HE-500, LCD2, D5000, DT770, SR80, on a speaker amp (Emotiva mini-X A-100) Project

Quote:

preproman said:

Yes - a better option would be to get a dedicated DAC.

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The only issue, though, is that there are few DACs that will work to bypass the internal DAC on Apple products.  A few that I know of are actually integrated - one from Fostex, and the newer iDo (I believe that's the model.)  However, I've heard that the DAC in the iPad is better than the iPod -- unless you have the iPod 5 / Classic with the 30gb / 60gb hard drive.  That was the last model with the Wolfson DAC in it.  After that, Apple started to use some DACs that were less than stellar when compared to the Wolfson.

Right.  I was talking about his MAC i guess.  No idea about the ipod.

I'm on a budget...so anything more expensive than the Tubemagic D1...MAYBE D2..is out of the question. So under that price range, do you think I should just go for something like the Modi? 

I would go for the D2 first.  Then the Modi..  That's just me.

Quote:

preproman said:

I would go for the D2 first.  Then the Modi..  That's just me.

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The D2 is 250% the price of the Modi...which is awfully steep for a pre-amp function!!! I'll most likely only use the USB in the for-seeable future...so in regards to connectivity, the Modi will serve just fine. So the question is....what does the D2 have that is worth 150 bucks more than the Modi? If anything..

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toinfinity said:

The D2 is 250% the price of the Modi...which is awfully steep for a pre-amp function!!! I'll most likely only use the USB in the for-seeable future...so in regards to connectivity, the Modi will serve just fine. So the question is....what does the D2 have that is worth 150 bucks more than the Modi? If anything..

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I don't think it has a pre amp function.  http://www.mav-audio.com/base/product/tubemagic_d2  You will use the volume control on the mini X.
 
Plus you get more inputs over the Modi which only has a USB.  By the way..  I should be talking.  I have the M&M stack as well.
 
But for my only desktop system.  If you can the D2 is a better option IMO.  If you can't the Modi works just fine.

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mac336 said:

awesome, good to hear.   did you find any difference at all in powering the polk monitor 60/70s with the emotiva mini x as opposed to the 200 watt amp ?

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Of course. 50 watts on a speaker with 5 drivers compared to 200 watts behaves differently. The 70's need much more power. Even at 100 watts the 70's sound different than 200 watts. The 60's were even different with 100 watts compared to 50 watts. You mostly notice it in how the bass is handled and how the mids either fill the room or not.
 
Quote:

toinfinity said:

I'm on a budget...so anything more expensive than the Tubemagic D1...MAYBE D2..is out of the question. So under that price range, do you think I should just go for something like the Modi? 

Click to expand...

 
The D2 is not just a DAC. You can't compare it to another solid state DAC like the Modi. The D2 is a tube dac. It has two pre-amp out stages (line level output), one solid state, and one with a tube. You're not just paying for the DAC and connectivity. You're also paying more to have a tube involved if you want to add some tube sound to an otherwise solid state setup. To me, it was absolutely worth it. But your ears and your preference are what's important when you're listening. The Modi is good. But if you want to add a tube sound, some warmth, to your circuit, without buying a tube amp, a tube dac is a way to do it.
 
Very best,

Anyone running these dedicated with a high load headphone like the Beyer T1. I'm in the market for a new headamp, and I'm wondering if I should just run the Emotiva as a dedicated amp for headphones...

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elwappo99 said:

Anyone running these dedicated with a high load headphone like the Beyer T1. I'm in the market for a new headamp, and I'm wondering if I should just run the Emotiva as a dedicated amp for headphones...

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Heya,
 
I started running my 600ohm Beyer DT770 premiums on my Emotiva. Sounds fantastic. Still has good volume control too. No noise floor for me still. Wonderful sound stage, great impact, really controls that low end, and it's not overly bright as a pair. Wonderful synergy to my ears. The old DT770 Premiums are still fantastic headphones to me, some of the best closed headphones when I compare comfort, isolation and overall fidelity and sound stage and imaging in their price range. I had mine recabled to mini-xlr detachable lockable to 4 pin XLR so I could adapt to unbalanced and balanced at will. I got the 600ohm so I could use with OTL tubes and high powered solid states. I also replaced my pads with T70 microfiber pads, much more isolation I found, and the comfort is fantastic. Overall the setup is a warm neutral sound, not bassy like a lot of head-fi threads think DT770's are, I find the DT770 premium to be a fairly honest headphone, the mid-bass is not muddy or overly emphasized on mine, but the T70 pads do affect this quite a bit, and available power I've found also affects this. My DT770 on a low power source doesn't sound as full and rich as it does on my high powered source.
 

