Quaddy
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2007
- Posts
- 7,410
- Likes
- 18
Quote:
have had the phonitor for just under a few weeks now, havent had quite the time to spend with it as i would like because i am in the process of moving house.
but nevertheless i have had some quality time here and there to way up my feelings toward it with the other amps i currently have.
baring in mind, that the only decent headphone i have at the moment is the AKG K1000. which IMO isnt an ideal testbed to compare an amp with TRS jack. whilst its 120 volt technology allows plenty of juice and headroom with normal phones, it doesnt drive the k1000s to anywhere near their potential
i currently have in my chain: benchmark dac1 pre (with hpa2 internal amp), firestone audio 'big joe' power amp, which is dedicated to driving my k1000s and of course the phonitor.
i would have liked by now to have gotten hold of my long standing order, the grado ps1000's to give me more variety and also normalcy in testing the amp. but as i say i am only able to compare all at this point with the akgs.
here in order of how well the akg k1000s sound is as following;
considering i bought the phonitor to be a swiss army knife of amps, i did think that it would at the very least drive the k1000's better than the little 'big joe' amp, which is dozens of times cheaper (just goes to show that price point doesnt indicate performance, at least not in all applications!)
but as a caveat to that, i would assume, that was i driving a more 'normal' headphone then it would shine with those and would then jump to the top of the performance table for driving normal headphones. this is where i lay my hope and am sure it will be so.
my dac1 pre's hpa2 amp, drives the k1000's via TRS with even less authority than the phonitor, this is even with the hpa2 internal gain maxed out.
again, this isnt an ideal test due to the strange beast that is the k1000, but nevertheless is reflective of their performance with these and may be of help/interest to anyone thinking of aquiring the k1000s and wondering what to use to power.
the phonitor's spatial/crossfeed options on the front panel are comprehensive for sure, albeit with very subtle results, so dont buy into this hoping for dramatically apparent sound alterations. although i did use the crossfeed and the center option to slightly take the harsh fatigue off of tracks for amore speaker-like experience.
if its just the pure power of the 120v rail technology you are after, then please consider SPL's other amp which uses the same technology but without all the switches and dials, the Auditor. And at half the price will suit you better if you arent into playing with toggle witches constantly.
Now, comparing the phonitor to the dac1 pre hpa2 is as follows;
the phonitors sound is more 3 dimensional, more layered and a fuller, more powerful sound. i always admired the much maligned HPA2 amp as a very clean and precise to the point sound signature, not bloated in anyway and always delivering a very pure and unafected sound. this remains the case IMO, and wont be appreciated by bassheads and thick soupy sound signature seekers
the phonitor takes the title over the hpa2, for the reasons above, it manages to be have all the core attributes of the hpa2, clean, detailed and pure, but packs around it a more fuller bodied sound without going over the top into a thick sluggish sound. it has more dimensionality to it, appears to have more ceiling space for attenuator travel and has a deep quality to its bass reproduction. its a very industrial and utilitarian amp in its design and its sound, it pretty much plays what you feed it with very little alteration on its way out.
basically, i am now in the situation where, i will have to keep the big joe power amp to run my k1000's.
and use the DAC1 now, solely as my dac, and pipe out to the phonitor for all 'normal' headphone work (just as soon as i get some normal headphones) - i have a few cheap dynamics left but as they are so affected and non neutral to begin with it seems pointless trying to work out what is changing or doing what to which headphone.
i will write a few more ramblings on the phonitors performance when i get my ps1000 and after that, the hd 800.
later.
| Originally Posted by Quaddy /img/forum/go_quote.gif should be able to pass comment on this in the next few days, fingers crossed 
|
have had the phonitor for just under a few weeks now, havent had quite the time to spend with it as i would like because i am in the process of moving house.
but nevertheless i have had some quality time here and there to way up my feelings toward it with the other amps i currently have.
baring in mind, that the only decent headphone i have at the moment is the AKG K1000. which IMO isnt an ideal testbed to compare an amp with TRS jack. whilst its 120 volt technology allows plenty of juice and headroom with normal phones, it doesnt drive the k1000s to anywhere near their potential
i currently have in my chain: benchmark dac1 pre (with hpa2 internal amp), firestone audio 'big joe' power amp, which is dedicated to driving my k1000s and of course the phonitor.
i would have liked by now to have gotten hold of my long standing order, the grado ps1000's to give me more variety and also normalcy in testing the amp. but as i say i am only able to compare all at this point with the akgs.
here in order of how well the akg k1000s sound is as following;
- firestone audio big joe
- spl phonitor
- dac1 pre's hpa2
considering i bought the phonitor to be a swiss army knife of amps, i did think that it would at the very least drive the k1000's better than the little 'big joe' amp, which is dozens of times cheaper (just goes to show that price point doesnt indicate performance, at least not in all applications!)
but as a caveat to that, i would assume, that was i driving a more 'normal' headphone then it would shine with those and would then jump to the top of the performance table for driving normal headphones. this is where i lay my hope and am sure it will be so.
my dac1 pre's hpa2 amp, drives the k1000's via TRS with even less authority than the phonitor, this is even with the hpa2 internal gain maxed out.
again, this isnt an ideal test due to the strange beast that is the k1000, but nevertheless is reflective of their performance with these and may be of help/interest to anyone thinking of aquiring the k1000s and wondering what to use to power.
the phonitor's spatial/crossfeed options on the front panel are comprehensive for sure, albeit with very subtle results, so dont buy into this hoping for dramatically apparent sound alterations. although i did use the crossfeed and the center option to slightly take the harsh fatigue off of tracks for amore speaker-like experience.
if its just the pure power of the 120v rail technology you are after, then please consider SPL's other amp which uses the same technology but without all the switches and dials, the Auditor. And at half the price will suit you better if you arent into playing with toggle witches constantly.
Now, comparing the phonitor to the dac1 pre hpa2 is as follows;
the phonitors sound is more 3 dimensional, more layered and a fuller, more powerful sound. i always admired the much maligned HPA2 amp as a very clean and precise to the point sound signature, not bloated in anyway and always delivering a very pure and unafected sound. this remains the case IMO, and wont be appreciated by bassheads and thick soupy sound signature seekers
the phonitor takes the title over the hpa2, for the reasons above, it manages to be have all the core attributes of the hpa2, clean, detailed and pure, but packs around it a more fuller bodied sound without going over the top into a thick sluggish sound. it has more dimensionality to it, appears to have more ceiling space for attenuator travel and has a deep quality to its bass reproduction. its a very industrial and utilitarian amp in its design and its sound, it pretty much plays what you feed it with very little alteration on its way out.
basically, i am now in the situation where, i will have to keep the big joe power amp to run my k1000's.
and use the DAC1 now, solely as my dac, and pipe out to the phonitor for all 'normal' headphone work (just as soon as i get some normal headphones) - i have a few cheap dynamics left but as they are so affected and non neutral to begin with it seems pointless trying to work out what is changing or doing what to which headphone.
i will write a few more ramblings on the phonitors performance when i get my ps1000 and after that, the hd 800.
later.
