Emotiva A-100
Dec 3, 2018 at 3:38 PM Post #481 of 759
Rebel, the sound that I'm hearing w/o jumpers isn't exactly a hiss. It's more like the sound of a light bulb being on.

My testing was with the A100 and a home stereo setup and with both the t50rp and 58x.

Cans into Home stereo:
Monster HKS 3500 MKII powercenter, 2 THX preamps then finally going into a Denon AVR4802. With everything on and keeping my headphones on my head, then plugging into the headphone out of the AVR, there is zero distinguishable sound difference. It's pitch black. All music sounds like it's coming from absolute darkness.

Cans into A100:
I went as far as to plug the emo into the monster powercenter just to assure clean power. Same routine. The room is also very, very quiet but there is a slight ambient static.

This type of noise gets drowned out when audio is coming through for the most part but, after all it is there and becomes part of the sound you are hearing.

Yessss, the IEmatch is a pricey figure. I would love to pickup something cheaper, but hopefully it works.
 
Dec 3, 2018 at 3:42 PM Post #482 of 759
I posted in the iEMatch thread and asked for iFi's opinion. I also asked if the cheaper Ear Buddy would suffice for this situation. I'll relay what they say once I get a response.
 
Dec 3, 2018 at 3:55 PM Post #483 of 759
Rebel, the sound that I'm hearing w/o jumpers isn't exactly a hiss. It's more like the sound of a light bulb being on.

My testing was with the A100 and a home stereo setup and with both the t50rp and 58x.

Cans into Home stereo:
Monster HKS 3500 MKII powercenter, 2 THX preamps then finally going into a Denon AVR4802. With everything on and keeping my headphones on my head, then plugging into the headphone out of the AVR, there is zero distinguishable sound difference. It's pitch black. All music sounds like it's coming from absolute darkness.

Cans into A100:
I went as far as to plug the emo into the monster powercenter just to assure clean power. Same routine. The room is also very, very quiet but there is a slight ambient static.

This type of noise gets drowned out when audio is coming through for the most part but, after all it is there and becomes part of the sound you are hearing.

Yessss, the IEmatch is a pricey figure. I would love to pickup something cheaper, but hopefully it works.
Have you tried going from your receiver to the a-100?
 
Dec 3, 2018 at 4:49 PM Post #485 of 759
I don't suspect it's an input source issue. Unless you mean plugging the power cable into the AVR? I don't think the AVR has power outlets in it.
If you don't have some form of dac ahead of the amp it's very likely to have an increased noise floor. You didn't mention what input source you were running to the basx is why I asked.
 
Dec 3, 2018 at 4:53 PM Post #486 of 759
Cans into A100:
I went as far as to plug the emo into the monster powercenter just to assure clean power. Same routine. The room is also very, very quiet but there is a slight ambient static.

This type of noise gets drowned out when audio is coming through for the most part but, after all it is there and becomes part of the sound you are hearing.

That's how I would describe my experience as well. It's not noticeable if there's music playing but you can hear it when there are quieter passages. I've ordered some resistors to make an L-pad attenuator for the output. I'll give an update when I get around installing them. The Argons really do benefit from the extra power. Notable improvement with imaging over my JDS o2, at the expense of a bit of detail.
 
Dec 3, 2018 at 5:39 PM Post #487 of 759
Sorry rocky, the line goes like this.

Pc > OL Dac > BasX > 58x/T50RP

Btw i just want to mention how happy i am with the ol dac + a100. Almost went with the el dac but OL was more budget fri3ndly.
 
Dec 3, 2018 at 6:32 PM Post #488 of 759
I just want to note that the t50rp non jumped is close to no noise and would be tolerable for the casual listener. But we all know with those cans we need more power and installed jumpers deliver, but with a noticeable increase in noise. Ive never used 300 or 600ohm phones but I would imagine the noise to be very close to inaudible? Considering how much less noise there is with t50rp compared to the 58x.

Ill be ordering the IEmatch and make sure to report back asap!

Also, is it possible to use the a100 as a preamp? Say, if i wanted to go PC>DAC>A100>Atomamp, in hopes of remedying some white noise.
Doesn't work as a passthrough preamp.
 
