Reviews, comments, and questions.
4 Likes
I just got the āeā version in. Thereās definitely more of a difference to the sound than I expected, compared to the RNHP. I donāt want to necessarily say itās ābetterā (They both sound great), but it definitely sounds different for sure.
7 Likes
Ohā¦ and I have not tested itā¦ but mine came with a DAC as well. =D Iāve heard itās nothing to write home about, but it was advertised with No DACā¦ and it seems headphones.com sent me one of their units with the DAC built in.
2 Likes
Thatās awesome. Look at you with all the upgrades!
Youāll have to post more impressions after youāve had some good listening time.
Congratulations.
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Oh I saw the deal. Congrats!
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Wow nice. DAC too. Cmon its gotta be better than the Rupert Neve amp! Give us a review. what does it sound like?
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Do you think the dac could potentially replace your topping for you?
Have not even touched the DAC component yetā¦ lol. But will definitely give it a listen soon. Iām supposed to go pick up a late lunch hereā¦ but currently very distracted. Just on the amp component alone I definitely have āfeelingsā to convey, but I need time to parce them out and figure out how to articulate them.
4 Likes
So far it sounds like the Phonitor is more of a complimentary addition to the RNHP rather than an obvious upgrade
Yeah, well itās mostly that I donāt want to speak too soon and itās definitely going for a different direction.
Itās like comparing a porche to a BMWā¦ one could be the nicest sedan youāve ever driven, but maybe you really want a sports car insteadā¦ so itās going to come down to preference a bit, I think.
But as a small tease, I will say itās extremely resolving, but also much less fatiguing than the RNHP or THX amps.
3 Likes
You should connect some shitty DACs and do a shit DAC roundup tournament on the phonitor. There can be only one! Lmao 
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I need a new optical cable to properly AB them at the same timeā¦ The one I had hooked up to my PS4 just broke as I disconnected it. Lol. So no sound with itā¦ =(
But switching back and forth with my working optical cable between the Topping D90 and built in DAC, my preliminary impression is probably, most definitely ānoā as far as the built in DAC being able to replace the D90.
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Darn, I was wondering if they improved the dac in there or something based on the last time I heard it lol. Well hopefully the amp portion is more satisfactory (it was based on my experience lol)
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Yeah, Iād have been happy to sell off or return the D90 and put that money directly towards the Denafrips Ares, but based on brief listening, itās a pretty noticeable downgrade. But Iāve already ordered a couple sets of toslink cables, which Amazon should deliver later tonightā¦ so I can test it better then.
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Gotta love same day shipping!
Some proper ABing happening now. =)
Notice how F-ing Bright that Light is on the RNHPā¦ lmao (Using the B input right now). Where the SPL hs a more reasonable red light on the front.
5 Likes
Iām basking in a glorious green glow as I type this! 
Yeah, itās that bright.
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So I originally felt the Phonitor might just be a bit more pulled back, with what I perceived to be a āwiderā sound stageā¦ So I thought maybe the āMatrixā crossfeed circuit which you can turn off and on might be permanently embedded a bit into the design of the amp to some extentā¦ and the RNHP and THX amps were simply going for a more straight forward amping sound.
But now ABing with the RNHP, I think the difference is a lot more straight-forward. The Phonitor is just a good deal more resolving. Thereās a very noticeable difference in the articulation and separation of sounds, which does a lot for the overall imaging and makes sounds more 3 dimensional and separated, hence why I had my initial impressionā¦
More thoughts tomorrow or later this week for sure. Including more comparisons for the internal DAC vs the Topping D90.
5 Likes
Thatās in line with @Darthpoolās summation of the Fidelice (re-cased) RNHP compared to the Phonitor X. The Phonitor is a good step up from an already fantastic RNHP.
3 Likes