Both are desktop amplifiers, $3798 against $3200. This page puts them side by side on the only three things a maker can be held to — power, output impedance and noise — and then asks the question that actually matters: which headphones do they treat differently?
The Holo Audio Bliss KTE reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the SPL Phonitor x on 566.
| Specification | Holo Audio Bliss KTE | SPL Phonitor x |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 3.0 W | 1.0 W |
| Power into 150Ω | 600 mW | 3.1 W |
| Power into 300Ω | 300 mW | 4.2 W |
| Power into 600Ω | 150 mW | 2.1 W |
| Output impedance | 1.0 Ω | 0.18 Ω |
| Output noise | not published | 5.48 µV |
| Price | $3798 | $3200 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 567 | 566 |
A figure marked not published is missing from the maker’s own material, which is not the same as being good or bad. Where one of these two publishes a number and the other does not, the comparison on that axis cannot be made at all — and saying so is more useful than guessing.
| Load | Holo Audio Bliss KTE | SPL Phonitor x |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Published | Published |
| 150 Ω | Published | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 600 Ω | Derived | Derived |
Both makers publish a power rating, which is less common than the table above makes it look: of the 280 sources here, 209 publish a figure at at least one load and only 2 publish one at all four. Holo Audio Bliss KTE publishes at 32 Ω and at 150 Ω; SPL Phonitor x at 32 Ω. Every other row is worked out from those — between two published loads, or beyond them holding voltage constant, which understates rather than flatters.
So the two columns are not equally firm row by row: at 150 Ω only the Holo Audio Bliss KTE figure is the maker’s own. On those rows the derived number is the one to doubt first.
What each of these labels means, and why a derived figure is still worth printing, is set out in how this data was built.
1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the Holo Audio Bliss KTE but not on the SPL Phonitor x — Symphonium Titan.
15 headphones are left alone by the SPL Phonitor x under the one-eighth rule but coloured by the Holo Audio Bliss KTE (64 Audio Nio, 64 Audio Volur, Campfire Audio Andromeda 2023, 12 more).
566 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both. That is a power count and nothing more; whether either source suits a given headphone also depends on the two lines above.
The counts above say how many models the two treat differently. This says by how much. The same 8 headphones appear on every page of this kind, ordered from the easiest to drive to the hardest, so a row can be read across pages as well as across columns. Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.
The widest gap on the list is the Sennheiser HD 600: SPL Phonitor x has +28 dB of headroom there against +17 dB. 11 dB is about 14 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for Holo Audio Bliss KTE because that maker publishes no output noise figure. That is a gap in the specification, not a quiet amplifier, and it is left blank here rather than filled with a plausible number.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | Holo Audio Bliss KTE headroom | SPL Phonitor x headroom | Holo Audio Bliss KTE hiss | SPL Phonitor x hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +43 dB | +38 dB | not published | 29 dB |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +23 dB | +18 dB | not published | 9 dB |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +32 dB | +33 dB | not published | 7 dB |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +28 dB | +39 dB | not published | 3 dB |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +25 dB | +20 dB | not published | 2 dB |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +21 dB | +32 dB | not published | -4 dB |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +17 dB | +28 dB | not published | -8 dB |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +15 dB | +15 dB | not published | -10 dB |
The Holo Audio Bliss KTE costs $598 more than the SPL Phonitor x. Out of the 567 models here, that difference buys 1 more model driven to 100 dB.
It does not run one way only: the cheaper SPL Phonitor x leaves 15 models alone under the one-eighth rule that the Holo Audio Bliss KTE does not, which is the part worth checking against your own headphones before paying the difference.
Everything in this paragraph counts only figures the two makers published. An advantage on an axis one of them leaves blank cannot be counted, and is not counted — how often that happens is its own page.
Each has a page of its own with every power figure traced to what the maker published and a full headphone list: Holo Audio Bliss KTE and SPL Phonitor x. Or put either against your own headphones in the source comparison tool.