[stuck limo]

Last evening i was listening Leonard Cohen(again) and decided to try without Matrix. Clicked it back on pretty soon. I think i can't live without it anymore. So, i assume that SPL Phonitor xe will be my amp to the grave.

Amen, brother! It does make a difference to me as well. And, Leonard Cohen is my wife’s favorite!

What are your settings on the Matrix? To be honest, the Matrix does very little for me. I usually leave it off but I am willing to grow into it. I just prefer the headphone sound vs the Matrix's speaker type presentation.

 

[stuck limo]

Do phonitor x and xe sounds different? I mean no optional dax, i am tempted to buy, but cant decide xe or x?

The X and XE are different sounding, supposedly. SPL does not advertise it, but the XE has upgraded components and a better sound over the X. This coming from SPL themselves, who told a customer who posts at an alternate forum.

FYI, side note here, earlier this summer my XE VU meters died and would not operate. Then very recently within the past few weeks, they started operating again on their own. I have no idea what happened. SPL did offer to pay for shipping back to them and back to me with a fix before the VU meters started working again.

Also, I saw some people had posted the back of their amps: (excuse the dust).

Pangea Audio AC 14XL MkII / AQ Water rca / Straightwire Encore II XLR

 

[Chesty]

What are your settings on the Matrix? To be honest, the Matrix does very little for me. I usually leave it off but I am willing to grow into it. I just prefer the headphone sound vs the Matrix's speaker type presentation.

I tend to listen with the Matrix on - Angle at 55 deg and Crossfeed at 3. I generally listen to classical and jazz. The Matrix is very effective with early stereo jazz, where the instrument balance is very artificial, i.e. either all left or all right. I find these albums hard to listen to with headphones without the Matrix.

 

[Chesty]

Have any SPL owners had a problem with the paintwork? I have noticed the lettering is rubbing off on my Phonitor xe.

 

[GumbyDammit223]

Have any SPL owners had a problem with the paintwork? I have noticed the lettering is rubbing off on my Phonitor xe.

I personally haven't had this happen....yet. Although others have posted that this is a common occurrence. It would be so easy for them to simply switch from silkscreening to laser-etch and the problem is solved. Since their panels are anodized, laser-etching looks extremely clean and very professional. Or, powder-coat instead of silkscreening it.

 

[Ilomaenkimi]

What are your settings on the Matrix? To be honest, the Matrix does very little for me. I usually leave it off but I am willing to grow into it. I just prefer the headphone sound vs the Matrix's speaker type presentation.

Crossfeed 2 or 3 and Angle 55. Best part of the Matrix is that it does very little. Imo.

 

[Gadget67]

Crossfeed 2 or 3 and Angle 55. Best part of the Matrix is that it does very little. Imo.

Agreed. It’s noticeable when I turn it off though!

 

[xtr4]

Agreed. It’s noticeable when I turn it off though!

It's very noticeable when you turn it off while listening because Matrix mode is a couple of dBs softer in volume. Also slightly narrower soundstage.

But once you've heard it, it's difficult to go back

 

[tomwoo]

I personally haven't had this happen....yet. Although others have posted that this is a common occurrence. It would be so easy for them to simply switch from silkscreening to laser-etch and the problem is solved. Since their panels are anodized, laser-etching looks extremely clean and very professional.

I contacted SPL and was told some units were cleaned with a wrong cleaner during production (after anodizing the front panels). Hopefully they realized this problem soon enough and only a small percentage of Phonitor x/xe were affected.

 

[Chesty]

I contacted SPL and was told some units were cleaned with a wrong cleaner during production (after anodizing the front panels). Hopefully they realized this problem soon enough and only a small percentage of Phonitor x/xe were affected.

Thanks for this. I will now contact them to arrange repairs. I will have to send the amp back to Germany from Hong Kong, which will mean I will likley be ampless for a month or so.

 

[stuck limo]

I contacted SPL and was told some units were cleaned with a wrong cleaner during production (after anodizing the front panels). Hopefully they realized this problem soon enough and only a small percentage of Phonitor x/xe were affected.

They indicated to me this did not warrant any repair work, because I asked them about mine when I sent mine in.

 

[Chesty]

They indicated to me this did not warrant any repair work, because I asked them about mine when I sent mine in.

Are you saying they refused to swap the front facia panel under warranty?

 

[stuck limo]

Are you saying they refused to swap the front facia panel under warranty?

"Refused" is a strong word, but essentially they blew it off. Here is the email I sent them (after they repaired my unit and the VU meters failed after the initial fix):

Me: "Also, I'm not trying to be picky here, but the lettering is clearly fading and chipping on the front of the unit in various places. The tech guys should have seen this and replaced the front or put the board in a brand new chassis."

Focal Naim: "As for the chassis, the warranty only covers manufacturing defects. For a 2-year-old product, it's normal that it shows some wear. "

Then I told him it's known around the forums that certain models are known for the lettering/chipping issue (and I directly stated it was a known manufacturing issue), and he basically ignored me and I didn't really want to fight with him over it, especially since they gave me a 5 year transferrable warranty and offered to repair my unit again and ship it back/forth for free.

TO BE CLEAR, the guy at Focal Naim I was dealing with was really nice and I'm not blaming him directly for the issue with the chassis or lack of warranty/repair. But it seems as if Focal Naim is not really concerned with the front chassis.

If you got them to acknowledge the issue and accept a repair job, good job. That didn't happen with me.

On a side note, here is what was said about my repair job:

"We changed the amplifier board, specifically because the OPX Board was burned which is a core component in controlling voltages and power delivery. Usually, this part gets damaged when hot-swapping headphones. It's hard to say specifically what caused it in this case as it could be from any number of things." [at no point did I hot-swap or anything even remotely resembling that]

 

[tomwoo]

If it's cosmetic issue like the lettering I don't think it will warrant a repair. TBH I wouldn't bother to send the amp back to Germany just for that even SPL agrees to replace the front panel.

 

[Chesty]

If it's cosmetic issue like the lettering I don't think it will warrant a repair. TBH I wouldn't bother to send the amp back to Germany just for that even SPL agrees to replace the front panel.

Yes, it does seem like a lot of effort for limited wear at this stage. But I am worried it will continue to worsen. I am now very careful not to rub my thumb against the panel when flicking the switches. Also, with Europe going back into lockdown, now is probably not the best time to send a parcel in case it gets stuck somehwere. I might ask if they would send me a replacement panel, but I am doubtful they would agree to this.