I run mine with the stock cable and it’s dead silent, and sounds incredible.
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No reason to use anything other than the stock cable.
Tried it with various others (out of curiosity) and neither heard, nor measured, any difference whatsoever.
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You’re such an mvp Torq. Thank you.
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New amps from SPL incoming? So far I could gather there’ll be a Phonitor One (€388.94 / €399.00?) and a Phonitor One d (€544.91?). Right after I bought the Phonitor X no less… gahhh… anyone have any info on these new “audiophile headphone amp”? “highest resolution audio playback”… verrry intriguing…
the “d” should stand for dac i think… so one model comes without a dac, and one model comes with a dac preinstalled…
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Not heard anything about the “Phonitor One”.
I did note that the “Phonitor e” has been designated “End of Life”, and the new (replacement?), less expensive “Phonitor se” has been announced - and appears to be a single-ended only (both input and output) version of the “e”.
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Something has to have changed with the amp design then, because as sensitive as it was to being shorted out while powered on and plugging in/out headphones, they’re just asking for a load of warranty / returns.
Maybe? Am I wrong? I was hyper paranoid about that when I had the X.
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I think it’s just a cheaper (i.e. single-ended) version of the Phonitor “e”, with support for the newer DAC module. I’d be surprised if they’ve added shorting protection to the 1/4" TRS socket … they didn’t bother for the more expensive XE.
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Yeah, @Torq is right. On SPL’s ig post regarding the Phonitor One vs the X/XE’s they stated that “the 120V technology inside SPL Pro-Fi devices remains reserved”. So I take it that these new Series One solutions are not part of their “Pro-Fi” products.
I am interested still though as the price its coming in seems like its targeting the schiit magnius and THX amps price bracket with an added bonus of an aio option to boot.
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What boggles my mind is how they’ve still gotten the CE Marking with such a fatal design flaw.
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I ve had zero issues with mine but I always pause the music and turn the volume to zero before changing headphones. Just a habit so a non issue for me.
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Ideally you want to flip the unit to “Mute” when (dis)connecting headphones. That’s why that switch is there.
You won’t have issues until/unless you forget to zero the volume/mute the unit while (dis)connecting headphones. And then the magic smoke comes out (more likely with low impedance cans).
I get why there is no protection.
I ran mine almost exclusively using the 4-pin XLR output (which is immune to the issue). At ANY meet, I had a blanking plug in the 1/4” socket …
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That fact that the flaw/feature/issue/nonissue/enhancement (Whatever you would like to call it) is there, is bad, to begin with. but like @dRnRcR is not an issue for him and for many for that matter… until it is (I hope never).
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Greetings Everyone,
I wanted to see about some help with suggestion on amps.
I have been looking at the SPL Phonitor 2/X and the Benchmark HPA4. I am also open to suggestions if I’m missing any other amps worth looking into.
The amp will be used for mixing and mastering commercial releases so I am looking for end game brutal honesty. The headphones that will be used are: HEDD, LCD-XC, and HD650.
Thank you so much in advance for any feedback.
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The Phonitor X was used in developing the HEDDPHONES and is a very good get out of the way amp with loads of power. Neutral and quiet background.
Though if you want warm or off neutral this is not for you. But as you are mastering it would be a good option. It has some quirks, but to me and many others it is TOTL for Solid State neutral and great for hearing what the headphones and DAC are doing with little to no color or noise.
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If you are looking for mass-market brutal honesty for those who buy mainstream products rather than elite products, then also consider THX family amps (sub $500). They are accurate but lack any sort of sugar-coating at all.
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Thank you for the tip so much! When mixing and mastering, we need as much detail as humanly possible to take care of any issues so that it does translate and sound good on as many systems as possible
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Thank you so much for the feedback! How does it differ signature wise from the HPA4?
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They are two sides of the same coin 
HPA4 and Phonitor. TheTHX is a bit more sterile and can be fatiguing for some.
All good options in their own rights
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Thank you kindly again. I do appreciate your time. Nothing else I should be looking at for my purpose?
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Plenty of options… keep researching and try them if you can. I’ll ask some other mastering folks and see what they use