38 Portable Amps Review
Oct 7, 2007 at 11:40 AM Post #121 of 213
Miguel, thanks for the great reviews. How do you think the ER4S wold sound with the Minibox-E? I'm very interested in it to couple with Etys/Altec.
Also, how powerful is the Bass switch compared to that of the Xin Supermini? How many dB is it?
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Oct 7, 2007 at 1:32 PM Post #122 of 213
Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Cool reviews! Seriously, that format is cool
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Just wondering... Which amp synergized best with your HD600?


The Mini^3 sounds excellent with the HD 600s. Very full sound. The Mini^3 is a very neutral, very detailed, little amp with great performance across the board. You get plenty of air around the instruments, very good width and depth to the soundstage and plenty of bass impact, but everything is in balance. The highs are also excellent, very clear and extended without any etched or cold quality. Another few instruments that sound really realistic and natural on this amp are violins, pianos and cellos. The high violin notes sound full and extended in the treble without any shrillness or metallic sound, the piano notes do not have hard edges like some amps will give you, but have a really full rounded tone like an actual piano, and the amp allows you to hear the decay of the note really well because it is so good at picking up low level detail and the ambiance of the recording. Another thing that is noticeable is that when you hear cellos you really get the buzz of them, you can hear the string friction and sort of "grind" that a real cello string sounds like, there is no blurring to the sound or artificial smoothness, you get a realistic sense that some "friction" is occurring between the bow and the strings. Even the more expensive portable amps that I own don't seem to capture this quite as clearly.

I am using the Rockhopper made M^3 with dual 8397s, the so-called, high performance version with a gain of 2. Even this low gain is sufficient to push the HD 600s to loud enough levels, but if you are not going to use sensitive IEMs (which I mostly use) then there is no reason not to get a higher gain version for use with the HD 600 or other similar cans.

I bought this amp because I was curious to see what it would be like and the price was attractive. I had no idea it would be as good as it is. So much so that it has become my everyday portable amp replacing the Millet Portable (at least for now) because it sounds equally good and is easier to carry. In some ways it actually sounds slightly better, particularly with rock music, but much to my surprise is excellent across the board, whether with classical, vocals, jazz, folkie accoustic guitar, or whatever you throw at it.

So, back to the initial question, this amp will sound quite good with your HD 600s.
 
Oct 7, 2007 at 3:01 PM Post #123 of 213
I just got a pair of Beyer DT880's ('06 250 ohm) and I was wondering which amp would work best with them.

I had my eye on the Mini^3, Minibox-E, or the new Headsix.
 
Oct 7, 2007 at 6:30 PM Post #124 of 213
Quote:

Originally Posted by shomie911 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I just got a pair of Beyer DT880's ('06 250 ohm) and I was wondering which amp would work best with them.

I had my eye on the Mini^3, Minibox-E, or the new Headsix.


For now I do not know of anyone that has reviewed the Headsix, however I have listened to the Move. Lets assume that the Headsix sounds as good as the Move (which according to a post by another Head-Fier it should not be as good as per communication he received from Dr. Meier).

I would rand the three you mentioned as:

1. MiniBox-E tied with Mini^3
2. Headsix

To untie the MiniBox-e and the Mini^3 it would depend if you value soundstage over rounder presentation of the notes while retaining a very good extension and tonal quality. I prefer the Minibox-E and Vorlon1 the Mini^3. Be advised that either of us would be happy w/ either of the two amps, they are that good.
 
Oct 7, 2007 at 6:55 PM Post #125 of 213
Quote:

Originally Posted by shomie911 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I just got a pair of Beyer DT880's ('06 250 ohm) and I was wondering which amp would work best with them.

I had my eye on the Mini^3, Minibox-E, or the new Headsix.


I just hooked up my 2003 DT 880s to the Mini^3 and they sound very , very good. See my remarks above related to the HD 600s as they apply to the DT880s also. I didn't listen to the Minibox with DT880s yesterday, but did with mrarroyos Prolines and my RP 21s and the Minibox is an impressive unit. Lots of power, very smooth, large soundstage. I suspect it would sound excellent with DT880s.
 
Oct 7, 2007 at 8:18 PM Post #126 of 213
I'm leaning towards the Minibox-E for that extra bit of soundstage and the smaller size.

One question though, how long is the battery life on the Minibox-E? I know the Mini^3 lasts for around 10 hours.
 
Oct 7, 2007 at 8:29 PM Post #128 of 213
Quote:

Originally Posted by shomie911 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I'm leaning towards the Minibox-E for that extra bit of soundstage and the smaller size.

One question though, how long is the battery life on the Minibox-E? I know the Mini^3 lasts for around 10 hours.


Over 24 hours. However this number will vary depending on the output level of your source, volume you play at, and the headphone impedence.
 
Oct 7, 2007 at 9:04 PM Post #129 of 213
how about the dt770s? *out of all that was reviewed* I would need 2 choices at least.

the sound I want: large soundstage, NOT WARM (very important), bright (not overly). Ive got an existing amp that improved the mids of the dt770s drastically but im hungry for more soundstaging.
 
Oct 7, 2007 at 9:04 PM Post #130 of 213
24 hours is great. Even if it dips below 20, I highly doubt I'll be listening to it for more then that a day
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Plus it comes with an IC and it's rechargeable. It seems to be quite the deal.

I think I'm going to be placing an order on the Minibox-E very soon.
 
Oct 7, 2007 at 11:28 PM Post #132 of 213
Quote:

Originally Posted by itsborken /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Thanks for ranking and reviewing the mini3. It's a nice sounding amp, that is for sure. Have you seen the amp with Ti's group buy faceplates? The quality moves up a notch if built with them.


Haven't seen it, but I'd like to.
 
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