SPL Phonitor x Headphone Amp / Preamp with VOLTAiR Tech

Description

Our Phonitor headphone amplifiers found a huge fan base
among Hi-Fi enthusiasts. With the Phonitor x we have accommodated the wishes of
our Hi-Fi customers.

The Phonitor x is the ultimate headphone amplifier. It
offers connections for headphones operated both balanced and
unbalanced. With up to 3.7 W output power the Phonitor x delivers an impressive
performance.

The revolutionary Phonitor Matrix delivers the most
realistic playback on headphones. As almost all music was mixed for speaker
playback the Phonitor Matrix lets you experience music on headphones as being
played back through speakers.

The Phonitor x is not just a headphone amplifier, but also
an excellent preamplifier that can also drive power amplifiers or active
monitors. All in all five input sources can be connected. Two of which are analog
stereo inputs (XLR und RCA) and three more are digital stereo inputs (USB,
coaxial and optical). 

 

• 120V
  rail headphone amplifier and preamplifier

• Separate
  connections and power amplifiers for headphone driven balanced and
  unbalanced 

• Suited
  for all headphones with impedances >10 ohms

• Balanced
  and unbalanced analog inputs (XLR and RCA)

• Optional
  digital inputs: USB, coaxial and optical

• Optional
  DAC: 192 kHz and 24 Bit, Win driver supplied, Apple Class compliant

• Balanced
  and unbalanced analog outputs (XLR and RCA)

• Innovative
  Phonitor Matrix: speaker-equivalent listening on headphones

• Laterality
  control: super-fine balance control

• Mono
  switch function

• Volume remotely adjustable
  (learns any IR remote control)

• Maximum
  output power: 2 x 3.7 W (into 120 ohms)

• Frequency
  response: 10 Hz – 300 kHz (-3 dB)

• THD+N:
  0.00091 % (HP), 0.00085 % (Line)

• Dynamic
  range: 135.5 dB (HP), 136.3 dB (Line)

• AMP
  CTR connection with Performer power amplifier for coupled On/Off
  switching 

• Made
  in Germany 

 

The technical basis of all Professional Fidelity
units is our proprietory 120 V Rail Technology, which we also call VOLTAiR
technology. The name makes reference to the unequalled high voltage of 120 V
(+/-60 V DC) and the huge dynamic range of over 140 dB that goes with it.

Phonitor is a success story. Designed and developed for the
sound engineer and producer giving them a tool to be able to mix on headphones
Phonitor soon found a big fan base among Hi-Fi aficionados around the world.

For us it was only logical, that we develop an optimized for
those who enjoy ‘just’ listening to music.

What is new about
Phonitor x?

Dual power amp for
balanced headphones

Now your headphones can be operated ‘balanced’. Phonitor x
has an advanced dual power amp built-in that drives headphones balanced which
twice the power of the standard 1/4″ jack. This tightens the bass response
and makes the overall playback even more relaxed and transparent. The front
houses a 4-pol XLR connector to connect the balanced headphone. Both the
standard and the 4-pol headphone outputs can be used simultaneously.

Optional DA converter

Phonitor x can be equipped with a DA converter. With that
installed the available inputs are expanded by USB, coaxial and optical digital
stereo inputs. The DA converter supports sample rates up to 192 kHz with 24
bit. It syncs automatically to the sample rate of the selected digital input.

Optimized
Phonitor-Matrix

The Phonitor matrix is become simpler, because the Phonitor
x is purely designed for audio playback. Features like Center Level adjustment,
Solo and Polarity are of use in music production and have therefore been left
off in the Phonitor x. We have also reduced the amount os selectable Speaker
Angles from six to four leaving off the 15° and 75° angles.

Crossfeed

The Crossfeed switch allows you to adjust the
frequency-dependent crossfeed simulation of both channels by adjustments of
interaural level difference – as if this characteristic would be heard from
monitors when in their own room ambiance. One can compare variations in
crossfeed values as approximating the influence of different room sizes and
characteristics on a given loudspeaker setup. This adjustment can be made in
six steps ranging from “minimum” to “maximum”. Crossfeed interacts with the
Angle value to simulate the width of a stereo image

Angle

The Angle switch provides for frequency-dependent simulation
of your stereo image width by adjustments of interaural time difference. This
influences the moment in time at which a signal‘s wave form arrives at the ear
and corresponds to a particular variation in the angle of an actual loudspeaker
pair. The time constants of the interaural time differences between the left
and right channels occur within a range of 90 to 635 microseconds. As a
starting value select the 30° position.

