SPL Phonitor xe: power output and what it will drive

The SPL Phonitor xe is a desktop amplifier at $3000. It delivers 2.7 W into 32Ω and 4.2 W into 300Ω, which ranks it 31 of 280 for raw power among the sources in this database.

Measured at 100 dB SPL it has comfortable headroom on 565 of the 567 dynamic and planar headphones catalogued here and enough but not generous on 2. Power is published at 32Ω, 250Ω; the rest of the table is derived from those figures.

Specifications

What it actually puts out

TypeDesktop amplifier

Price$3000

Power into 32 Ω2.7 W

Power into 150 Ω3.7 W

Power into 300 Ω4.2 W

Power into 600 Ω2.1 W

Output impedance0.18 Ω

Output noise5.48 µV

Comfortable headroom on 565 of 567 headphones (100%)

Provenance

Where these numbers come from

The manufacturer publishes 2.7 W into 32Ω, 5.0 W into 250Ω. The rest of the table is worked out from those.

The balanced output is rated separately: 700 mW into 32Ω through the balanced jack.

Derived rows hold output voltage steady, as an amplifier does (method).

Source: spl.audio, spl.audio.

Load	Power	Status	How it was arrived at
32 Ω	2.7 W	Published	the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load
150 Ω	3.7 W	Derived	worked out between two published loads, holding output voltage linear between them
250 Ω	5.0 W	Published	the manufacturer publishes this figure at this exact load
300 Ω	4.2 W	Derived	beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters
600 Ω	2.1 W	Derived	beyond the published loads, holding output voltage constant — which understates rather than flatters

Matching

Against 40 well-known headphones

Easiest to hardest to drive, with headroom at a 100 dB SPL peak.

Headphone	Impedance	Sensitivity	Needs	Headroom	Verdict
Shure SE846	9 Ω	114.0 dB/mW	0.04 mW	+43 dB	Comfortable audible hiss
64 Audio U12t	12.6 Ω	108.0 dB/mW	0.16 mW	+38 dB	Comfortable audible hiss
Shure SE215	17 Ω	107.0 dB/mW	0.20 mW	+39 dB	Comfortable audible hiss
Moondrop Aria	32 Ω	107.1 dB/mW	0.19 mW	+41 dB	Comfortable audible hiss
Audeze LCD-X 2021	20 Ω	103.0 dB/mW	0.50 mW	+35 dB	Comfortable audible hiss
Truthear Hexa	20.5 Ω	103.1 dB/mW	0.49 mW	+35 dB	Comfortable audible hiss
Sennheiser IE 200	18 Ω	101.6 dB/mW	0.69 mW	+33 dB	Comfortable audible hiss
Sony MDR-7506	63 Ω	106.0 dB/mW	0.25 mW	+40 dB	Comfortable audible hiss
Meze 99 Classics	32 Ω	103.0 dB/mW	0.50 mW	+37 dB	Comfortable audible hiss
Focal Clear MG	55 Ω	104.0 dB/mW	0.40 mW	+38 dB	Comfortable audible hiss
Philips SHP9500	32 Ω	101.0 dB	0.79 mW	+35 dB	Comfortable audible hiss
Focal Utopia	80 Ω	104.0 dB/mW	0.40 mW	+39 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Meze Empyrean	32 Ω	100.0 dB	1.0 mW	+34 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020	9 Ω	94.0 dB	4.0 mW	+23 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Etymotic ER2SE	15 Ω	96.0 dB/mW	2.5 mW	+27 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
AKG K371	32 Ω	99.1 dB/mW	1.2 mW	+33 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Audio-Technica ATH-M50X	38 Ω	99.0 dB/mW	1.3 mW	+33 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X	48 Ω	100.0 dB/mW	1.0 mW	+34 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Audeze LCD-2 Classic	70 Ω	101.0 dB/mW	0.79 mW	+35 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Grado SR80x	38 Ω	98.0 dB/mW	1.6 mW	+32 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Sennheiser HD 560S	120 Ω	100.8 dB/mW	0.83 mW	+36 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
HiFiMAN Edition XS	18 Ω	92.0 dB	6.3 mW	+24 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
HiFiMAN Arya Stealth	32 Ω	94.0 dB	4.0 mW	+28 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed	13 Ω	90.0 dB/mW	10 mW	+20 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Audeze LCD-5	14 Ω	90.0 dB/mW	10 mW	+21 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω)	250 Ω	102.0 dB/mW	0.63 mW	+39 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
HiFiMAN HE400se	25 Ω	91.0 dB	7.9 mW	+24 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
HiFiMAN Sundara	32 Ω	92.0 dB	6.3 mW	+26 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Dan Clark Audio Stealth	23 Ω	90.0 dB/mW	10 mW	+23 dB	Comfortable faint hiss
Fostex T50RP MK3	50 Ω	92.0 dB/mW	6.3 mW	+26 dB	Comfortable
AKG K702	62 Ω	92.9 dB/mW	5.1 mW	+27 dB	Comfortable
ZMF Verite Closed	300 Ω	99.0 dB/mW	1.3 mW	+35 dB	Comfortable
Sennheiser HD 650	300 Ω	97.8 dB/mW	1.7 mW	+34 dB	Comfortable
Sennheiser HD 800S	300 Ω	96.8 dB/mW	2.1 mW	+33 dB	Comfortable
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250Ω)	250 Ω	96.0 dB	2.5 mW	+33 dB	Comfortable
Audio-Technica ATH-R70X	470 Ω	98.0 dB/mW	1.6 mW	+32 dB	Comfortable
ZMF Atrium	300 Ω	96.0 dB/mW	2.5 mW	+32 dB	Comfortable
Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC	50 Ω	88.0 dB/mW	16 mW	+22 dB	Comfortable
Sennheiser HD 600	300 Ω	91.8 dB/mW	6.6 mW	+28 dB	Comfortable
HiFiMAN Susvara	60 Ω	83.0 dB	50 mW	+17 dB	Comfortable

