Both are desktop amplifiers, $1600 against $3000. 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 SPL Phonitor xe reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the SPL Phonitor se on 566.
| Specification | SPL Phonitor se | SPL Phonitor xe |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 1.0 W | 2.7 W |
| Power into 150Ω | 3.1 W | 3.7 W |
| Power into 300Ω | 4.2 W | 4.2 W |
| Power into 600Ω | 2.1 W | 2.1 W |
| Output impedance | 0.18 Ω | 0.18 Ω |
| Output noise | 5.48 µV | 5.48 µV |
| Price | $1600 | $3000 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 566 | 567 |
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 | SPL Phonitor se | SPL Phonitor xe |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Published | Published |
| 150 Ω | Derived | 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. SPL Phonitor se publishes at 32 Ω; SPL Phonitor xe 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.
The two publish at the same loads, which is the one case where the rows of this table can be read straight across.
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 SPL Phonitor xe but not on the SPL Phonitor se — Symphonium Titan.
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 Shure SE846: SPL Phonitor xe has +43 dB of headroom there against +38 dB. 4 dB is about 2.7 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
Hiss is this source’s own noise, in decibels SPL, in that headphone — not a rating. Below about 20 dB SPL it is under the threshold of hearing in a quiet room; a negative figure means it is far below it.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | SPL Phonitor se headroom | SPL Phonitor xe headroom | SPL Phonitor se hiss | SPL Phonitor xe hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +38 dB | +43 dB | 29 dB | 29 dB |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +18 dB | +23 dB | 9 dB | 9 dB |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +33 dB | +35 dB | 7 dB | 7 dB |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +39 dB | +39 dB | 3 dB | 3 dB |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +20 dB | +24 dB | 2 dB | 2 dB |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +32 dB | +32 dB | -4 dB | -4 dB |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +28 dB | +28 dB | -8 dB | -8 dB |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +15 dB | +17 dB | -10 dB | -10 dB |
The SPL Phonitor xe costs $1400 more than the SPL Phonitor se. Out of the 567 models here, that difference buys 1 more model driven to 100 dB.
Nothing runs the other way: there is no axis here on which the cheaper of the two does better.
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: SPL Phonitor se and SPL Phonitor xe. Or put either against your own headphones in the source comparison tool.