[gimmeheadroom]

Hi everyone!
Sorry if its already been asked but how is the power output of the phonitor 2? It should be able to drive pretty much everything besides some HifiMan & Abyss models, right?

Hi, I have only a few days of experience and I'm sure more knowledgeable people will answer.

As delivered (without any pre-gain) it does a nice job with a 600 ohm pair of Beyers and for me a comfortable level is between -21 and -19 dB on the dial. But, I was also able to max out the volume without blowing my brains out on certain songs. I have to figure out what I want to run off of mine so I can determine what gain setting to use. The switches are on the bottom of the housing so it's not something I want to keep monkeying with.

What headphones do you have in mind? Remember, it is single-end output so while it does have a healthy power rating it is not the best possible config for certain types of headphones.

 

[FYFL]

It can driver he6 se v2 with ease (in high gain). Those are the most power demanding hp I own.

 

[Nago]

Hi, I have only a few days of experience and I'm sure more knowledgeable people will answer.

As delivered (without any pre-gain) it does a nice job with a 600 ohm pair of Beyers and for me a comfortable level is between -21 and -19 dB on the dial. But, I was also able to max out the volume without blowing my brains out on certain songs. I have to figure out what I want to run off of mine so I can determine what gain setting to use. The switches are on the bottom of the housing so it's not something I want to keep monkeying with.

What headphones do you have in mind? Remember, it is single-end output so while it does have a healthy power rating it is not the best possible config for certain types of headphones.

Thats really helpful. Thanks for letting me know. I wasnt entirely sure if the unbalanced output would be sufficent to drive a Verite open but it should be plenty as it has less impedance than your 880 (I assume?) and a similar sensitivity.

I found a great deal on the Phonitor 2 and I cant see myself go for anything more demanding than the Verite at the moment.

 

[Nago]

It can driver he6 se v2 with ease (in high gain). Those are the most power demanding hp I own.

Wow thats pretty impressive! More than I expected to be honest. So it might even be able to drive a Susvara (even though it would most likely profit from some more juice)?

Thanks for your impression.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Thats really helpful. Thanks for letting me know. I wasnt entirely sure if the unbalanced output would be sufficent to drive a Verite open but it should be plenty as it has less impedance than your 880 (I assume?) and a similar sensitivity.

I found a great deal on the Phonitor 2 and I cant see myself go for anything more demanding than the Verite at the moment.

I think the Verite should not be difficult to drive, it is on a par with 300 ohm Sennheisers. I'll check my HD 600 and HD 800 out of the Phonitor over the next few days. But, I can't imagine problems driving them. I think the Phonitor is rated 2W per channel at 250 ohms, should do a fine job.

Edited to fix the English, sorry for any confusion...

 

[FYFL]

Wow thats pretty impressive! More than I expected to be honest. So it might even be able to drive a Susvara (even though it would most likely profit from some more juice)?

Thanks for your impression.

Don't own Susvaras so I can't say much about that.

 

[Nago]

I think the Verite should not be difficult to drive, it is on a par with 300 ohm Sennheisers. I'll check my HD 600 and HD 800 out of the Phonitor over the next few days. But, I can't imagine problems driving them. I think the Phonitor is rated 2W per channel at 250 ohms, should do a fine job.

Edited to fix the English, sorry for any confusion...

Ahh I was a bit confused at first but forgot to ask for clarification.
Thanks very much for your insight! Ill keep my eyes open for a used Phonitor from now on.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I spent an hour or so tonight listening to a pair of HD 800s (not S) out of the Phonitor 2. Captivating, glorious. I'm not sure I ever heard them sound so good.

Plenty of drive with clarity, black background, sparkle. And this is one pair of cans you can actually pick out the Matrix differences easily with. With no input, dead silence at full volume. Anyway, the amp's a keeper.

 

[FYFL]

I spent an hour or so tonight listening to a pair of HD 800s (not S) out of the Phonitor 2. Captivating, glorious. I'm not sure I ever heard them sound so good.

Plenty of drive with clarity, black background, sparkle. And this is one pair of cans you can actually pick out the Matrix differences easily with. With no input, dead silence at full volume. Anyway, the amp's a keeper.

True. Some headphones can pick up slightest of differences easier than others. 800 are pretty good in detail department so, yeah, I can see how they managed to decipher those minute differences on Matrix dial(s) without a problem.

 

[Toad_of_Toad_Hall]

After having lived with the Phonitor E for 6 months I can describe it as a smooth, punchy, clean and detailed piece of kit when paired with a slightly EQ'ed pair of OG Clears. Two criticisms:

1. The inbuilt DAC wouldn't accept a signal from my Sony UltraHD bluray player
2. Text completely wore off one section of the face plate within seven weeks. The face plate is being replaced soon, but I'm not optimistic about the longevity of the print.

For Australian or NZ buyers, and based on my experiences there, you might want to buy from somewhere other than the Australian distributor. Perhaps try Thomann online - German based but with very reasonable shipping rates. The Phonitor 2 is very keenly priced.

 

[xtiva]

After having lived with the Phonitor E for 6 months I can describe it as a smooth, punchy, clean and detailed piece of kit when paired with a slightly EQ'ed pair of OG Clears. Two criticisms:

1. The inbuilt DAC wouldn't accept a signal from my Sony UltraHD bluray player
2. Text completely wore off one section of the face plate within seven weeks. The face plate is being replaced soon, but I'm not optimistic about the longevity of the print.

For Australian or NZ buyers, and based on my experiences there, you might want to buy from somewhere other than the Australian distributor. Perhaps try Thomann online - German based but with very reasonable shipping rates. The Phonitor 2 is very keenly priced.

i had my face plate replace and been told that this will not happen again but paint is already coming off Took 2 month when I tried to get it replaced last time so not sure if i want to go through it again.... not sure if it is AU distributor issue but just took way too long...

 

[sacguy231]

I've been spending a good amount of time this past week with my Phonitor 2, really enjoying it. I got it last year but it spent most the time in the closet as I had rearranged things and was thinking of selling it until recently. I'm running the rear balanced outputs which I love because I route the cabling behind my rack and it keeps the cable out of the way for the rest of the gear and is a very clean look. I noticed that SPL states that the rear balanced output is for headphones 40 ohm and above. For me the rear balanced outs sound great with the HD800s, Z1R, and Utopia. Has anyone used the rear balanced out on lower impedance cans? The manual only states impedance of the front single-ended output as 0.18 ohms, but no mention of the rear output impedance specs on the Phonitor 2 that I can see.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

spl.audio/en/spl-produkt/phonitor-2
Output impedance (XLR) 75 Ω

 

[sacguy231]

spl.audio/en/spl-produkt/phonitor-2
Output impedance (XLR) 75 Ω

Thx! I didn't see it in the manual, and funny enough I found 2 versions of the manual anyway. Appreciate it. Wish it was a bit lower, I haven't tried cans like the Denon 9200 on it through balanced... at 75 ohms it might be *just* a bit high for certain cans. Maybe a fun day of experimenting ahead.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Thx! I didn't see it in the manual, and funny enough I found 2 versions of the manual anyway. Appreciate it. Wish it was a bit lower, I haven't tried cans like the Denon 9200 on it through balanced... at 75 ohms it might be *just* a bit high for certain cans. Maybe a fun day of experimenting ahead.

I found some contradictions between the website and manuals and emailed SPL. I was told the manuals would be updated. So let's hope we get all the specs correct and in one place!