[garbulky]

I’ve got the A-100 and PT-100 en route. How does one control the volume in this setup? I’d like to be able to use the remote that comes with the PT-100. Is that possible?

Yes you control the volume using the PT-100.
So you have two ways of running the amp - with and without the jumpers engaged. The default is without the jumpers engaged - this gives lower power. The other is with the jumpers engaged - higher power.
The idea is to use the Mini-x a100 as a power amp - i.e. the volume is controlled by the PT100.

First set the mini-x a-100 volume knob to the lowest.
The idea is that you turn the PT100 to say -10.00 or -20 volume. Then slowly bring the mini-x a-100 volume knob UP from mininmum to match till it's the loudest you would want to listen to it at. Then simply control the volume with the pt-100. If you engage the high power version, you will have to get the volume knob on the a-100 high enough that the channel imbalance at the lowest settings go away. It doesn't take much, but if you notice channel imbalance then lower the PT100 some more and turn the volume knob on the a-100 higher..

 

[torifile]

Yes you control the volume using the PT-100.
So you have two ways of running the amp - with and without the jumpers engaged. The default is without the jumpers engaged - this gives lower power. The other is with the jumpers engaged - higher power.
The idea is to use the Mini-x a100 as a power amp - i.e. the volume is controlled by the PT100.

First set the mini-x a-100 volume knob to the lowest.
The idea is that you turn the PT100 to say -10.00 or -20 volume. Then slowly bring the mini-x a-100 volume knob UP from mininmum to match till it's the loudest you would want to listen to it at. Then simply control the volume with the pt-100. If you engage the high power version, you will have to get the volume knob on the a-100 high enough that the channel imbalance at the lowest settings go away. It doesn't take much, but if you notice channel imbalance then lower the PT100 some more and turn the volume knob on the a-100 higher..

Perfect. Thanks!

 

[sanvara]

So I use the A-100 primarily as a speaker amp for low-level background music in an office environment. Occasionally, when the mood strikes, I do listen to the Emotiva as a head amp maybe once or twice a week. The R2R is my primary headphone amp and I’m on it most of the day.

I run the A-100 with resistors in play (not in full power mode) as my cans are not all that difficult to drive, save the Alpha Dogs, but even with resistors the Emotiva can get those to ear splitting levels. I did try the A-100 with the jumpers in but I didn’t hear that much difference (perhaps I didn’t give it enough of a listen to be fair) but I didn’t feel I was missing anything on my particular headphones YMMV.

Both the A-100 and R2R are great amps. My opinion of the A-100 may be a bit swayed as I am running it from a tube DAC - a real nice sounding one. The sound I hear from the A-100 is very open, detailed and smooth. The A-100 has great dynamics and very nice bass with a smooth top end.

The R2R, in my opinion, is a step ahead...there really is something to the whole “Ladder DAC” thing IMO. The R2R just offers a bit of a more smoothness and has a more natural sound that is somewhat more analog-ish in it’s delivery. The bass is a bit softer perhaps through the R2R but it sounds more realistic and not so hard edged as in the A-100 (again, could be the DAC in play here).

I have the fortune of having both amps and they offer something a bit different but both sound fantastic. The A-100 has more power/drive than the R2R for sure so if you are looking for something to drive power hungry headphones that is something to consider. I will say, however, the R2R drives everything I have just fine.

In the end, and this is just from my experience, I would say choose the A-100 if you have nice DAC as it’s pretty transparent to the source. Choose the R2R for an all-in-one solution and a smoother more analog sound.

As for the Eitr… I felt it did make a difference. A positive one. If you have the change to spare, get it - that’s about all I can say. For the price, it’s just worth it. Simple as that.

Excellent. Thanks for taking the time to go into such detail. Very helpful. Maybe I will buy both the A100 and the R2R11. I think I'l try the A100 first since that can be returned within 30 days. Did you buy the R2R11 new and did you find it requires a long period of burn in to sound as good as it does?

 

[garbulky]

So I use the A-100 primarily as a speaker amp for low-level background music in an office environment. Occasionally, when the mood strikes, I do listen to the Emotiva as a head amp maybe once or twice a week. The R2R is my primary headphone amp and I’m on it most of the day.

I run the A-100 with resistors in play (not in full power mode) as my cans are not all that difficult to drive, save the Alpha Dogs, but even with resistors the Emotiva can get those to ear splitting levels. I did try the A-100 with the jumpers in but I didn’t hear that much difference (perhaps I didn’t give it enough of a listen to be fair) but I didn’t feel I was missing anything on my particular headphones YMMV.

Both the A-100 and R2R are great amps. My opinion of the A-100 may be a bit swayed as I am running it from a tube DAC - a real nice sounding one. The sound I hear from the A-100 is very open, detailed and smooth. The A-100 has great dynamics and very nice bass with a smooth top end.

The R2R, in my opinion, is a step ahead...there really is something to the whole “Ladder DAC” thing IMO. The R2R just offers a bit of a more smoothness and has a more natural sound that is somewhat more analog-ish in it’s delivery. The bass is a bit softer perhaps through the R2R but it sounds more realistic and not so hard edged as in the A-100 (again, could be the DAC in play here).

I have the fortune of having both amps and they offer something a bit different but both sound fantastic. The A-100 has more power/drive than the R2R for sure so if you are looking for something to drive power hungry headphones that is something to consider. I will say, however, the R2R drives everything I have just fine.

