering to my question.

sorry, but I have to ask you to read the manual carefully
<http://spl.info/fileadmin/user_upload/anleitungen/english/Phonitor_2730_BA_E.pdf>

Here's a brief info on connections. Please refer to the manual for further, very important and certainly useful information.

REAR XLR input: this is the signal input of the Phonitor. Everything you want to hear must be connected here.

REAR XLR output: the input signal of the Phonitor, as connected to the input XLR socket, is routed straight to the XLR output.
The signal is not altered in anyway - just hard wired from input to output. This allows to insert the Phonitor into a signal path so that no further source device output is necessary to add the Phonitor to a HiFi setup.
Example: Source unit (DAW/Interface, Player) > Phonitor > monitor controller, amp/active speakers...

FRONT Headphone output: This is the only socket for connection of headphones. No matter which one, without any exception. If you connect a headphone to the Phonitor, you connect it at the front panel.

Any further questions, let me know.

Best regards.
 
lol, in this case what I hearing out of the Phonitor is actually my DAC balanced outputs?

 

[Cante Ista]

now I feel better about my GSX purchase.

 

[dukeskd]

Quote:

 
lol, in this case what I hearing out of the Phonitor is actually my DAC balanced outputs?

 
ouch Acix, how long have you been listening this way?

 

[Acix]

Quote:

 
ouch Acix, how long have you been listening this way?

 
Hehehe, I've checked this option only ones, to see if I'll get any sound out of the Phonitor XLR outputs. The point is that the sound I was getting, was actually my DAC sound through the Phonitor. I can just connect a balanced hps directly to my DAC XLR outputs and will be the same.

 

[Acapella11]

Dear Phonitor and Auditor appreciators,
 
I am signing in with an Auditor.
 
My Auditor chain is as follows: HE-500 (or K501) <-  Auditor  <-[Chord Cobra XLR]-  Audiolab M-DAC  <-[USB]-  Foobar (WASAPI).
 
I appreciate the holographic type of reproduction with extended and non-fatiguing treble. Mids are clean and expressive, bass is very well articulated and detailed, never overshadowing the rest of the scene. Every instrument gets its defined volume on stage and attention. The stage is nicely large on the HE-500, even though the amp does "only" 400 mW at ~38 ohm. It is a very pleasant sound experience close to the sound of a neutral kind of tube amp, but then very detailed Solid State. It is also versatile, as it drives additionally my K501 nicely.

 

[rezolver]

Acapella, congrats on the Auditor. It truly makes those headphones sing.  How does it compare to you Little Dot III?  How does your M-DAC compare to other DAC's out there?
 
For a second there I thought you had ran sacked my place and scooped my gear while I was away this weekend
 
p.s. You have a great taste in headphones

 

[rezolver]

daniel, I am glad to hear that the Auditor plays very well with the HD800s.  That is the next headphone on my radar to purchase.  I have been going back and forth on the idea though. What happens is I will sit down and listen to the K501s and HE500s and completely forget that I need a HD800.  For the first time in this hobby I am not chasing to improve on a piece of gear.
 
It would be nice to hear what all the fuss is about on the HD800s though. Soundstage, detail retrieval, etc, etc.  It is the unknowns which have peaked my interest. hahha.  Ignorance is bliss at the moment.