SPL - Sound Performance Lab Phonitor se Headphone Amplifier

SPL Phonitor se

The entry-level model in the world of VOLTAiR headphone amplifiers.

The Phonitor se concentrates on the essentials - without sacrificing quality.

It features the same audio signal amplification as its bigger brothers Phonitor x and Phonitor xe.
With the optional DA converter, it also plays directly from digital sources.
The Phonitor-Matrix offers two of the most common settings as switchable presets and thus enables loudspeaker-like listening via headphones.

Thanks to VOLTAiR technology in the highest sound quality.

Everything under control

The volume is adjusted with a solid rotary knob milled from aluminum. The Alps RK27 "Big Blue" potentiometer gives a pleasant "spoon in honey" turning feeling.

In addition to an analogue source, three further digital sources can be connected to the Phonitor se with the optional DAC768xs.

Headphone output with steam

The Phonitor se offers a 6.35 mm socket for connecting headphones with a jack plug.
Up to 2 x 5 watts of output power are available at this socket. This means that even very power-hungry headphones such as magnetostats or electrostatics can be driven effortlessly.

The Revolution: Phonitor Matrix

The Phonitor matrix is the revolution in headphone amplifiers.

Thanks to the Phonitor matrix, music can also be experienced through headphones as if it were being played through speakers. The tiring super stereo effect is a thing of the past.

Enjoy your music without listening fatigue and just the way it was meant to be heard.

In contrast to the larger Phonitor models, where the opening angle of the stereo stage can be selected using the "Angle" switch, this parameter on the Phonitor se is fixed at a standard value of 30°. The "Crossfeed" parameter can be adjusted in two levels - "C1" and "C2". "C2" offers higher crosstalk/crossfeed than "C1".

Music is typically produced and mixed for playback through stereo speakers.

Listening through headphones is different from listening through speakers. The biggest difference is the lack of sound signal crosstalk from the left speaker to the right ear and from the right speaker to the left ear. This crosstalk is absent from traditional headphone listening because no sound travels from one side of the headphone to the other. This results in an unnaturally wide stereo stage and the various sound sources in the audio signal are not localized as the sound engineer intended. This effect is often referred to as the "super stereo effect". Normal listening through headphones allows our brains to compensate for the misrepresentation of music playback to a certain extent - but this is very taxing.

The SPL Phonitor matrix can correct this false stereo image with analogue circuitry. The Phonitor matrix not only ensures a correct representation of the stereo stage, but also relaxed listening pleasure.

The two main parameters of the Phonitor matrix are Crossfeed and Angle :

Crossfeed determines the crosstalk of the channels, the so-called interaural level difference.
Angle determines the opening angle of the stereo stage, the so-called interaural runtime difference.

In the center of attention

In order to perfect the listening experience, the level of the sound sources, which are arranged in the middle of the stereo image, must be lowered when the Phonitor Matrix is activated. The result is that not only the position of all sound sources is displayed correctly, but also their volume.

The Professional Fidelity units have this value fixed at -1dB of cut, which is the best choice for an authentic representation of the soundstage.

Free choice

The analog input of the Phonitor se is equipped with gold-plated cinch sockets.
With the optional DAC768xs three more digital sources are added: USB, COAX and OPTICAL. (!)

PCM audio is received in S/P-DIF format both coaxially (Cinch) and optically (Toslink F06).
Both PCM audio and DSD audio can be converted via USB.

The DAC automatically adopts the sample rate and resolution of the digital playback source. No matter whether a streamer, computer or CD player is connected. No further settings are necessary on the Phonitor se.

The DAC768xs

The highly acclaimed AKM AK4490 Velvet Sound TM premium DAC chip is used as the converter chip in the optional digital/analog converter. Thanks to its architecture, it reproduces the finest sound details.

It converts PCM audio with a resolution of 32 bit and a sampling rate of up to 768 kHz, which is 16 times the resolution of CD. Direct Stream Digital is also supported up to a resolution of DSD4 or DSD256.

In contrast to the DAC768, which is built into the Director Mk2, for example, or is available as an option for the Phonitor xe, the DAC768xs does not offer an AES/EBU digital input. The DAC768xs also does without the SPL DLP120 with VOLTAiR technology. Nevertheless, it offers a great performance that is unparalleled in this class.

Sounds good

With all devices in the Professional Fidelity series, we not only develop according to plan from the start, but also by ear. Many of the basic components are mounted on the circuit boards in through-hole mounting (THT). This way we can ensure that we can use the components that sound best.

The VOLTAiR technology

120V technology is the SPL reference technology. It is unique in the world of audio because it works with a DC voltage of 120 volts. This corresponds to four times the operating voltage of IC-based semiconductor operational amplifiers. We refer to this unsurpassed technology in our Professional Fidelity series as VOLTAiR technology.

The highest possible audio quality requires the highest possible audio operating voltage.

120V technology operates at +/- 60V. In order to be able to handle such a high voltage, SPL engineers have developed special proprietary operational amplifiers that can operate at +/- 60V DC - the SPL 120V-SUPRA- operational amplifier. This high voltage would destroy conventional components and operational amplifiers.

120V technology achieves exceptional technical specifications and sonic benefits. From a technical point of view, in terms of dynamic range, signal-to-noise ratio and overload resistance. In terms of sound, in terms of richness of detail and an absolutely relaxed listening pleasure.

Incidentally, the "120V" in the name of the technology has nothing to do with the local mains voltage from the socket. This is about the operating voltage in the device with which the audio signals are processed.

The mains voltage from the socket is transformed to the required secondary voltage in the device's internal linear power supply with toroidal transformer. Rectifiers convert this AC voltage into the DC voltages required in the audio device.

VOLTAiR

VOLTAiR is made up of the terms Volt and Air .
Volt is the unit of electrical voltage and Air is the English word for air.

VOLTAiR symbolizes the seemingly limitless dynamics resulting from the high audio tension.

comparison

Most audio devices work with an internal operating voltage of +/-15 volts and can therefore process a maximum input level of +21.5 dBu. For example, if a DAC has an output level of +22 dBu at 0 dBFS, level peaks in the music material would already cause clipping in the input stage of the device. All components in the audio device often work at their limit. The result is a noisy sound that causes stress and faster hearing fatigue.

Thanks to the higher internal operating voltage of +/- 60 volts, devices from SPL with VOLTAiR technology can process input levels of +32.5 dBu - i.e. offer 12 dB more headroom. As a result, all components work continuously in the optimum working range. The result is a very pleasant, natural and relaxed sound experience. So you can enjoy your music in every detail.