Manual Phonitor 2 Models 1280/1281 120 Volt Amplifier for Headphones, Active Speakers and Power Amps
Manual Phonitor 2 Models 1280 (black) & 1281 (silver) Version 1.5 – 3 /2014 Developer: Bastian Neu This manual contains a description of the product SPL Phonitor 2, Model 1280. In no way it represents a guarantee of particular characteristics or results of use. The information in this document has been carefully compiled and verified and, unless otherwise stated or agreed upon, correctly describes the product at the time of packaging with this document.
Content Symbols and Notes, Scope of Delivery Important Security Advices Hook Up Introduction 4 5 7 8 Phonitor, The New Heart Of Music Playback: Phonitor 2 8 Remote Control 9 Home Listening, Sound Engineers, 120 Volt Technology 10 Special Features, Applications 11 Phonitoring: With And Without Magnifiers, The End Of Ear Fatigue 12 Tech Talk 120 Volt operating voltage and its effects Rear Panel: Power Voltage Select, Power Connection, On/Off Switch Rear Panel: Wiring Rear Panel: Signals & R
Symbols and Notes IN THIS MANUAL A LIGHTNING SYMBOL WITHIN A TRIANGLE WARNS YOU ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR DANGEROUS ELECTRICAL SHOCKS – WHICH CAN ALSO OCCUR EVEN AFTER THE DEVICE HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED FROM A POWER SOURCE. AN EXCLAMATION MARK (!) WITHIN A TRIANGLE IS INTENDED TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF IMPORTANT OPERATIONAL ADVICE AND/OR WARNINGS THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED. BE ESPECIALLY ATTENTIVE TO THESE AND ALWAYS FOLLOW THE ADVICE THEY GIVE.
Important Security Advices Please read and keep this manual. You should carefully follow all of the safety and operating instructions before you use the device. Please also note all warnings and special safety instructions noted in this manual and on the unit. Connections: Only use the connections as described. Other connections can lead to health risks and damage the equipment.
Important Security Advices Lightning: Before thunderstorms or other severe weather, disconnect the device from wall power; do not do this during a storm in order to avoid life threatening lightning strikes. Similarly, before any severe weather, disconnect all the power connections of other devices and antenna and phone/network cables which may be interconnected so that no lightning damage or overload results from such secondary connections.
Hook Up Be very careful to check that the rear chassis power selection is set correctly before using the unit (230 V position: 220-240 V/50 Hz, 115 V position: 110-120 V/60 Hz)! When in doubt about a source, contact your dealer or a professional electrician. Read page 15 for instructions on how to set the correct voltage. Before connecting any equipment make sure that any machine to be connected is turned off. Follow all safety instructions from page 5. Place the unit on a level and stable surface.
Introduction Phonitor When we brought out the first Phonitor — the first ever headphone amp with 120 Volt technology — back in 2008, the professional audio world seemed to have been eagerly awaiting it. The success of this unique headphone preamp was overwhelming. In hindsight, we also had to wonder how none of us had come to the idea of combining basic monitoring options, speaker simulation capabilities and a headphone preamp.
Introduction The Two Sides Of The 120 Volt Amp As always, the Phonitor 2 remains first and foremost a headphone preamp, which is easy to identify given the elaborate loudspeaker simulation for headphones. Considering that the 120-volt amp provides everything needed to preamplify, manage and control the volume of line level signals, the latter are now also available at the output on the rear panel. Besides headphones, it is now possible to connect active loudspeakers and power amps directly at the output.
Introduction Home Listening Home users can enjoy a central control unit for modern music playback of stereo signals that supports all known formats – and that with an unheard-of price/performance ratio. As such, the Phonitor 2 does justice to its central position. It is comforting to know that there is no need to fear a sound bottleneck limiting your system in such a critical spot in the chain.
Introduction Special Features • The Reference – the Phonitor 2 sets new technical and sound standards.
Tech Talk Phonitoring: With And Without Magnifiers Already for the headphone monitoring – or phonitoring – part alone, the Phonitor 2 encompasses advantages of both kinds of traditional monitoring methods: On one hand the analytical headphone monitoring is like working with an acoustic magnifier but without external room influences; on the other hand, loudspeaker simulation allows for monitoring which forgoes the microscopic effect, but provides for room ambiance.
Tech Talk But the voltage level acts in circuitry much like the cubic inch capacity to the productive power of a combustion engine: Cubic inch capacity is replaceable with nothing but more cubic inch capacity – and in the productive power of electronics, voltage level functions similarly. For some years, now, SPL has addressed this issue in all of its mastering product series through its own specifically developed 120 volt technology.
Tech Talk Diagrams 120 Volt operating voltage and its effects These diagrams clearly show how our 120-volt technology compares to other circuits with a lower operating voltage. The direct relation between operating level and maximum level is fundamental for the classification: the higher the operating level, the higher the maximum level a circuit can handle.
Power Rear Panel: Power Voltage Select Before connecting the Phonitor 2 to the mains, make sure that the voltage selection corresponds to the values of your local power grid (230 or 115 volts). The mains connector on the rear panel integrates a fuse box that includes fuses for both voltage ranges. To select the voltage take out the fuse box, turn it around and place it back again. Inside the power connector, to the right, next to the on/off switch, there is an opening that displays the voltage selected.
Refer to page 16 Learn Mode for Remote Controls Power Connection 16 Output 3 2 Aktive Speakers, Power Amps, Balanced Headphones, Amps for Electrostatic HP 1 Power Switch 1 Players Source 3 2 1 2 3 Source 2 3 1 D/A Converter, Player 2 3 2 3 1 Source 1 1 D/A Converter, Player 2 Make sure that the voltage switch setting reflects the correct local power line voltage. NOTE ON XLR SOCKETS: You can establish unbalanced connections easily and without adaptors e. g.