 
I also went the extra mile and had Brian over at BTG make me an XLR -> 500ohm resistor -> XLR adapter so that I can try some of my low impedance and very sensitive headphones with the Emotiva to see if it can function as something dedicated to all headphones, it's in the mail, so will find out soon how it works with my Denons. Currently my Denons are way too sensitive for the amp without anything between them, they sound fine, but the sensitivity with the gain value of the amp introduces a noise floor on a headphone with that low of impedance and that high of sensitivity. If the 500ohm resistor works, which I assume it will, it should be a lot like how the 600ohm Beyers behave with it. I will find out in a day or two and report back.
 
Edit: Just received the 500ohm resistor adapter. Will update in new post with the Denons.
 
Very best,

Quote:

wje said:

 
The only issue, though, is that there are few DACs that will work to bypass the internal DAC on Apple products.  A few that I know of are actually integrated - one from Fostex, and the newer iDo (I believe that's the model.)  However, I've heard that the DAC in the iPad is better than the iPod -- unless you have the iPod 5 / Classic with the 30gb / 60gb hard drive.  That was the last model with the Wolfson DAC in it.  After that, Apple started to use some DACs that were less than stellar when compared to the Wolfson.

Click to expand...

hmmm.. I'm actually close to purchasing a macbook pro.  You're saying I may not be able to bypass the internal dac with a bifrost or ODAC ?

Quote:

malveaux said:

 
Heya,
 
I started running my 600ohm Beyer DT770 premiums on my Emotiva. Sounds fantastic. Still has good volume control too. No noise floor for me still. Wonderful sound stage, great impact, really controls that low end, and it's not overly bright as a pair. Wonderful synergy to my ears. The old DT770 Premiums are still fantastic headphones to me, 
 
I also went the extra mile and had Brian over at BTG make me an XLR -> 500ohm resistor -> XLR adapter so that I can try some of my low impedance and very sensitive headphones with the Emotiva to see if it can function as something dedicated to all headphones, it's in the mail, so will find out soon how it works with my Denons. Currently my Denons are way too sensitive for the amp without anything between them, they sound fine, but the sensitivity with the gain value of the amp introduces a noise floor on a headphone with that low of impedance and that high of sensitivity. If the 500ohm resistor works, which I assume it will, it should be a lot like how the 600ohm Beyers behave with it. I will find out in a day or two and report back.
 

Click to expand...

 
Sounds like my T1s are getting a retermination! 
 
Also as preproman would say
on the Denons. I recently got a Matrix M stage which is about as good as I have ever gotten my D7000 to sound. Wonder how they would do with the Emo

Quote:

elwappo99 said:

 
Sounds like my T1s are getting a retermination! 
 
Also as preproman would say

on the Denons. I recently got a Matrix M stage which is about as good as I have ever gotten my D7000 to sound. Wonder how they would do with the Emo

Click to expand...

 
 
E,
 
I was to scared to put my Denons on that amp.

Heya,
 
So this is a big deal.
 
I just got the XLR -> 500ohm resistor -> XLR adapter that Brian made me (BTG Audio). Wow. This thing is like a god send. I was already well off using my high impedance and low sensitivity orthos with the Emotiva. But this resistor lets me do several things I couldn't do as well before. One, I can now use any headphone that is low impedance with my OTL tube amp at it's more peak values, as I can make any of my lower impedance headphones instantly work with a 500+ ohm resistance. And it lets me also of course throw a big dumby load onto the Emotiva. I'm now using a Denon D5000 with the Emotiva, with no noise floor at all. When I hit pause on a track with the volume at listening level, it's dead silent. Before, without this resistor, the Denons were just too sensitive and there was noise floor due to the massive gain of the amp and the sensitivity of the Denon. That's completely gone with this 500ohm adapter.
 
My Denons are recabled (by Brian) to mini-XLR earrings (detachable cable) to balanced XLR, so I can use them unbalanced and balanced at will.
 
I'm running the Emotiva around 10 o'clock with my Denons currently, and my LDMKII pre-amp around 12 o'clock feeding the Emotiva. No equalization currently so that I'm hearing only how this performs without additional tweaks or line level adjustment.
 
