McIntosh MHA200 vs SPL Phonitor xe

Short answer

  • More power: the SPL Phonitor xe, with 2.70 W into 32 Ω; the McIntosh MHA200 has 500 mW. The SPL Phonitor xe drives 1 headphone to 100 dB that the McIntosh MHA200 cannot (Symphonium Titan).
  • Hiss with sensitive IEMs: cannot be compared — the maker of the McIntosh MHA200 publishes no noise figure.
  • Price: the same, $3000.

Both are desktop amplifiers, both at $3000.

The SPL Phonitor xe reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the McIntosh MHA200 on 566.

Side by side

Every published figure, next to each other

SpecificationMcIntosh MHA200SPL Phonitor xe
Power into 32Ω500 mW2.7 W
Power into 150Ω475 mW3.7 W
Power into 300Ω485 mW4.2 W
Power into 600Ω500 mW2.1 W
Output impedancenot published0.18 Ω
Output noisenot published5.48 µV
Price$3000$3000
Headphones it reaches 100 dB on
out of 567		566567

Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.

Balanced output

The 4.4 mm or XLR socket, rated on its own

BalancedMcIntosh MHA200SPL Phonitor xe
Socketno separate ratingbalanced
Power into 32Ω—700 mW
Power into 300Ω—2.9 W derived
Output impedance—0.36 Ω
Output noise—9.75 µV
Headphones it reaches 100 dB on
out of 567		—566

Only the SPL Phonitor xe has a separate balanced rating from its maker; through it, it reaches 100 dB on 566 of the 567 models here. The McIntosh MHA200 may still have a balanced socket — its spec sheet simply gives no figure for one, so there is nothing to put beside it. Derived figures are worked out from the loads the maker did publish.

How solid these numbers are

Where each power figure comes from

LoadMcIntosh MHA200SPL Phonitor xe
32 ΩPublishedPublished
150 ΩDerivedDerived
300 ΩDerivedDerived
600 ΩPublishedDerived

Both makers publish a power rating. McIntosh MHA200 publishes at 32 Ω and at 600 Ω; SPL Phonitor xe at 32 Ω. The other rows are worked out from those.

So the two columns are not equally firm row by row: at 600 Ω only the McIntosh MHA200 figure is the maker’s own. On those rows the derived number is the one to doubt first.

What the labels mean.

What separates them

The headphones that tell them apart

1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the SPL Phonitor xe but not on the McIntosh MHA200 — Symphonium Titan.

566 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.

On real headphones

Headroom and hiss on 8 models, both sources

Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.

The widest gap on the list is the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω): SPL Phonitor xe has +39 dB of headroom there against +29 dB. 10 dB is about 10 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.

The hiss columns are empty for McIntosh MHA200 because that maker publishes no output noise figure.

HeadphoneImpedanceNeedsMcIntosh MHA200 headroomSPL Phonitor xe headroomMcIntosh MHA200 hissSPL Phonitor xe hiss
Shure SE8469 Ω0.04 mW+35 dB+43 dBnot published29 dB
Campfire Audio Andromeda 20209 Ω4.0 mW+15 dB+23 dBnot published9 dB
Audeze LCD-2 Classic70 Ω0.79 mW+28 dB+35 dBnot published7 dB
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω)250 Ω0.63 mW+29 dB+39 dBnot published3 dB
HiFiMAN HE400se25 Ω7.9 mW+17 dB+24 dBnot published2 dB
Audio-Technica ATH-R70X470 Ω1.6 mW+25 dB+32 dBnot published-4 dB
Sennheiser HD 600300 Ω6.6 mW+19 dB+28 dBnot published-8 dB
HiFiMAN Susvara60 Ω50 mW+10 dB+17 dBnot published-10 dB
What the price difference buys

The gap in dollars, against the gap in numbers

These two cost the same, $3000, so price settles nothing. Out of the 567 models here, the SPL Phonitor xe drives one model to 100 dB — and on the other side there is no such advantage at all.

Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.

Next

Both pages in full

Each in full: McIntosh MHA200 and SPL Phonitor xe.

↑