SPL Phonitor x also sounds very good with Universal Audio Arrow ( connects via Thunderbolt to MacBook Pro ( power over port) ) connected via monitor Jacks -> 6mm plug to XLR cable -> into it XLR Jacks on Phonitor X.
Still prefer the Cord Qutest - even on poor sources like YouTube to watch my favorite show on Guitar Pedals: That Pedal Show. https://youtu.be/f0F06-r7MuE?t=2030 <- mitch putting Strat though some tasteful fuzz.
Qutest would be Perfectā¦at perhaps about 60-70 % of its MSRP.
1221191639a_HDR by drjlo2, on Flickr
Seriously! Take the guts out, stick it in a simple plain-Jane box, and call it the starving student edition. >50% of BOM has to be the casework. I get it though, design language needs to stand out, but the Chord method is just not my thing.
If I want bling, Iāll bedazzle my Bifrost 2.
I am now searching the internet for a bedazzled Schiit! Lol
ā¦
This is all I could find during a shallow dive of the internets
Quite lovely if I do say so myself! 
@JonL and @ProfFalkin
Yes, I get the desire for a good value, It why I work hard to find very good deals even it is for premium products, never pay list price.
Some point the Mojo Next will approach the quality of Qutest with Xilinx FPGAās shrinks smaller than the Qutest 28nm FPGA. Then it hit the student price you are looking for.
I am sure your BiFrost is good DAC, I just did not want to head down Schiit path again. RME DAC was in consideration, but I decided after talking to a friend of mine and @Torq to go a different way with my DAC choice that fit well with my current and future headphones.
How does the Phonitor X compares with the sony TA-ZH1ES?
I have a pair of Hedd Type 20Ā“s studio monitors that i use connected to the Sony, and iĀ“m considering upgrading to the Phonitor X plus RME ADI 2 Dac.
Will also buy the Heddphone once iĀ“m able to sell my Focal Stellias, and everyone seems to praise this combo
The Phonitor X has far more power at all impedances (regardless of whether you use balanced or single-ended outputs), much better dynamics, smoother overall delivery - especially in the treble region, doesnāt impose digital conversion on analog inputs and is a much more flexible unit.
Also, even in balanced output, the Sony falls a bit short of what seems to be the ideal power capacity for the HEDDphone.
Thanks for the impressions Torq! IĀ“m really inclined on getting one after all the reviews that iĀ“ve read so far!
And will the RME ADI 2 DAC be necessary to āopenā the Phonitor X full potencial, plus my chain (Focal Stellias at the moment, and the Hedd Type 20), or will the internal dac from the SPL be enough?
I would not, personally, bother with the DAC module in the Phonitor X unless I needed the all-in-one convenience or was going to be using the unit for monitoring.
Though the above statement is based on the DAC192 module, which is what my unit is equipped with.
Iāve not heard the DAC768xs module for the Phonitor X, so itās hard to say how that really fares. I can say that it would have to turn out to be the best AKM 4490 implementation Iāve heard in order to beat out the RME unit as a DAC.
Unless youāre sure youāre moving on from the Stellia, to something that needs more power, like the HEDDphone, Iām not sure Iād jump in with the Phonitor X anyway - or perhaps not right away. The RME ADI-2 DAC fs can act as a pre-amp to your HEDD20 speakers, with no issues at all, and the Stellia are so easy to drive that you can literally drive them off the IEM output of the RME unit and still have ample headroom.
The minor issues I have with the RMEās headphone output are not present on the IEM output. And the updated DAC fs model seems to have mostly addressed that one issue anyway (slight dynamic compression).
Well I will at some point buy the Heddphone once the Stellias are gone, but most of my time i spend listening music with the Hedd 20Ā“s connected to the Sony TA which are connected to a Auralic Aries mini with an SSD installed, I only listen with HP at night.
What iĀ“m looking is something than can surpass my Sony Dac, in terms of power, resolution, and still being neutral as possible. Was tempted by the Fidelice Dac but at 5K its quite an investmentā¦so the Phonitor X at least is half the price.
(see second post first) I should also add, I tried both the SE and XLR outputs on the amp as well to the same effect - zero sound. Also, two different sources were used: DAC with XRL/RCA outputs, and my phone hooked to the RCA inputs as well. No sound from either source. The left VU meter was going nuts (with no music) and the right VU meter was stable and not really moving. I heard a crackling noise in the left channel, turned it off and let it sit.
EDIT: Update: I let it sit for half an hour, came back, turned it on. The music came through, however the left VU meter is still going NUTS and now it appears the left channel is out via balanced. Also, thereās a burning smell from the unit, which makes me think something on the board is obviously toast. I did open it up but donāt see any scorch or burn or black marks, so Iām unsure what exactly is broken.
OK, hey guys, it looks like my Phonitor XE (only about a month and a half old bought from the used market) has an issue. It was working fine today, and now that I came back to it after it sat for a while today, has zero sound. I tried it via XLR and RCA inputs. The VU meters donāt work. The only sound is complete silence. It powers on fine. I just donāt know whatās crapped out on this. Any ideas? Has this happened with anyone?
Have you ensured you have the selector set to the right input? SE vs XLR etc? Outside of that make sure all of your cables are plugged in properly. Another noteā¦you didnāt swap out your SE plugs while playing music did you? Because that can fry the ampā¦
No, I did NOT unplug it or plug in the headphones with the music playing. This was literally sitting there (headphones plugged in, unit on) for the afternoon on SE (no music) so something happened when it was idle.
Yes, I have tried all XLR and RCA selectors. I have it unplugged now sitting and airing out.
What OS are you using? Mac? Windows? do you have the proper source selected there? Are you using Qobuz? If using Qobuz sometimes it switches off the DAC being used and you have to reselect it.
Also make sure your DAC that is feeding it is plugged in proper, and even maybe try unplugging the USB and plugging it back in? Sometimes it can be that simpleā¦Iāve noticed a plethora of weird issues since using my Gaming PC more heavily over my 2019 Mac Mini over the past couple weeksā¦ Usually all were solved with unplugging the USB for my DAC though. Or making sure Wasapi Exclusive was on in Qobuz. Making sure my audio source wasnāt being auto-muted by Windows etcā¦
Itās the board for sure. After letting it sit for half an hour, I turned it back on. Here are my observations:
Itās definitely the board. Something got fried or overheated or just went kaput. Input only worked after it cooled off, then Left Channel was out/crackling when it began playing again.
Apropos, Sehr gut! 
Sorry to hear that. Hopefully itās in warranty, and if not, maybe SPL would be willing to work with you.
No, itās out of warranty definitely. I bought it on the used market about a month and a half ago. Will probably end up costing me retail price after the repair.
That suck, man. Sorry about that.