Amazing fidelity. Very clear, transparent sound. I'm listening to some jazz and it's quite natural sounding, realistic, dynamic. The sound stage is wonderful. The bass is not over-board. Maybe I'm a little loopy, but it actually sounds tighter, way less loose sub-bass going on. Switching to some eletronica (Dredd sound track, yeeeaaaa), to see how it performs with big pulsing bass tones and intricate sugary melody, it's controlled and very tight. Separation is phenomenal. My biggest change so far is just how tight it is, very separated, great imaging, instead of kind of a loose, slow, warm treat. I'm very pleased with the performance. And I'm happy to report that you can absolutely use any headphone with the Emotiva.

My XLR -> 500ohm -> XLR adapter ran me $40 shipped from Brian. Highly recommended. This was an experiment and it paid off handsomely, as I can now use any headphone with the Emotiva,
 
I'll be testing it more with other headphones. I'm also curious to see what 1100ohms is like on my Beyer. And also how the HE500 and LCD2 perform with 538 and 550ohm of resistance as well. Will report back soon.
 

 

 
These are my balanced Denons with the 500ohm XLR resistor added at the end there.
 
Very best,

Quote:

preproman said:

 
 
E,
 
I was to scared to put my Denons on that amp.

Click to expand...

 
I definitely am as well. Even with a preamp upstream to control volume, I was too afraid to toss that on it.
 
Quote:

malveaux said:

Heya,
 
So this is a big deal.
 
I just got the XLR -> 500ohm resistor -> XLR adapter that Brian made me (BTG Audio). Wow. This thing is like a god send. I was already well off using my high impedance and low sensitivity orthos with the Emotiva. But this resistor lets me do several things I couldn't do as well before. One, I can now use any headphone that is low impedance with my OTL tube amp at it's more peak values, as I can make any of my lower impedance headphones instantly work with a 500+ ohm resistance. And it lets me also of course throw a big dumby load onto the Emotiva. I'm now using a Denon D5000 with the Emotiva, with no noise floor at all. When I hit pause on a track with the volume at listening level, it's dead silent. Before, without this resistor, the Denons were just too sensitive and there was noise floor due to the massive gain of the amp and the sensitivity of the Denon. That's completely gone with this 500ohm adapter.
 
My Denons are recabled (by Brian) to mini-XLR earrings (detachable cable) to balanced XLR, so I can use them unbalanced and balanced at will.
 
I'm running the Emotiva around 10 o'clock with my Denons currently, and my LDMKII pre-amp around 12 o'clock feeding the Emotiva. No equalization currently so that I'm hearing only how this performs without additional tweaks or line level adjustment.
 
Amazing fidelity. Very clear, transparent sound. I'm listening to some jazz and it's quite natural sounding, realistic, dynamic. The sound stage is wonderful. The bass is not over-board. Maybe I'm a little loopy, but it actually sounds tighter, way less loose sub-bass going on. Switching to some eletronica (Dredd sound track, yeeeaaaa), to see how it performs with big pulsing bass tones and intricate sugary melody, it's controlled and very tight. Separation is phenomenal. My biggest change so far is just how tight it is, very separated, great imaging, instead of kind of a loose, slow, warm treat. I'm very pleased with the performance. And I'm happy to report that you can absolutely use any headphone with the Emotiva.

My XLR -> 500ohm -> XLR adapter ran me $40 shipped from Brian. Highly recommended. This was an experiment and it paid off handsomely, as I can now use any headphone with the Emotiva,
 
I'll be testing it more with other headphones. I'm also curious to see what 1100ohms is like on my Beyer. And also how the HE500 and LCD2 perform with 538 and 550ohm of resistance as well. Will report back soon
 
 
 
These are my balanced Denons with the 500ohm XLR resistor added at the end there.
 
Very best,

Click to expand...

 
Well... that was a fast update. This is really great news. Makes me think about ditching headphone amps all together and being exclusively speaker amps to drive headphones. The speaker amp market is very competitive and the quality of the units is really amazing. Headphone amps aren't nearly as competitive overall. 

Also, I wonder if there are any differences in have various resistances? What would happen with a 250ohm vs a 500 ohm? With an adapter like that, I'm thinking about grabbing an SPL auditor/phonitor.