If you're looking for an austere audiophile headphone amp that sacrifices nothing in the way of sound, power, headroom, and look, and feel, the SPL Phonitor se with DAC is a suitable option. This headphone and DAC combination, styled here in a black finish, gives you the main features SPL pro-fi headphone amps are known for, such as naturalistic crossfeed, a high-grade audiophile DAC, and oodles of clean output power thanks to 120V VOLTAiR technology.

The 120V rails come straight from their mastering gear used in top-notch studios across the world and are a main factor behind the Phonitor se's ability to drive up to 5W of output power per channel into headphones, doing so cleanly, without distortion. The Phonitor se's Crossfeed switch allows you to recreate the effect of speakers in your headphones at will, eliminating the often stringent and extreme separation of conventional headphone listening. The DAC allows support up to 768 kHz for PCM audio, and DoP (DSD over PCM) up 20 DSD256. 

High Headroom Audiophile Amp    RCA Inputs, 1/4" Headphone Output    Included DAC768xs Chip for Digital    Up to 768 kHz Support and DoP Over USB    USB, S/PDIF, and Optical Connections    Selectable Crossfeed Emulates Speakers    Quality Components Used Throughout    Powers Headphones up to 2x5W at 32 Ohms

The volume is adjusted with a milled all-aluminium rotary knob sitting atop an Alps RK27 Big Blue potentiometer.

The Phonitor se is equipped with gold-plated RCA sockets for the analog input. The headphone amp has optional digital functionality, available separately. Coax and Optical.

In addition to an analog source, three other digital sources can be connected to the Phonitor se. You'll have the ability to input digital audio over USB, RCA Coaxial, and TOSLINK jacks.

The highly acclaimed AKM AK4490 Velvet Sound premium DAC chip is used as the converter chip in the digital-to-analog converter. This chip converts PCM audio with a resolution of 32 bits, for a high degree of headroom. Digital PCM audio is supported up to 768 kHz, and DoP (DSD over PCM) up to DSD256.

The Phonitor se offers a 1/4" jack for connecting headphones with jack plug. Up to 2 x 5 watts of output power is available at this socket. This allows even very power-hungry headphones such as magnetostats or electrostats to be driven effortlessly.

This headphone amp prominently offers SPL's signature Phonitor Matrix with a switchable crossfeed that allows you to listen to music through headphones as though it were being reproduced on speakers. You'll find a switch dictating the intensity of the Crossfeed effect.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. Will this clamp help me to quickly move my camera from Ronin SC to Manfrotto mvmxpro500?

A: No Manfrotto mvmxpro500 does not take Arca plate

Q: 2. Can you save directly to an SD card instead of using software and computer?

A: No, it's a strict scanner for pos & negs. It won't even work without using the proper/enclosed software via a suitable computer. It saves to a file on your computer hard drive, or as per demand, from where you can put it an any 'hard media', such as a SD card via an inexpensive card reader. Or an expensive, faster one for that matter. Most computer/laptops, however these days come with a USB port, so you could save your images here without further expenditure, on a USB stick. But image back-up on you computer is always a safer way to preserve important images. You can scan/save in TIF or JPG images. Jim Schultz, Kelmscott, Western Australia

Q: 3. can i convert in to PDF document?

A: After you have scanned you can then print/export photo to PDF

Q: 4. Will this clamp accept the 3 Legged Thing Ellie G bracket?

A: Yes, the Ellie will work with this clamp.

Q: 5. Will burn 1080p HD DVD quality?

A: Yes, you should have no problem.

Q: 6. Will this scanner allow you to scan 126 negatives and slides? Is there a different tray available for 126 negatives and slides?

A: I'm not aware of a feeder that holds 126 slides. The feeder it comes with holds four at a time. The scanner itself scans one at a time. But it's pretty fast, I was scanning at half the max resolution (the files came out at about 4700px by 3100px) and I could do 126 in a single night of while watching TV.

Q: 7. So the Plustek OpticFilm 8200i SE Film Scanner doesn't work with Mac computers, is that correct? If so what film scanner would you recommend for a Mac OS 11.6.4 user?

A: The Plustek 8200i SE scanner is Mac compatible with OS 11 and OS 12 (as well as Windows 11). They have updated driver software for the newer operating systems on their website.

Q: 8. Do I need a screw to install?

A: The Desmond DAC-100B 100mm Skeleton Clamp with Removable Level has a 3/8"-16 female socket and includes a 1/4"-20 reducing bushing adapter. So it will fit on any tripod screw.

Q: 9. Will this scanner work on m1 Macmini

A: Yes, the Plustek OpticFilm 8200i SE Film Scanner is fully compatible with the Apple Mac mini M1 Chip, and the latest macOS.

Q: 10. Does the middle mounting hole have threads on it?

A: The middle hole does have thread. That is how it attaches to my monopod.