Just adding my thoughts to this thread, having bought an SPL Director Mk 2 preamp and S800 power amp earlier in the year, and more recently a Phonitor headphone amp and Phonos phono stage.
My main amplifiers were an EAR 868 preamp and Pass XA25 power amp. I bought the SPL amps as back ups for quick and casual listening when I didn't want to power up the tubes and class A amp, and for the hot months when the Pass amp turns into a room heater. I thought I would use the SPL amps occasionally and accept the downgrade in performance for convenience.
As it turned out, the more I listened to the SPL amps I began to go from thinking, "these aren't as bad as I was expecting", to "these are actually sounding pretty good" and then to "being honest with myself, I prefer the SPL amps to the EAR/Pass amps". I also preferred them to some other more exalted amps I have owned in the recent past - an Ayre AX5 Twenty, an ARV VSi75 and a Lavardin IT, amongst others.
I initially bought the s800 power amp because of Terry's review, in which he said it reminded him of his Pass XA25. In fact, I found that the SPL doesn't sound much like the XA 25 at all. Fine amp though the Pass undoubtedly is, I thought the SPL amp was better. It was faster, more dynamic, cleaner, more three dimensional and tonally richer. I also found it more engaging and musical, for my tastes. The fact that it was smaller, lighter, runs cool and can be left on 24/7 are just bonuses. Undoubtedly many would prefer the Pass amp - it sounds "bigger" and has more audiophile "cred" in both a sonic and physical sense - but the SPL suits my musical tastes better.
Similarly, in direct comparisons between my EAR and SPL preamps, the EAR had the usual tube traits of spaciousness,decay, smoothness and tonal depth. But it also sounded a bit colourless and a bit slow. The SPL preamp gave up a bit of space and decay but was tonally more saturated, quieter, more colourful and more dynamic. On balance, I preferred it. Again, being able to run it 24/7 and no tube replacement concerns were icing on the cake.
I have since sold the EAR and Pass amps and am using the SPL amps exclusively.
A note on the DAC in the SPL Director Mk 2. It is very good, but not perfect. I sold a vastly more expensive DAC because the SPL DAC was showing me what I was missing in terms of space and dynamics. It is an accomplished and engaging DAC. But it also lacks bit of body and weight compared to other DACs (including the one it replaced). Orchestral strings, in particular, sound a bit thin and there is a slight high frequency glare to the sound of the DAC which can be a little fatiguing. Unfortunately, it is so close to being a great DAC, but falls a bit short. If SPL could engineer in a bit of warmth, tonal density and weight - things which are frequently associated with the AKM DAC chip it uses - it would be a killer. So,as a preamp, the Director is superb, as a DAC, a bit less so. That makes the SPL Elector (which is identical but without the internal DAC) the better buy, along with the DAC of your choice.
The Phonitor is also an outstanding headphone amp. I have a couple of other excellent headphone amps - the EAR HP4 and Niimbus US4 - and the Phonitor is at least competitive with all of them.
The SPL Phonos is an outstanding phono stage at its price. I have owned quite a number of much more expensive phono stages which are not as good. It is quiet, has exceptional detail and three dimensionality. Tonally it is on the warm side, and like the other SPL gear it is fast and dynamic. It does have a touch of hardness which I am hoping will disappear with run in, however. Currently my primary phono stage is a (tubed) Tron Convergence Signature MM with an EAR MC4 SUT, which is truly outstanding and one of the best values in audio. I am hoping that with a bit of time the slight hardness in the SPL Phonos will relent and it will become my primary phono stage.
