I haven’t heard one, but the Phonitor is a very popular amp on this forum. I imagine it’s a substantial upgrade to the RNHP from what I’ve both read, and have been told.
I actually plan on upgrading to one at some point.
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This is an excellent retailer for German products. I’ve purchased from them, and so have other members of this forum.
That’s an excellent price as well.
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I have experience with the RNHP and have also owned some of the other amps mentioned- THX789 and Phonitor e specifically. I can say that the Phonitor is an absolute upgrade from either of those. It’s clean “commanding” without the sterility of the THX amps. It’s more natural than the THX amps, but stops short of the RNHP’s soft edged natural, “curl up and read by firelight” sound. I managed to buy mine used for $950.
Another amp that I could recommend to you is the Headamp Gilmore Lite. It’s almost an exact side-grade from the RNHP…same price, single ended output, similar footprint, both even have a sturdy steel case. The Headamp seems more dynamic and has an energetic presentation I really enjoy. It has more power as well and could probably run any reasonable headphone. I thought this amp was more fun than the RNHP, and of course both the RNHP and the Headamp are less capable than the SPL.
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Gilmore Lite lose out on much detail compared to the THX?
They are fairly cheap and available in Aus, which is good.
I sold the THX months before I ever even heard of the HeadAmp, so I don’t think I can give a good answer. My gut says it doesn’t but that doesn’t really mean anything, lol.
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Fair point!
I’ll see what the internet has to say.
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Awesome!
All murdered out… 
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If K.I.T.T. we’re a headphone amp this is what he would look like.
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Lol that’s funny. I can see that.
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Well with the Andrew Davis lego mod you barely see the green at all. If anything I’d cut them and turn them off. Damn lights. I understand the purpose for field use but damn.
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Ahh, the infamous Andrew Davis mod…
I just meant for the full K.I.T.T. Knight Rider look. It looks awesome as is though.
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Yeah it would look cool. But if I could get an actual neve black knob I would. Not a huge red fan but I’ll deal. These knobs feel sooo good tho. As far as knobs go 
I know the Neve must have red but it would look cool. I’ve seen white and navy but they weren’t volume knobs lol
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The red isn’t so red in person tho. Looks fine. I think I’m gonna wrap the BF2 silver button tho. Just black it out.
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I expected more of this amp; with some sadness I decided to return it, though. Here is my context: “music room” with floor-standing KEF loudspeakers, MF amp, RME ADI-2 DAC FS, and Node 2i used as a streamer; “office” where I sit in front of a monitor; beyerdynamic Amiron Home headphones, Fiio M11 mobile player (soon to be 1 year old). Amiron headphones are 250 Ohms. Fiio M11 sports 2 SD cards currently totaling ~ 600 GB filled with FLAC files, the device also receives Qobuz and Tidal streaming. Thus the Fiio and the Amiron are foundational parts of my “office” music on headphones system.
Fiio’s driving the 250 Ohm cans using the supplied 3m SE 3.5mm jack cable is underwhelming. But the little device has 4.4mm/2.5mm balanced output powered by a separate fully balanced amp. beyerdynamic sells nice “audiophile” cables made in Korea from OCC copper for about $100. My first investment was an OCC audiophile balanced cable (2.5mm TRRS). Huge difference! On the balanced connection Fiio has been able to drive the Amirons respectably. Still I believed that a dedicated headphone amp inserted between the Fiio as source and the Amirons would make a difference. I got the RNHP based on research, glowing reviews, and an OK price. The amp is much bigger, heavier, and costs more than the whole Fiio leading to a reasonable expectation of improvement. I tried all 3 inputs; the 3.5mm fared the best. Connection: a very short AUX cable made in Japan for Fiio (again OCC), or a longer and more convenient Mogami Gold – they both sound the same. Last week I got the 2nd OCC audiophile 1.4m cable from beyerdynamic, this time SE 3.mm/6.35mm to use with the RNHP.
Comparison: the sound through RNHP is indeed better but only VERY slightly compared with just Fiio on balanced cable. Not worth the extra $500 (amp) + $100 (cable) - inconvenience including the bright green lights which interfere with night listening.
So finally, last night I did one more test: plugged the Amirons using the new cable directly to the RME ADI-2 DAC FS, which is normally employed in the main system. Voila! A night and day difference! One of these experiences where the improvement is so obvious that 1) there’s no going back to the previous sound quality standard, 2) one listens to a long list of favorites and they all sound better than ever before. So next I disconnected the RME ADI-2 DAC from the main system (easy) and moved it to the office. Fiio also has a S/PDIF output which I connected via Mogami coax cable to the DAC/amp. Thus the Fiio only supplies digital streams and the DAC makes the music. This is the winning combination!
I am not the RME salesman but I am in love with this product. At about $1,100 it sets a standard of audiophile value to reckon with. For example, the combination of Topping D90 + RNHP is $1,200 list price and still needs a decent interconnect between components. New Fiio M15 is $1,280 – a nonsensical price. I guess if I tire of moving the DAC between systems, I’d be inclined to a buy the second one. RME is $600 more expensive than RNHP but it sounds a whole class better than the latter, at least in the context I described. It also looks much better, has all the controls, and sports a dark mode. In terms of pedigree, RME also specializes in professional studio equipment.
When I say that the RMI DAC establishes an important standard of value, I mean that it challenges all the Myteks, Phonitors etc. – would you want to spend $2000+ on these after checking out the RME at half that price?
I hope somebody will find this analysis of configuration/pricing/sound useful.
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To be fair, the Phonitor sounds very different than the ADI 2. If one preferred that sound, it might be worth the $. I’ll agree though, the ADI is a great AIO.
Nice review! Thanks!
What did you replace the RME with in your main system?