Phonon SMB-01L

Details

According to the sub-headline, the abbreviation SMB stands for “Subtonic Monitor Basic”. “Subtonic” is a fancy word, but in the developers’ mind, it probably means “sub-tonic”, i.e. “bass-strong”. In harmony, however, it is a fixed term for the note below the octave – i.e. the seventh.

Now that our long-neglected music school brain areas have been given a little stimulus, we can turn to the technical qualities of the SMB-01L: These are either semi-open or closed (more on that later) dynamic headphones with 50-millimetre drivers that compete against the amplifier with an impedance of 32 ohms and transform every milliwatt fed to them into 96 decibels of sound power. With joyful astonishment, I read the frequency specification from the manufacturer, which promises an epic reproduction performance from 10 Hz to 40 kHz. Phonon confidently refrains from advertising this huge frequency range with any HighRes audio icons.

Externals

The SMB-01L comes in a rather smart and robust case made of reinforced synthetic fabric, which is kind of what I expected considering the price range. The 344-gram headphones are nestled inside, accompanied by a three-metre connection cable, a mini-jack adapter and two replacement metal backs. It also includes a mini-screwdriver, with which the headphones can be quickly converted into a semi-open system. I have never seen a package in this form before – but it’s great. The appearance of the ear pads is also amazing; they are a whopping three centimetres thick and give the headphones a rather massive appearance.

As with the SMB-02, the SMB-01L also looks surprisingly inconspicuous and rather plain in terms of its use of materials, considering the price and leaving aside the size. Apart from the metal headband, the whole of the headphones is made of plastic. So anyone expecting exclusive details such as elaborate metal parts, a consecutive serial number or mechanical finesse when buying this 800 euro pair of headphones will perhaps be a little disappointed. Both ear cups can be folded away to the rear – and that, apart from replacing the rear panel, is the only trick they know how to do. Connoisseurs will find the exclusivity elsewhere, in the form of an inconspicuous “Made in Japan” on the packaging. In fact, Phonon – especially through the head of the company, mastering engineer Isao Kumano – see itself as a brand that wants to join the tradition of the golden era of Japanese hi-fi technology of the 1980s in terms of sound and quality, and accordingly the production is carried out in Japan, admittedly at a high price, but this means high quality. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether a pair of headphones look expensive or cheap and it’s only the sound that counts. This is something I experienced impressively with the SMB-02: A pair of headphones that looks completely inconspicuous and feels almost ordinary but has an outstanding sound. I’ve had them for seven years now and – apart from the rubbed-off artificial leather on the ear pads – they are without a single defect in almost all audio tasks (and I’m really rough on my equipment).

Handling

The Phonon headphones are connected to the external player via the supplied 3-metre connection cable, which is plugged into the corresponding socket on the left side using a mini-jack plug. There is no locking mechanism.

If you foresee that you will often wear the SMB-01L for long periods of time, you would be well advised to fit the supplied semi-open back covers. Three mini-screws have to be loosened on each side for this purpose. Although Phonon supply a cute little screwdriver, it turns out to be a size too big and is therefore only moderately useful. However, with a simple precision cross screwdriver (ideally magnetic) the change is done in no time. As a result, the sound becomes a bit softer, since no more dynamic pressure can build up. As a positive side effect, the ears do not get sweaty so quickly, and the wearing comfort is a bit airier.

Sound

The manufacturer describes the objective behind the SMB-01L as an attempt to bring the sound of a large studio monitor system into a pair of headphones. Accordingly, the full-bodied advertising slogan is “Big studio sound in your ears”.

Well, that is an aim that quite a few manufacturers promise – so it’s high time to give these headphones the opportunity to prove it in a listening test. I’ll start with light fare and put on Dua Lipa’s album “Future Nostalgia”, which is produced in a modern, tidy and lush way. Tracks like “Don’t Start Now” or “Pretty Please”, whose entire groove lies in the precisely constructed interplay of kick and bass, are a good indicator for judging the bass performance and precision of headphones. And it hardly takes two beats for the SMB-01L to put a big smile on my face, or rather a really fantastic bass in the stereo centre between my ears. It is because of this stability in the centre of the stereo that all notes of a bass run (and the kick) seem to sound exactly in the centre of my head (and do not wander), which shows whether the headphones are working linearly. The Phonon headphones do this superbly and work this area as precisely as they do powerfully.

I want to take a closer look at the mids and highs and run Mogwai’s extremely opulent orchestrated album “As The Love Continues” through the transducers. The bombastic “Ritchie Sacramento”, where the crumbly distorted, openly scratched 4-string bass and the sonorous voice of lead singer Stuart Braithwaite repeatedly come dangerously close to each other in terms of frequency, requires particularly precise midrange and treble reproduction if you’re still to be able to hear the lyrics. However, in direct comparison to its predecessor, the SMB-02, and my reference speaker (Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro), the SMB-01L is much more muted – a bit too much for my taste. After all, treble is not only decisive for the openness and brilliance of the sound, but also for the stereo stage: less treble always means a decrease in spatial plasticity and transient reproduction, which is responsible for the “crispness” in the sound. Of course, this is – as always – also a matter of taste: for it is not that the SMB-01L is faulty at this point. No, not at all: they also reproduce mids and highs without frequency holes or annoying resonances, and they do so with a nice dynamic throughout. It’s just that they’re a little quieter in these areas than, for example, the SMB-02.

A similar verdict with regard to the sound signature of the Beyerdynamic T1 3rd Generation, led to enlightening discussions on social media between myself (who believes an ideal pair of headphones should be as linear as possible without emphasising or masking areas), the press department (who took the view, that it’s about a finely balanced sound for music enjoyment at home) and various users, most of whom agreed with me that it doesn’t make sense for Beyerdynamic to tone down the treble in a current model when they already have countless models with fantastic treble reproduction in their range, which users appreciate very much. However, a (smaller) proportion of users were quite satisfied with the sound – opinions vary.

I see a similar situation in the case of the SMB-01L: If the SMB-02 has – for my taste – a clearer midrange and treble than its successor, which is twice as expensive, for considerably less than half the price, I personally cannot see any incentive to change.