Well at least Thomann (excellent pro company in Germany) have already despatched my SPL Phonitor One, free delivery and 30 days no questions return - although at the price I got it I doubt it will go back unless it is absolutely awful! I’m wondering about the Singxer now as it will take a couple of weeks to arrive and sending it all the way back to China is unlikely. Like you I just want a great little headphone amp for now, up to £500, that will drive my HD600’s and is not picky about DACs either!
Then I will upgrade DAC in a month or two, actually might make it a Xmas gift to moi if I can get something for the £429 the Neve cost me - as that refund will be sat in my account for a week and might get used, WILL get used!
It’s all fun (I keep telling myself!) but as I think someone said the bottom end is full of great bargains with excellent specs, and £700 upwards has also plenty to chose from - but this middle section is a bit scarce of real. proper upgrades from that budget sector.
PS. One thing trying the Neve has shown me is that instantly available, on demand power for orchestral crescendos is absolutely crucial for classical listening, I don’t mean lots of watts for playing loud, I just mean not running our of puff when the combined chorus of fat lades belt out the final few chords! It has even shown me that this is lacking in my main system, I’ve often wondered why classical just doesn’t cut it on my speaker system and I can hear now, turning up the volume does not turn up the available power - it runs out of puff!
This is why I was looking at the Neve. Dynamic shifts need good fast power, not just a volume knob.
I have a Topping L30 as I wasn’t going to go up the chain but stick to the cheaper end but I have found the amp totally soulless and not enjoyable at all to listen to with any of my DACs or headphones. Was quite annoyed as I really enjoyed my DX3 PRO and I think the new version of that has the same amp technology which may measure well but nobody at Topping seems to want to listen anymore.
So that’s why I’m stepping up but the likes of THX and A90 are off now and I’m looking elsewhere. I really like the fact the Neve does have multiple inputs as well
It’s really difficult, not even sure to save a bit more and go for the RME.
You sound in a very similar situation as me, I bought the Topping E30/L30 stack as a stop gap as I moved the previous DAC/amp to the main system as a DAC only, then sold it and upgraded - so had no where to plug in my headphones at all that was the RME. I upgraded to the RME from the Mojo and after a few weeks I was seriously under impressed, the DAC maybe whizz bang but the headphone amp is meh… I found the DAC in the main system to be excellent at detail retrieval but flat and uninvolving… typical of very well measuring DAC’s these days as you say!
So my take on the RNHP was yes, very dynamic, huge reserves of power (well for my HD600’s anyway) but the hard edge glare quickly became very fatiguing - which I have never experienced before. Maybe the little E30 DAC, who knows… but again I have had that DAC in my main system just to try and it was quite amazing for £99 or whatever!
In the end although I wanted to believe the hype around the Neve I lost faith in the actual product as presented. Basic cheap headphone amp chip from Texas Instruments with a circuit design I hear mentioned as straight out of the TI implementation manual. Very nasty wall wart switching power supply, I mean literally £7 worth. That and having to remove the headphone cable whist the amp is on because the lack of protection during power up and off… (with accompanying hums and thuds!) well it all added up to something that just didn’t stack up for the price. And now they have released a new version at 3 times the price with little or no alterations (that I can see actually proven) well, that sort of says it all really.
The SPL is another pro gear amp so we shall see, but the bigger Phonitors have a great following so? We just have to buy and see really, I just want something that will be the best I can get for now, but that as I scale upwards with the DAC and headphones will come with me on the journey for a while - then I can upgrade to one of those super duper £1000 jobs and the journey begins again!
Thanks for the comments on the RME, looks like I might avoid that one. I really like the Topping D50S+P50 and the Mojo that I own so I can put the DAC on the backburner for now, the amp is of much more importance.
Look forward to hearing how you get on with that Phonitor
Has anyone tried a pair of Kennerton M12s, Kennerton Gjallarhorns or LSA HP-2 Ultras with the RNHP?
They all seem like efficient, easy to drive closed backs which might play nice with the Neve.
Possible alternatives to an LCD-XC for closed backs with good synergy with the Neve??
The Gjallarhorn (original) pairs really well with the RNHP from my experience! I haven’t tried the other two headphones, but I can at least vouch for that one specific pairing.
However, you should know that the Gjallarhorn does leak sound a bit more than you would expect for a closed back, thought I’d mention it just in case.
Thanks so much for the reply. On paper they look like a good match. From what I can tell the LSA HP-2 is a Kennerton Gjallarhorn with a different look made for direct to consumer sales. It’s too bad you have sound leak issues. Do you wear glasses by chance? If these leak a lot they may not be what I’m looking for. It seems the LCD-XC might be the best closed back option for the Neve.
Yep, I wear glasses. …also, my understanding is that while the LSA HP-2 is intended to sound the same as the Gjallarhorn, it actually does sound different. At least that’s what I’ve been told from people who’ve heard both, I’ve only heard the Gjallarhorn myself.
On sound leaking, xc and hp-2 were pretty similar to me. I wouldn’t use either in environments where others hearing your music is a problem. I use IEMs for that.
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
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!! )
@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.
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.
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
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.
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”.
…also, my understanding is that while the LSA HP-2 is intended to sound the same as the Gjallarhorn, it actually does sound different. At least that’s what I’ve been told from people who’ve heard both, I’ve only heard the Gjallarhorn myself.