Rear Panel: Signals & Remote Control Signal Connections Inputs are always female and accept male connectors; outputs are always male. All in all, a very comprehensible principle. Turn off the unit before connecting or disconnecting any cable or equipment to it. Otherwise you risk the possibility of damaging your ears or equipment. XLR Sockets The diagram shows the pin wiring of all XLR sockets (3 pin, balanced).
Bottom: DIP Switches Output level adjustment The DIP switches on the bottom of the unit give you the possibility to increase the output level in multiple steps. This is something that ought to be considered basically in two cases: when the input level is very low and when using high-impedance and especially power-hungry headphones. By default, the normal setting is active, all switches point down towards the numbers 1-4. The output level can be increased for all outputs in two steps: +6dB and +12dB.
Front Panel: Connection Headphone Connection Connect headphones to the standard 1/4" (TRS) stereo plug on the lower right front panel. The layout is: Tip =left channel, Ring = right Channel, Sleeve = ground. Make sure that the plug firmly seated for a solid connection. Recommendations Reduce volume level before you remove or plug in the headphone (or when switching headphones). This excludes louder clicks and pops reaching the ear.
Control Elements Crossfeed The Crossfeed switch allows you to adjust the frequency-dependent crossfeed simulation of both channels by adjustments of interaural level difference – as if this characteristic would be heard from monitors when in their own room ambiance. One can compare variations in crossfeed values as approximating the influence of different room sizes and characteristics on a given loudspeaker setup. This adjustment can be made in six steps ranging from “minimum” to “maximum”.
Control Elements Interaural Level and Time Differences as Related to Crossfeed Setup The following two diagrams show, respectively (on the left), the frequency response of interaural level differences and (on the right) the interaural time difference at maximum Crossfeed value and at an Angle of 30 degrees.
Control Elements Interaural Level and Time Differences as Related to Angle Setup The following two diagrams show (on the left) the frequency response of interaural level difference with respect to the interaural time difference (on the right) at maximum Crossfeed value and an Angle of 75 degrees.
Control Elements Crossfeed and Angle Parameters Angle Switch Crossfeed Switch Level Difference Time Diff. (µs) Speaker Angle (Result) The accentuated lines show at which Crossfeed values the Speaker Angle most precisely matches the theoretically determined time difference values. These, of course, are mainly a starting point to reproduce a real monitoring setup. Formulae for calculations from http://www.sengpielaudio.com/ LaufzeitdifferenzenBeimNatuerlichenHoeren.
Control Elements Source The Phonitor 2 provides three different source connections. Use the Source switch to select one. All three switches are named after the inputs on the rear. The RCA input is usually used to connect consumer products. Do note, however, that the XLR inputs can also be used to connect any unbalanced outputs. For more information on this topic, please refer to page 16, „Connecting XLR to other socket formats.“ Output This switch merges the output selection and mute options.
Control Elements If you are an audiophile listener you may find that you will not need the Center function as you are mainly listening to finished recordings that were mixed to sound well on loudspeakers. As a mix engineer you will appreciate the center function as an essential tool for successful mxing on headphones. The Center function helps to mix the phantom center signals such as lead vocals, bass, kick and snare with the correct level to sound great on loud-speakers.
Control Elements Phase ø The phase reversal control is another important monitoring function. As with the solo function, you can choose between L, R and OFF. Choose the middle position, OFF, to hear the stereo signal. Switching to L reverses the left channel phase (thus inverts by 180°). The same effect occurs in the right channel when switching to R. With phase reversal and a simultaneous activation of the Mono switch, you can generate the difference between both audio channels.
Control Elements Laterality In acoustics, laterality refers to the deviation of sound perception to either of our ears. With the Laterality control you can compensate perceived volume differences between channels that may be due to hearing loss. In contrast to conventional balance controls, in this case the control values are lower and the arrester does not correspond to zero. Its resolution is very high, which means it can be finely adjusted.
Operation Adjust Headphone Reproduction To Loudspeaker Monitoring The Phonitor 2 offers foremost a complete set of options required for professional monitoring: Solo L/R, Phase Reverse L/R, Mono, Volume, VU Metering.
Operation Alternatively you can keep the Crossfeed adjustment identical (thus keeping the interaural level difference), but for example increase the Speaker Angle. This way the interaural time difference is increased, which in turn has the effect of a broader image. The interaural level difference is only slightly altered. Do not be misled by the scaled Speaker Angle degree numbers so that you think you need to follow only those exact values given for your loudspeakers.
Specifications Inputs XLR connectors, electronically balanced Impedance: bal. ca. 20 kOhm, unbal. ca. 10 kOhm Max.
Measurements Frequency Response Input/Headphone Output, Left and Right Channel Measuring output and input 600 Ohm, Volume control Phonitor 2 0 dB: ‹10 Hz to ›200 kHz (-0.2dB; ‹10 Hz to ›480 kHz @-3dB). The large frequency response range excludes that the frequency spectrum is limited at any point. Formants and octaves of an instrument’s sounds cannot be narrowed. Phase Response Input vs. Output, Left and Right Channel Measuring output and input 600 Ohm, Volume control Phonitor 2 0 dB.
Measurements THD vs. Output Level (W) Measuring output and input 600 Ohm, Volume control at 0 dB. This measurement represents an analysis of THD values over the complete output level range. High THD values can be perceived as rough sounds and overemphasized highs. In usual operating ranges around 0 dBu, the Phonitor‘s THD values are extremely low. Volumes that would result from 10 dBu are already far above healthy levels. THD vs. Frequency Measuring output and input 600 Ohm, Volume control at 0 dB.
Headphones Speakers Studio/Listening Room Date Copy Master: Recall Sheet
Manual Phonitor 2 Model 1280