In the end, and this is just from my experience, I would say choose the A-100 if you have nice DAC as it’s pretty transparent to the source. Choose the R2R for an all-in-one solution and a smoother more analog sound.

As for the Eitr… I felt it did make a difference. A positive one. If you have the change to spare, get it - that’s about all I can say. For the price, it’s just worth it. Simple as that.

Glad to hear you gave it a try. I have heard another person say they heard no difference so you're not alone. But at least you know.

 

[iamjaymo]

Excellent. Thanks for taking the time to go into such detail. Very helpful. Maybe I will buy both the A100 and the R2R11. I think I'l try the A100 first since that can be returned within 30 days. Did you buy the R2R11 new and did you find it requires a long period of burn in to sound as good as it does?

Yup, my R2R was new and it did require a bit of break-in but not bad. I didn’t really pay much attention as it sounded good from the get go but I think it sounds a bit clearer now (could just be the placebo effect) but I perceive it sounds even better now.

The thing I do notice is that it likes to be warmed up. Generally I feel like a good 20 mins in or so it sounds flush. Just an opinion with no scientific backing whatsoever.

 

[garbulky]

Yup, my R2R was new and it did require a bit of break-in but not bad. I didn’t really pay much attention as it sounded good from the get go but I think it sounds a bit clearer now (could just be the placebo effect) but I perceive it sounds even better now.

The thing I do notice is that it likes to be warmed up. Generally I feel like a good 20 mins in or so it sounds flush. Just an opinion with no scientific backing whatsoever.

It's not surprising the warm up. The R2R system is very different from a delta sigma dac. The Schiit Ygdrassil sure needs some "warm up". The Gungnir MB acheived most of its sound after two days but it kept improving slightly for about three weeks.

 

[m usicguy]

Well, I gave my first A-100 to my wife. With a emotiva xda-2. She now has one remote control for her headphone set up. AEon flows for tv!!

I bought another one for my computer audio set up. Im now running the bypass jumpers. To power my headphones. For me the jumpers are the way to go. Sounds more dynamic, effortless. I compared this to the cavalli liquid carbon. I think the emotiva wins. The liquid carbon when crank up starts to get congested. Even in balanced set up. The A-100 just pumps out power. Now i realize i cant run iem's or low impedance headphones on the the A-100. I have found the a-100 to be a great match for planar magnetics.

The A-100 is the only amp i own that just owns a pair of he-560.

Maybe emotiva can put more effort into a kick ass headphone amp. Im looking forward to the balance amp and the new DC-2

m usicguy

 

[IBJamon]

I am considering a jumper switch mod, where you would put an external switch for the jumpers. It should be as simple as a double pole switch. I am paranoid about popping my sensitive IEMs, so I hesitate to run it full power all of the time.

Of course I still don't have mine yet because of stupid Amazon... uugh. I called Emotiva and Amazon and apparently Amazon never ordered more to fill my backorder. I am more than a little upset with them right now...

They threatened to refund my order if they choose not to get more in the next week or so. That is a nasty threat since over half of the payment amount was from gift cards.

Well anyway.... lesson? Buy direct from Emotiva. Their customer support is excellent - a human picked up the phone after two rings every time I called.

 

[IBJamon]

I drove out to the nearest oldskool electronics store. It's in the next state over but only 40 minutes away. Honestly I'm very lucky to live near one at all.

I got a center neutral toggle switch that should allow three different positions; default (middle), higher (with resistors I bought, only 100Ohms) and ludicrous speed (closed). I haven't wired it together yet, since my amp isn't here yet... but I'm excited about the possibilities. It's small enough where I can probably just hang the switch out of a vent and use it that way.

Once I get it I'll give it a whirl...

 

[IBJamon]

I saw some reviews complain about hiss with their headphones with this amp. Is that a common experience?

 

[ra990]

I saw some reviews complain about hiss with their headphones with this amp. Is that a common experience?

If you put the jumpers in for full power, only then do I hear a hiss past the 3 o'clock position. Silent before that. Without the jumpers, I don't hear any hiss. It's pretty clean.

 

[iamjaymo]

I saw some reviews complain about hiss with their headphones with this amp. Is that a common experience?

Absolutely dead quiet here...but I don’t have the jumpers in either.

 

[IBJamon]

Thanks for the confirmations. I'll keep pursuing this thing then. Hopefully Amazon comes through.... if not hopefully I can convince my wife to let me order this direct...

 

[garbulky]

Thanks for the confirmations. I'll keep pursuing this thing then. Hopefully Amazon comes through.... if not hopefully I can convince my wife to let me order this direct...

If you have the jumpers in and your headphones are very sensitive then you'll hear the noise floor of the amp. On my HD600, I hear a mild hiss during silence in music passages. It's very mild. The sound is so ridiculously good with the jumpers in that I don't care at all. Without the jumpers in stock configuration there is no hiss that I hear. The headphone amp is also very good in the stock configuration beating out every other amp I've heard. But it's just that with the jumpers in you have some really good quality and power available for you.

 

[IBJamon]

So my order has been updated to ship between feb 22nd and march 6th. I wonder why so far away... lol

A friend has suggested that the switch could be a recipe for disaster, but to instead add a second jack with the resistors in place (a 3.5mm). While it's unlikely I'll be drilling holes into the case, it's not a bad idea. An alternative could be to make an external headphone 6.5mm to 3.5mm adapter that has the resistor(s) in it. I'll have to look at the wiring when the amp comes in to make a decision.

Fun times!