Just had a question, I had posted above but still don’t know the answer. " Does any user know if the XE manipulates the L/R signals in the analogue domain to create a front/center image"
All manipulation (i.e. the entire “Matrix” function) is done in the analog domain.
You can adjust the “angle” of the “speakers”, as well as how much crossfeed is applied. With the right headphones, and a suitable recording, you can achieve a number of effects, including a front/center image.
Bear in mind the “Laterality” control is really just a very fine grained balance (left/right) control.
Thank you so much, I’ll pass that along. .
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has anyone found anything as resolving as the Phonitor X/XE that’s closer to the size of something like a SMSL SU-9?
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I’ve heard that the One D doesn’t sound as good as the X / XE
Question for the class-- those of you who have used the Phonitor X with a Susvara–
I assume you set DIP switches 1 & 2 to ON, to maximize gain. Are you driving the Susvara off of the speaker outputs or the 4-pin headphone output?
Asking for a friend 
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Received my Phonitor X with upgraded DAC about a week ago. I absolutely love it. I’m actually really enjoying the matrix as well. While it does “lower” the bass, I love what it does to the sound. Currently using it with ZMF Verite, LCD 5 and ZMF Ori. Just really enjoying all music. I came from the Burston Soloist 3X, which was nice, but something (lots of things) just sound better to me on the Phonitor.
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how’d you like the Phonitor with the Susvara in the end?
Phonitor x and the ZMF Verite Closed pair very well together. Two of the more prominent headphone reviewers local to me rate them quite highly - high praise considering that ZMF isn’t accessible or “meta” in Hong Kong.
My amp was working fine except for the LED light being out/flickering/sometimes on/sometimes not.
I hooked up my XE up (after the light was out) for the first time in months since I moved. Straight off the bat, the XLR input doesn’t work. Nothing comes out of the front jacks (XLR and 1/4").
Then, I hook up my phone to the RCA input. The XLR output doesn’t work, and the 1/4 inch jack puts out weak, distorted music. The VU meters seem generally unresponsive.
I also tried listening from the back jacks – same exact issue from both of them.
This is the second time my XE has crapped out/not worked properly. I think they have an issue with quality control on these boards. On the plus side, now my LED light is working.
So now I have a ticket in with SPL and I hope they can work with me to fix this. Is anyone else having these types of issues? It’s really incredible that I have an NAD 3020 that’s almost 45 years old, with minimal servicing, running flawlessly while I have a 4 year old amp that has crapped out twice.
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Update from SPL. Their new repair service is based in Las Vegas and is run by Thermal Relief Design, a mainly pro-audio repair service. They said they just got all the parts in and there are “many units” in queue. That doesn’t sound great for quality from SPL. They couldn’t get me a turnaround time but they did say they have 2 techs working as fast as possible on them.
At this point, I’d say think twice about buying something from SPL if you want to avoid repairs. I’d like to know if the same thing happens for their other products.
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We’ve been selling SPL for 5 years and have had to RMA 2 units over that timespan. So sounds like you’ve just had an unfortunate experience but not one that many experience.
SPL in North America used to be distributed by Focal Naim America and that distribution changed hands a couple months ago. Their new distributor has just started to receive stock and parts and they are SPL direct now.
If anything, you should be expecting even quicker service once they get their feet under them in North America.
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Yeah, my first repair was done by Focal Naim and they said they just replaced the entire board. So this is the second board to go out.
Either way, I’m happy with the fairly quick response time by (both) SPL and Thermal Relief. SPL set me up and Thermal Relief also responded.
I should also add that SPL said they would set me up with a brand new faceplate (the first one is wearing off the lettering) so I am very happy about that.
Again, I’m not upset about the customer service. I’m just upset that I’ve had to send this in twice now with 2 different boards in such a short amount of time.
I should also add that now the XLR input/output works but the output is still the same (weak, distorted music, VU meters not working correctly). It really just depends on what day it is how the amp decides to act.
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I heard back from the repair shop (Thermal Repair Design). They’ve been in business for 40 years. They were incredibly nice and it’s a mom/pop shop. The wife runs the business and the husband is the head tech. They repair about 50 brands. The wife spent 45 minutes on the phone with me discussing the business and the industry and my amplifier. It appears my op-amps went out and they’re expecting it to be about a 350-400 dollar repair bill since the warranty is out. SPL provides (according to them) a 2 year warranty and then after repairs, a 6 month warranty on parts.
She also said there’s a brand they deal with who recently got sold (wouldn’t name the brand — probably Sound United tho) that can’t get the repair shop parts, so the units have been sitting in the warehouse for 2 years. She said this is pretty common among brands, that they are still having issues getting repair parts and have slashed the warranty periods.
So the head tech husband will call me back and discuss the situation with me in the next couple of days and go over the exact cost of repair. So I’m very happy with them but again, I’d think twice about buying SPL if you’re in the market. SPL did send a new faceplate but to my address instead of the repair shop. So I have to receive the faceplate and 2 day ship it to the repair shop so they can add it. So that’s an additional cost I have to spend.
Either way, I’ll update when I get the thing back or if I hear any interesting information from the head tech guy.
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I got my Phonitor back a week ago from the repair shop and they said the op-amps were starting to go out, as well as the solder joints on the PCB due to heat. They repaired the solder joints with lead solder so they said it should be rock solid now. They said one of the main issues was that the ribbon cable was somehow unplugged from the board (somehow during house moving due to vibration). So they repaired everything and I got a really nice price from them due to military discount and the fact they didn’t have to do massive work on it. They worked with me on shipping and pricing and I had a very nice talk with the head tech. I got the Phonitor back and it seems to work great now.
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My Phonitor XE is having issues again. The left VU light is out (again). The audio seems fine and the VU needle itself is fine. But now I’m going to have to call the repair shop and see what they say. This is extremely aggravating.
You are not the only one with Phonitor issues.
Even if it’s just a bulb the return/repair/ship cycle ends up being a long time without the amp.
Plus, it’s hard not to be always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Hopefully you can get a timely resolution.
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