SPL - Series One - Phonitor One
Description
SPL’s Phonitor technology has raised the bar for professional headphone amplifiers. If lofty prices and exhaustive feature sets have kept you from experiencing this world-class level of headphone monitoring accuracy, this is a product you should know about. Spec’d with a streamlined feature set and the uncompromising design integrity of its big siblings, the SPL Phonitor One provides easy entrée into SPL’s Phonitor universe. The goal is unerring headphone monitoring accuracy, and SPL equipped Phonitor One with a stylish, uncluttered interface that gets the job done. Precision crafted in Germany, the Phonitor One provides audiophile-grade componentry, impeccable build quality, solid operational feel, and elegant visuals that will look amazing in your studio or home entertainment system.
Phonitor One gives you two front-panel-selectable stereo analog input sources on balanced 1/4-inch TRS and RCA connections. Under the hood, the groundbreaking headphone playback technology you’re about to experience is the Phonitor Matrix, which makes monitoring on headphones sound like you’re monitoring on speakers. This is important because most music is mixed for playback on speakers, not headphones. SPL’s proprietary Phonitor Matrix makes their headphone amps unlike any other, sidestepping the tiresome “super stereo” effect and the hyped reproduction of reverberation and effects to deliver music exactly as it should be heard.
Speakers and headphones present music very differently. That’s why music mixed on headphones doesn’t “sound right” on speakers (and vice versa). The Phonitor Matrix evens the playing field with three parameters: Crossfeed, Speaker Angle, and Center Level. In Phonitor One, the Center Level is preset to -1dB and the Speaker Angle to 30 degrees — values that SPL has determined to reflect the most common real-world conditions. The Crossfeed setting determines the crosstalk between left and right channels, the so-called inter-aural level difference. You can dial in the intensity of the Crossfeed via a front-panel potentiometer.
The SPL Phonitor One, like every SPL product, uses only the highest-grade parts. Two Burr-Brown OPA 2134 SoundPlus operational amplifiers handle preamplification. Specially designed for audiophile-grade circuits, this extremely low-noise, low-distortion, high-speed FET stage achieves an impressive slew rate of 20V/µs. Low-capacitance film capacitors are installed in the signal path to ensure precision transmission of high-frequency signal components. The output stage is a push-pull Class AB amplifier with ample power to drive a wide range of today’s popular headphone models. If you’ve been on the fence about getting a proper headphone amplifier, now’s the time: pick up an SPL Phonitor One, and hear what you’ve been missing.
Key Features:
• 2 front-panel-selectable stereo analog sources: balanced 1/4-inch TRS, RCA
• Preamplification FET stage: 2 Burr-Brown OPA 2134 SoundPlus high-speed op-amps
• Low-capacitance film capacitors in signal path for precise transmission of HF signal components
• Phonitor Matrix with Speaker Angle, Center Level, and Crossfeed parameters for a speaker-like monitoring experience
• Crossfeed parameter continuously adjustable via front-panel pot
• Class AB output stage with ample power for a wide range of popular headphone models
• Maximum Output Power (600O): 2 x 190mW
• Maximum Output Power (250O): 2 x 330mW
• Maximum Output Power (47O): 2 x 400mW
• Front-panel 1/4-inch headphone output jack
• Supplied 12V plug-in power supply
• Secondary internal power supply generates +/-17V for the analog audio sections for pro levels up to +22.5dB