Dec 3, 2018 at 7:12 PM Post #489 of 759
Doesn't work as a passthrough preamp.
I thought that’s exactly how it works. It’s not a preamp but only a pass through. This means you can pass the signal from your DAC through the A100 to another amp, like the Atom in @bequietjk ’s example.

Here’s the quote from Emotiva’s product page:
  • A loop output provides a duplicate of the input signal to facilitate chaining additional amplifiers or other device
It won’t solve the white noise issue except by avoiding the amplification of the A100 altogether. It should be the same exact thing as connecting the DAC directly to the Atom instead of the A100.
 
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Dec 3, 2018 at 8:27 PM Post #490 of 759
I thought that’s exactly how it works. It’s not a preamp but only a pass through. This means you can pass the signal from your DAC through the A100 to another amp, like the Atom in @bequietjk ’s example.

Here’s the quote from Emotiva’s product page:
  • A loop output provides a duplicate of the input signal to facilitate chaining additional amplifiers or other device
It won’t solve the white noise issue except by avoiding the amplification of the A100 altogether. It should be the same exact thing as connecting the DAC directly to the Atom instead of the A100.

Ok thats what i was trying to figure out. Bummer! Would be nice if that were a feature, and hopefully an addition to this HP-1 rumored to be on its way ;D
 
Dec 3, 2018 at 8:54 PM Post #491 of 759
I just received my A-100 today and man am I pleased :) I had one problem though. I missed my Darkvoice 336se Tube sound that I have become addicted to. I decided to try something a little different. I used my Darkvoice as a Pre-Amp to my A-100, it does have pre-outs after all. All I can say is OMG what an amazing upgrade! I have kept all my Tube Warmth, Wide Soundstage, and overall Smoothness that I love soooo much about Tubes, but the Bass has at least tripled on my M1060's. This A-100 has so much dynamic range and punch that the only word that comes to mind is Effortless. If there are any Darkvoice owners out there that are thinking of getting this A-100 as a solid state for your Planars give this a try. I could not be more pleased with what this has done for my listening pleasure. Well guess I'm back to re-rolling all my tubes again to see how they sound with this set up lol.

Lasher


Hi Guys:

New here and just picked up a Emotiva 100 for my HD650's - Pretty impressive - I use it for my guitar interface and interested in this post about adding a tube preamp - would it be worth trying this, I do not want to mess up Emotiva or mess with Emotivas functionality as it is - if preamp makes it even better then that would be great

I am thinking of getting a Little Dot MKII - would like the III but invested enough all ready

If you feel this might be a nice edition - how would I run this configuration - right now I have guitar interface into the input of Emotiva and plug in headphones into front of Emotiva

What would be the routing if I added tube preamp ?

Also recommendations on no jumper or add jumper on HD650's why I ask is the bass is not quite there starts to break up a bit

Thanks much
 
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Dec 4, 2018 at 10:30 AM Post #494 of 759
I thought that’s exactly how it works. It’s not a preamp but only a pass through. This means you can pass the signal from your DAC through the A100 to another amp, like the Atom in @bequietjk ’s example.

Here’s the quote from Emotiva’s product page:
  • A loop output provides a duplicate of the input signal to facilitate chaining additional amplifiers or other device
It won’t solve the white noise issue except by avoiding the amplification of the A100 altogether. It should be the same exact thing as connecting the DAC directly to the Atom instead of the A100.
Yes - works as a passthrough but not as a passthrough preamp. However the knob does work as a preamp (but doesn't add gain - only reduces) but not when passing through the signal.
 
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Dec 4, 2018 at 10:54 AM Post #495 of 759
Yes - works as a passthrough but not as a passthrough preamp. However the knob does work as a preamp (but doesn't add gain - only reduces) but not when passing through the signal.
I'm a little confused by what you're saying. Are you saying the gain from the source can be lowered like in a passive preamp when connected to the output of the A100. You say "not when passing through the signal", so how does the knob act as a preamp for lowering gain if you can't pass through the signal.

For example, if I connect my OL DAC to the A100 input and then connect my iFi iCan SE to the output of the A100, are you saying I can use the volume knob to lower the gain going to my iFi amp instead of sending an identical signal to what is being received from the OL DAC (aka unity gain)? I'm having to ask these questions because I won't receive my A100 until Thursday to test what you're saying. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding what you're trying to describe.
 
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