“SPL Phonitor One and SPL Phonitor One d are two high quality headphone amplifiers produced in Germany. They differ in the built-in 2-Out-USB audio interface, which allows Phonitor One d to be connected directly to Apple computers or iPads.”
Felix Klostermann has extensively tested our Phonitor One and Phonitor One d. Here is an English summary.
“The metal housings, each weighing 1.4 kg, feel really solid and, with dimensions of 210 x 49.6 x 220 mm, can be described as pragmatic and compact. They can also be stacked, in case you need more than one headphone amp.”
“With Phonitor One and Phonitor One d, SPL’s One series offers the most affordable entry into the Phonitor matrix world yet.”
“The Phonitor Matrix makes the headphones sound more vivid, because the crosstalk between L and R is simulated, as it is usually known from listening through loudspeakers. This makes the SPL sound less artificial than commonly usual with headphones – in this way the sound is perceived more organically through headphones. The higher the quality of the headphones, the stronger this effect is audible.”
“Both the SPL Phonitor One and the SPL Phonitor One d are powerful and deliver plenty of output even to hungry headphones: 2 x 190 mW (1 kHz, 600 Ω), 2 x 330 mW (1 kHz, 250 Ω) and 2 x 400 mW(1 kHz, 47 Ω) to be exact.”
“The USB interface of the Phonitor One d works without drivers on my iPhone via Camera Connection Kit as well as on my Mac Pro. Plug it in and off we go.”
“The additional line-out is also practical – especially to integrate the Phonitor One d into existing chains. For example, between converter and preamplifier, although the Phonitor without d would be sufficient for this. The Phonitor One d is actually also interesting as a ‘pure’ converter.”
Conclusion:
“The new SPL Phonitor One are doing what they are supposed to do and they are sounding really great! The addition d brings… an additional USB audio interface that sounds balanced and precise.”
You can find the complete review (in German) online at Bonedo.
