Emotiva mini-X a-100

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Joong

Joong

1000+ Head-Fier
Pros: Not expensive and solid state
Cons: Size for headphone amping use
Emotiva Mini-x + Oppo BDP-105 + He-5LE results in impressive sound quality, which is at least equal to Schiit Lyr with Telefunken + Uberfrost + He-5LE.
The Telefunken tube set cost alone exceeds an Emotiva.
The price of amp does not follow SQ.
However this test set-up does not necessarily mean that Emotiva mini-x is better than Lyr + telefunken.

I hooked The BDP to my windows machine through HDMI cable.

This pairing of Emotiva sounds like tube amp.
The speaker tabs are connected to female TRS jack, where two black output terminals are short-circuited.
Now volume is at 10:00, and I hear the same tuby sounds that made me happy when I first time bought Schiit Lyr a year ago.

It is very economic solution without big investment in Amplifier side.
There are so many positive reviews in this site with many machine configurations with Emotiva mini-x.
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koiloco
koiloco
Now, try this, put your Lyr or your tube amp in front of Emotiva.
Tube amp => Emotiva => HE5
Some Emotiva owners have tried this and like it very much.
fluidz

fluidz

100+ Head-Fier
Pros: Offers a forward, energetic sound and is often compared to many much more expensive products including the Lyr, often surpassing.
Cons: May produce a faint white noise slight hiss with some headphones, using resistors may help.
This review is based on matching the Mini X with Hifiman He-500 Headphones.  
 
You may be reading this review, unsure what to make of this Amp, asking how can a cheap sub $200 amp offer the power needed for an expensive Headphone such as the Hifiman He-500?  If you have done your homework you will find this is the stereo amp everybody is buzzing about, and for good reason, it powers these headphones very well indeed.  The Emotiva Mini presents the sound stage clearly and with a punch, yes you really do feel the bass thump with the Mini X, but not overpowering at all - simply precise and enjoyable to listen to and you may find more often than not tapping your foot along to the music - feeling the energy being fed into your ears.  
 
A fantastic match for Electronic music. 
 
One slight drawback to some listeners may be the presence of a slight hiss, sounds like a faint white noise. As you can imagine there's alot of power pushed out of the amp, an amp designed for speakers and not headphones in mind, it should only be audible whilst no sound is playing but once you start playing music the hiss will become inaudible and you should forget its even there.  According to some guys here at Head-fi, adding a couple of resistors should remove the hiss.
  
If you don't have huge pockets to empty look no further than the Emotiva Mini X.
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manbear
manbear
I use it with 300 ohm resistors on my HE-400, and the noise floor is totally gone thanks to the resistors.
swannie007
swannie007
How, exactly, do you use headphones with this amp? I have never used headphones with an amp without a headphone out jack. I find this quite intriguing as it opens a whole new world of possibilities for headphone/amp combos.
Any help would be much appreciated. 
nos024
nos024
Not sure if the HE-500 comes with spare sma connectors, but the HE-4 does.  You can always connect speaker wires to the sma connector and than the other end to the banana plugs.  This will connect your cans directly to the speaker.  It does require a little DIY know-how and soldering skills.
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