Noise

Will it hiss?

At 5.48 µV of output noise, here is where that noise lands in the five most revealing in-ears in the database.

This one hisses. With the most sensitive in-ears in the database its own noise lands around 36 dB SPL, which you will hear between tracks and in quiet passages.

In-ear	Impedance	Sensitivity	Hiss level
Simgot EA500	16 Ω	141.0 dB/V	36 dB SPL
Tanchjim EA FORCE	17 Ω	137.7 dB/V	32 dB SPL
Shure SE846	9 Ω	134.5 dB/V	29 dB SPL
Campfire Audio Clara	13.3 Ω	134.1 dB/V	29 dB SPL
64 Audio Fourte	10 Ω	134.0 dB/V	29 dB SPL

Damping

Output impedance and the one-eighth rule

At 0.18Ω output impedance this source satisfies the one-eighth rule with every headphone in the database, down to the 3Ω in-ears. Nothing here will have its frequency response shaped by the source.

Check any pair.

Cheaper

The cheapest thing here that does the same job

Source	Type	Price	Into 300 Ω	Output impedance	Output noise
Schiit Magni Unity	desktop amplifier	$119	415 mW	0.1 Ω	1.59 µV
Topping L30 II	desktop amplifier	$149	560 mW	0.1 Ω	0.3 µV
SMSL HO100	desktop amplifier	$160	200 mW	<0.1 Ω	1.3 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 15 do everything the SPL Phonitor xe does as a headphone output: reach 100 dB on every headphone it reaches, stay inside the one-eighth rule wherever it does and stay under the audible-hiss threshold wherever it does. The cheapest of them is the Schiit Magni Unity at $119, against this one’s $3000 — $2881 less.

This counts the headphone output only; inputs, converters, the volume control and the build are outside it.

Alternatives

Compared with its closest rivals: vs Benchmark HPA4 · vs Burson Soloist 3X GT · vs Holo Audio Bliss KTE · vs McIntosh MHA200 · vs SPL Phonitor se · vs SPL Phonitor x.

Compare any two or match your own headphones. Every SPL source here.

SPL Phonitor xe: power output and what it will drive

What it actually puts out

Where these numbers come from

Against 40 well-known headphones

Will it hiss?

Output impedance and the one-eighth rule

The cheapest thing here that does the same job

Other desktop amplifiers at a similar price

McIntosh MHA200

HeadAmp GS-X mk2

SPL Phonitor x

Burson Soloist 3X GT

Benchmark HPA4

iFi Pro iCAN Signature