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Millet Minimax, right for me?

post #1 of 13
9/27/10 at 12:45pm
Thread Starter 

Hello everybody, I've been looking for a good project to do and the millet minimax kit from beezar seems right for me. At 220$, and all the parts included, it means only thing I need to mess with on this project is soldering and testing, which would be an invaluable learning experience, but I have a few questions:

 

Ultimately I want this to teach me some and hopefully enough that I can start off with a power supply next. So I guess my question is two part, can I build a dedicated PSU for this unit like the sigma 11, and would I benefit from it at all? (I understand it already has a power supply built in, but wouldn't there be some benefit to building an outboard sigma 11 for it?)

 

I know it might seem redundant, but replacing the walwart with something a bit more powerful seems like a good upgrade, but most importantly I want to know that this amp will support tinkering, and allow me to learn the power supply building game as I'd like to progress afterwards to a m3 with a sigma11. :)

 

Also, I currently have a Little Dot I+, would the minimax be a sufficient upgrade for me with Shure SRH840's and Grado SR325i? The other major reason I want to upgrade is the ability to drive HD600/HD650's down the road.

 

I have other cans but I'm not worried about them as they are not my primary listening cans (ATH-AD700 and Sennheiser HD555).

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post #2 of 13
9/27/10 at 3:59pm

I just finished the Millet Minimax from Beezar.  It was my first project and I was fully successful.  The kit is amazing in that everything is boxed, labeled and optimized.  Not only that, the support network is there to hold your hand and cheer you on.  The only downside is the millet thread is really long.  The searches are not as effective as on a smaller thread.

 

My finished product.

GetAttachment.aspx.jpg

 

I have started on a Gamma1 (alive) and Gamma 2(waiting on parts).  Let me tell you, soldering surface mount devices is not fun ( feel free to insert stronger language).  

 

A dedicated/monster PSU is not needed and the standard one is driving my AKG701s nicely.  Be sure to order all the tubes that are available.  I had some ringing (James Taylor, October Road, Merry xmas) with the standard type that come with the kit, I changed tube types and no ringing!  The jury is still out on the dampers. 

 

Things to get on hand,  Good soldering iron,  Good solder (I used Cardas quad eutectic), Solder wick, Flux and Flux remover (alcohol).  Beer also helps, but that may be just me.

 

Good luck and have fun, I sure did!  

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post #3 of 13
9/27/10 at 4:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by FishHead View Post

I just finished the Millet Minimax from Beezar.  It was my first project and I was fully successful.  The kit is amazing in that everything is boxed, labeled and optimized.  Not only that, the support network is there to hold your hand and cheer you on.  The only downside is the millet thread is really long.  The searches are not as effective as on a smaller thread.

 

My finished product.

GetAttachment.aspx.jpg

 

I have started on a Gamma1 (alive) and Gamma 2(waiting on parts).  Let me tell you, soldering surface mount devices is not fun ( feel free to insert stronger language).  

 

A dedicated/monster PSU is not needed and the standard one is driving my AKG701s nicely.  Be sure to order all the tubes that are available.  I had some ringing (James Taylor, October Road, Merry xmas) with the standard type that come with the kit, I changed tube types and no ringing!  The jury is still out on the dampers. 

 

Things to get on hand,  Good soldering iron,  Good solder (I used Cardas quad eutectic), Solder wick, Flux and Flux remover (alcohol).  Beer also helps, but that may be just me.

 

Good luck and have fun, I sure did!  

 

I understand that a monster PSU is not necessarily required but I'm really interested in putting one together. I want a cheap project to work on for now, but after I want to follow up with a PSU, because I know it'll be required for my next project.
 

What I'm curious about is could I hear a change if I did build one, and could I build one that would be functional with this amp?

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post #4 of 13
9/27/10 at 4:26pm
IMHO, there is no benefit to an external supply. The power supply design on the miniMAX (and mosfetMAX) is one of the primary updates that makes the mini what it is. Anything beyond is splitting hairs.

Also, the AC-to-AC wallwart used for the miniMAX is just a transformer in a fancy, easy to use case. Nothing elaborate. You want it sized correctly and that is about it. No need for more power than 0.75A for a miniMAX. I suppose you could go to 1A, but there is no reason as the amp will never draw that much current. More power is not always a desirable attribute.

If you want to build a power supply, go ahead and build one. Just be careful as AC can be dangerous.
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post #5 of 13
9/27/10 at 4:55pm
Thread Starter 

Wow I was totally not paying attention to that. LOL @ Me...  oh well, still wanna give this a go. :)

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post #6 of 13
9/27/10 at 6:40pm

The guys are correct.  The MiniMAX contains an onboard, fully-high-fidelity linear-regulated power supply.  The walwart is only providing a line transformer in a convenient format.  The performance of the onboard LM317-based power supply is fully competitive with the TREAD or the earlier STEPS, with ripple in the 45 microVolt range, fully loaded.  You could build a Sigma 11 and perhaps eke out a slightly better performance, but you'd be throwing away fully 1/3 of the MiniMAX's PCB design and probably ruin the chances of utilizing the custom-machined Beezar/Lansing case.

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post #7 of 13
9/27/10 at 6:52pm
Thread Starter 

Oh well, just gonna buy the kit and see what I think. Worst case is, most of them sell for more than you pay since you gotta build 'em. As long as I build it correctly I can see myself having a good time with it.

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post #8 of 13
9/27/10 at 7:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aynjell View Post

I can see myself having a good time with it.


I certainly hope so. Be sure to read the instructions several times. Don't make my mistakes. 

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post #9 of 13
9/27/10 at 7:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobSaysHi View Post




I certainly hope so. Be sure to read the instructions several times. Don't make my mistakes. 


<<br>






Hi Bob,



That was an epic build..... Did you ever get it straightened out?
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post #10 of 13
9/27/10 at 7:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FishHead View Post











Hi Bob,



That was an epic build..... Did you ever get it straightened out?



There's somebody working on it - maybe done this coming weekend.

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post #11 of 13
9/27/10 at 8:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomb View Post

There's somebody working on it - maybe done this coming weekend.


Now that's some good news! 

 

To the OP, I'd be interested to hear your impressions with the sr325i.

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post #12 of 13
9/27/10 at 8:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobSaysHi View Post




Now that's some good news! 

 

To the OP, I'd be interested to hear your impressions with the sr325i.

I will get one in about a month, I'll let you guys know what I think once I've completed it's construction. There a step by step online?
 

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post #13 of 13
9/27/10 at 8:50pm

http://www.diyforums.org/MAX/MAXconstruction.php

 

That's as step by step as it gets. Read the WHOLE site first. Then read it again. Even the parts you don't think are necessary. They are completely necessary. 

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