Preamplifier

Phonitor x is not just a headphone amplifier but also a
full-fledged stereo preamplifier. There is provision for connecting up to five
stereo sources – two in the analog domain offering XLR connectors for a
balanced source and RCA connectors for an unbalanced source. With the optional
DA converter installed three more digital stereo sources can be connected via
USB, coaxial and optical connectors.

You can connect your active loudspeakers or power amplifier
directly to the Phonitor x. The rear Speaker Outputs provide both balanced
(XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) connections.

Remote Control

To control the Volume you can use any IR remote control. The
cool part is that the Phonitor x learns your remote! Take your remote control
for the CD player for instance. There are many buttons and there are at least
two you don’t really need. Assign Volume Up and Volume Down to those buttons
and let the Phonitor x learn them. Please check the manual for more.

AMP
CTL (Amplifier Control)

When Phonitor x operates as a preamplifier together with the Performer  as power amplifier both units can be
wire-linked for simultaneous power on/off. Therefore both units AMP CTL sockets
need to be connected with a 3.5mm mono-jack cable.

When switching to headphone listening the Performer can
automatically be powered down. To engage this feature set DIP switch #6 on
the bottom of the Phonitor x to ON.

Professional Fidelity
• Pro-Fi-Serie

Phonitor x is part of our Pro-Fi series of products.
Pro-Fi stands for Professional Fidelity and it expresses that these products
have their roots in professional studio technology being optimized for
high-fidelity music playback.

We love simple elegance and a certain level of
understatement. Therefore we renounce over-dimensioned housing milled out
of a solid block and other mostly price-driving attributes of many high-end
products. Our background is come from professional studio technology, where
inner values and audio performance count the most.

Mastering studios give your records and CDs the final
tough – with SPL 120V technology. And because the Phonitor x is built
with the same technology it belongs to best headphone amplifiers on the
planet. With its extraordinary specifications and enormous headroom Phonos plays
back audio in the most relaxed and uncompromised fashion. Ear fatigue is
reduced by far and hearing session stay delightful for a long.

VOLTAiR is the synonym for our 120V Rail Technology within
the Professional Fidelity series.

The audio signals are processing with an unequalled +/-60V
DC.

The Sound

120V Rail Technology is our reference
technology developed and manufactured to run on an operating voltage of
120 volts, which corresponds to twice that of discrete operational amplifiers
and four-times that of semiconductor operational amplifiers.

120V Rail Technology reaches outstanding technical and
sonic performances. Technically especially in terms of dynamic range and
headroom and sonically especially in reproducing the finest details and
delivering a totally relaxed sounding audio experience. Music sounds absolutely
natural and hearing fatigue is drastically reduced.

Even the best audio measuring equipment arrives at the
boundaries. In same situations we ended up just measuring the Audio Precision
Cascade 2 measuring device and we cannot say how good the 120V Rail Technology
actually performs.
Comparisons

The direct relation between operating level and maximum
level is fundamental for the classification: the higher the operating level,
the higher the maximum level a circuit can handle. And since virtually all
essential acoustic and musical parameters depend on this relation, a higher
operating voltage also has a positive impact on the dynamic range, distortion
limit and signal-to-noise ratio.

 

Do bear in mind that dB scales do not represent linear but
rather exponential increases. A 3dB increase corresponds to doubling the
acoustic power, +6dB correspond to twice the sound pressure level, and +10dB
correspond to twice the perceived loudness.

When it comes to volume, the 120V Rail Technology exhibits a
performance, in regard to maximum level and dynamic range, that is twice that
of common components and circuits given that its values are approximately 10dB
higher.

THD measurements of the 120V op-amp show a difference of
more than 3dB compared to the OPA134 at 36V — in terms of sound pressure level,
that corresponds to an improvement of more than 50%.

The operating level most commonly used for audio equipment
is 30 volts.