[ben_r_]

  So it's a modded Gen2 a-100 complete with 220ohm resistors ran off of the speaker taps. Great amp for the $$$!!

Exactly. At least they didnt charge a higher price for it. I do think the headphone jack I picked looks better though.

 

[canthearyou]

I am constantly blown away by this amp! I absolutely love it's sound. Truthfully I think all dedicated headphone amps are to sterile after listening to this. It's just so full and lush it makes me listen for enjoyment instead of picking apart the music.

I may pick up the new model just to see if it sounds the same.

 

[JoeKickass]

I was always tempted by the Mini-X and when Emotiva stopped selling it I felt like I missed out, so I jumped when I saw someone say that the new ones were shipping ahead of their release date!

Sure enough it shipped on the 6th but sadly it went UPS ground...
Anyway, after a long wait it will arrive tomorrow!

I'll be able to compare the A-100 with the HD600 to the Schiit Jotenheim and a Sansui 9090db that I restored.
Well, I'll give my own crude impressions at least!

 

[AUTIGER]

I modded the mini x but have a slight hiss/buzz (more of a hiss) if you turn the volume up with nothing connected, almost like internal interference.  would love suggestions to eliminate it.  any one else have this

 

[canthearyou]

Make sure the wires aren't passing over the transformer and that they aren't pinched. I ran mine as to pass over the least amount of wires.

 

[JBal4]

I was always tempted by the Mini-X and when Emotiva stopped selling it I felt like I missed out, so I jumped when I saw someone say that the new ones were shipping ahead of their release date!

Sure enough it shipped on the 6th but sadly it went UPS ground...
Anyway, after a long wait it will arrive tomorrow!

I'll be able to compare the A-100 with the HD600 to the Schiit Jotenheim and a Sansui 9090db that I restored.
Well, I'll give my own crude impressions at least!

any impressions yet?

 

[AUTIGER]

I also can't wait to hear your review/comparison as I've just received and modded the HD 650's

 

[alpovs]

  Available NOW   http://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/100

  So it's a modded Gen2 a-100 complete with 220ohm resistors ran off of the speaker taps. Great amp for the $$$!!

Did they implement exactly the same mod described here? If yes, the power with the 220 ohm resistors is very low, not enough to drive the HE-500 well, 33 Ohms: 200 mW / channel. Can anyone shed light on how the new model differs from the mod described here?

 

[canthearyou]

Did they implement exactly the same mod described here? If yes, the power with the 220 ohm resistors is very low, not enough to drive the HE-500 well, 33 Ohms: 200 mW / channel. Can anyone shed light on how the new model differs from the mod described here?

The power is fine pushing my HE-500 IMO.
The new model has a way to bypass the resistors and provide full power to headphone jack.

 

[AUTIGER]

  Did they implement exactly the same mod described here? If yes, the power with the 220 ohm resistors is very low, not enough to drive the HE-500 well, 33 Ohms: 200 mW / channel. Can anyone shed light on how the new model differs from the mod described here?

I found the 220 ohm to be a little low also and went with 150 ohm resistors.  But as previously posted you can use the included jumpers and bypass the resistors altogether.  A friend has done this and likes it better w/o the resistors.  Should be plenty of power to drive about anything  if you bypass the resistors.  Emotiva also offers a 30 day trial period so if it's not to your liking, return it and you are only out shipping 1 way.  Not a bad deal to test drive an amp.

 

[alpovs]

It is the same mod then. Nobody was affirmative so far. 180-190 mW is too little for the HE-500 IMO. Many portable amps output more. My FiiO E12 outputs more. My new A-100 should arrive in a couple of days. Looks like I will definitely use jumpers. I will post my impressions.

 

[ben_r_]

I have read of others claiming that the 220 ohm resistors were too high and never could understand that. With a BiFrost Uber as a DAC feeding the mini-X and the 220 ohm resistors I can barely turn the volume past 30% before its way too loud to listen to on my HE-500's. I had originally tried lower value resistors and those gave me way less room to work with on the volume knob. In fact I was even kicking around using higher than 220's!

 

[canthearyou]

It is the same mod then. Nobody was affirmative so far. 180-190 mW is too little for the HE-500 IMO. Many portable amps output more. My FiiO E12 outputs more. My new A-100 should arrive in a couple of days. Looks like I will definitely use jumpers. I will post my impressions.

Is it truly only outputting <200mw?

 

[KewlMunky]

Here are the specs for the amp, without and with the jumper that bypasses the resistors:
 
With resistors in the circuit
Headphone output power (normal mode):
8 Ohms: 60 mW / channel           
33 Ohms:  200 mW / channel
47 Ohms:  250 mW / channel
150 Ohms: 430 mW / channel
300 Ohms: 440 mW / channel
600 Ohms: 350 mW / channel

 

 

Without resistors in the circuit (jumper used to bypass them)

Headphone output power (direct drive mode):
(requires internal jumper; USE WITH CAUTION)
8 Ohms:  50 watts / channel       
33 Ohms:  12 watts / channel
47 Ohms:  8.5 watts / channel    
150 Ohms:  2.6 watts / channel
300 Ohms:  1.3 watts / channel 
600 Ohms:  0.6 watts / channel

 

[canthearyou]

Wow!