Man I wish I could try some IEMs. But it’s a definite no-no for me, sayeth the doctors. Oh well.
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Search results for: ‘rnhp’ (proaudiostar.com)
bought one here when i saw price jump at sweetwater, got a 25 ft mogami extension for free basically, far as i could tell was a new unit
oh and first time ive been totally happy with an amp
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Ok the Phonitor One is here, and immediately I can tell it’s all the best bits of the Neve with a far more even delivery in my system, yes very dynamic and also detailed, but without the glare and head banging fatigue! The Neve in my system was like a TV with the contrast turned right up! The SPL has a very nice build and is quite substantial, looks a quality piece of gear. Not sure what the cross feed knob actually does yet, I’ve read all the marketing speal but unless I turn it ro max I don’t hear much of a difference - maybe it would work better on those old recordings with wide left and right panning?
I have never understood all that talk about height and depth and whatever, but this is a very clean, clear and detailed amp, dynamic, powerful (with the Sens) impressive and emotive. I’m afraid I got a little carried away waiting and with the refund for the Neve bought a new DAC - the little Soncoz la-qxd1. Everything arrived yesterday so was a fun day warming it all up!
Headphones Show guy seemed very impressed and was using the Soncoz as an everyday DAC - not a review video as such, just a ‘hey this is an impressive little no nonsense DAC for the money’ kind of thing. So even after all the issues ASR group seemed to be getting last year with the early versions it seemed too good an opportunity to miss - only a couple of hundred from Amazon. Now I’m listening it’s certainly a good step up from the entry level Topping E30, bass is far more extended and it doesn’t run out of puff when those classical crescendos erupt into full volume! Very pleased with it and so much so I’m thinking of upping the streaming duties from the default Raspberrry Pi front end I’ve always had for headphone listening to something a little more capable. Incidentally I’ve tried the Rp4 with Allo DigiOne I have into the Soncoz and there is a tiny, slight improvement through Coax spdif, but I may well be imagining it.
As the Soncoz has a balanced output and the Phonitor has a balanced input I just bought a cheap pair of patch cables (XLR to TRS) from a pro company on ebay… very surprised, there is a definite difference, better resolution, more space, an ease is probably the best way to describe it. I do always have a problem getting the volume knob of any amp I’ve had up above 9 o’clock, maybe even 8 in balanced mode - perhaps a headphone upgrade to something better and harder to drive might help? 
So there we have it… at last after a bt of an abortive upgrade attempt I’m a happy bunny 
(but I have a sneaky feeling this is just the start of my headfi upgrades!! 
)
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@Timiambeing excellent read. Glad it arrived safely. Looks excellent, sorely tempted but will have to wait until the new year. It sounds exactly what I’m after.
The DAC doesn’t sound too bad either.
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So I’m itching to buy an rnhp because of its high praises here and good pairing with the clear mg. however, when I searched on eBay there’s a knock off chifi called “rod rain audio rnhp” have you guys heard of this lol.
Just curious. If I have an rnhp I’d a/b it 
just spotted it too… wondering how close it is…
I have a jot2 and wondering if rnhp is a sidegrade or compliments each other. I’m sure it’s been ask before need to scroll up. It will be pair with bf2 and using clear mg headphones
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If you don’t need the power and want a narrow and intimate amp that does things that most tube amps can only approach… it’s worth every penny.
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I’ve had a chance to check one of these out. Here’s the scoop. It’s a steal, no pun intended.
Inside, it looks almost identical except for the PCB silkscreening (says Rod Rain) and the output capacitors (slightly smaller). This is actually what it looks like. Not kidding.
What should be DG413DY* switches in the real RNHP may or may not be clones, but the ones in this product have been sanded down. As far as I can tell, everything else looks identical.
Note that the output caps are true Nichicon, but slightly smaller than the spec. 3300uF instead of 4700uF.
You could try to find replacements. Good luck.
It has blue LEDs instead of green. They are not as annoying but they are still pretty bright. Personally, I prefer blue.
How is the sound? I can’t tell the difference. It’s probably a limit of my headphones.
I still recommend supporting RND because they’re fantastic, but this is one of those rare cases of “get it while you can; it’s not too good to be true”.
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Fantastic! Appreciate and thankful for checking it out and comparing the internal components.
Curious what headphone did you used to compare the two?
Sundara, “2020 version”
HI guys,
No sure yet but i’m thinking about purchasing a Hifiman HE6SE V2 … do you think the RNHP will be strong enough to drive those cans ?
thank you !
Nope, it’s a pretty terrible match, I’d definitely look toward a different amp for those cans imo
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The best way to save time and money, thank you !!
yeah it was pretty obvious but i needed to be sure …
i have this one at the family house : AUDIOPHONICS HA-B6120 Full Balanced Headphone Amplifier TPA6120 MUSES8920 - Audiophonics …
100% sure it would be enough, it’s a beast, never more than 9 o’clock for the volume pot with the DT1990, and in LOW gain, so …
but the HE6 wasn’t supposed to go there and stay at my appartment … guess i’ll go for the ananda instead … just want a good planar beside the DT1990 to taste something different at times …
thank you Mon !!
Yeah it just really doesn’t have the power for the he6 whatsoever, feels very very lackluster on the neve lol. I’ve got no experience with the audiophonics but it looks interesting, in terms of rated spec it should be plenty of juice but no clue on the quality aspect of things
Will be curious on your thoughts of whatever you end up with 
sure i will !
About the Audiophonics, if you are fine with google translation → Ampli Audiophonics HA-B6120 -
apparently it shares the same TI TPA6120 as the RNHP but with different implementation.
i share my time with two places and have two sets :
SMSL SU-8 → XLR → RNHP → DT1990
SMSL SU-8 → XLR → AUDIOPHONICS → DT1990
i haven’t made a real A/B comparison but for the obvious points
- Much much much more power with the audiophonics ( for the same final volume in the cans → approx. 15% of the volume in high gain for the Audiophonics, 45% of the volume for the RNHP )
- Audiophonics is more dynamic and punchier but a litlle sharper ( treble can be difficult at times) compared to the RNHP. it looses the sweetness the RNHP has despite using the same chip
- you can change the OpAmps … apparently it would allow the Audiophonics to upgrade significantly depending of the opamps you choose ( burr brown Vivid, classic …etC… ) …
i haven’t a big experience with amplifiers ( started with an O2 and jumped directly to the RNHP, use to have an Audio GD for a month before the aufiophonics ) but i still have the RNHP as my daily amplifier … i have to EQ the audiophonics to tame the treble a little, despite this point it does the job pretty well and for this price it’s really difficult to find someting wrong about it …
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Just a random thought: I am selling my RNHP for 600 CAD, or 465 USD, shipping in continental US and Canada included.
That’s a random thought? It seems like a post for the WTS category.
Lol
It’s random because no carefully selected thought would result in wanting to sell an RNHP.
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Do you guys actually STILL like this amplifier after all this time, and after all the good amplifiers released in recent years? Or you guys are still saying nice things about it out of respect for the impressions you had (or to another extent, Mr.Neve) and maybe you haven’t got to try better amplifiers?