[KeithEmo]

Anything that calls itself a "headphone splitter" will be fine and won't use shorting connectors.
The Amazon Basics one looks fine.
I've used other Amazon Basics cables and such and always found them to very good quality.
Shorting connectors are sort of special - and would never be used in a device like that.
However, if you were to purchase a bunch of separate jacks, in order to build your own, you want to make sure and get the right ones.

It's also a good idea to plug and unplug your headphones while the amp is off.
Or, alternately, plug all the headphones into the splitter, then plug the splitter into the amp.
Some plugs will short for a split second as the plug is inserted.
This really shouldn't bother the A-100... but might cause it to go into protect... so better safe than sorry.

One more quick question if you will.

In general, are the generic headphone splitters such as the amazon basics one non-shorted or is their a particular way to determine if they are or not with an ohmeter?

 

[lemarsghast]

should I get the a100 and a dac over a nfb 11.28?

 

[PopZeus]

I think the amp on the NFB-11 is better than the A100 unless you need to drive insanely power-hungry headphones. The A100 head amp section tends to overtake the sound of regular headphones. I think it has to do with the very high output impedance.

 

[Mightygrey]

I think the amp on the NFB-11 is better than the A100 unless you need to drive insanely power-hungry headphones. The A100 head amp section tends to overtake the sound of regular headphones. I think it has to do with the very high output impedance.

My advice as well. The high output-Z in regular-mode tended to wreak havoc with the frequency control of some of my cans (esp. the bass on my DT1770's, which became fart-y and flabby).

 

[sanvara]

I think the amp on the NFB-11 is better than the A100 unless you need to drive insanely power-hungry headphones. The A100 head amp section tends to overtake the sound of regular headphones. I think it has to do with the very high output impedance.

I'm really liking the A100 with HD650s and HE560s. A bargain for the price.

 

[Baten]

My advice as well. The high output-Z in regular-mode tended to wreak havoc with the frequency control of some of my cans (esp. the bass on my DT1770's, which became fart-y and flabby).

Just use direct drive then

 

[lemarsghast]

I think the amp on the NFB-11 is better than the A100 unless you need to drive insanely power-hungry headphones. The A100 head amp section tends to overtake the sound of regular headphones. I think it has to do with the very high output impedance.

As for my case, I have modded t50rps and a 600 ohm dt 880. Is the nfb11.28 sufficient for both, or is the a100’s direct drive still the best?

 

[garbulky]

should I get the a100 and a dac over a nfb 11.28?

I'm not entirely sure the impedance on your headphones - if you only have high impedance headphones or planar headphones then I would pick the A-100 and a dac with a volume control. I use my A-100 with a power amp. But if you have a mixture of headphones you may want to look for an amp that does well with both low and high impedance headphones.

 

[gwertheim]

Just a quick update, I added a set of kef q100's to the amp and they sound superb. No issues expect for distortion at above comfortable hearing levels.

I have them sitting on a set of Isoacoustics stands and they are at the perfect height.

For anyone whose wondering if the a-100 can power speakers for a near field setup, this amp won't even break a sweat

 

[nahpungnome]

So I bought an A100 locally used last month and the only reason I bought it was because I purchased Hifman HE6se a couple of days before that. I already had a Jot and I was able to max it out on low gain with the headphones. I kept hearing good things about the A100 so I went ahead and got one. I didn't even both leaving the headphone out in "normal" mode and installed the jumpers right away.

The headphone out with jumpers in is great with my HE6, Auteur, and even my Elears. Although with the Elears I have to be more careful about the volume. I got tired of using a XLR to 1/4" adapter so I made a XLR to banana plug to go directly to the speaker connections. I then removed the jumpers so I could hear how they sound in normal mode.

The taps and front with the jumpers in sound the same to me, that is, clean and powerful. I have to use the same amount of caution with the knob.

I then tried the headphone out in normal mode. The Auteurs actually sounded pretty decent and seemed to get just as loud as through the taps and jumper mode. The Elears sounded pretty bad though. The thing I noticed immediately was the bass..pretty bad, but I kind of expected that. My HE6, well, I could max out the volume pot and it still didn't get loud enough, but again, I kind of expected that.

I was contemplating selling my Jot, but I found it useful for higher sensitivity cans like my Elears so it'll be staying around.

 

[Baten]

So I bought an A100 locally used last month and the only reason I bought it was because I purchased Hifman HE6se a couple of days before that. I already had a Jot and I was able to max it out on low gain with the headphones. I kept hearing good things about the A100 so I went ahead and got one. I didn't even both leaving the headphone out in "normal" mode and installed the jumpers right away.

The headphone out with jumpers in is great with my HE6, Auteur, and even my Elears. Although with the Elears I have to be more careful about the volume. I got tired of using a XLR to 1/4" adapter so I made a XLR to banana plug to go directly to the speaker connections. I then removed the jumpers so I could hear how they sound in normal mode.

The taps and front with the jumpers in sound the same to me, that is, clean and powerful. I have to use the same amount of caution with the knob.

I then tried the headphone out in normal mode. The Auteurs actually sounded pretty decent and seemed to get just as loud as through the taps and jumper mode. The Elears sounded pretty bad though. The thing I noticed immediately was the bass..pretty bad, but I kind of expected that. My HE6, well, I could max out the volume pot and it still didn't get loud enough, but again, I kind of expected that.

I was contemplating selling my Jot, but I found it useful for higher sensitivity cans like my Elears so it'll be staying around.

Yeah with lower impedance like Focals you don't want to have a high impedance resistor output like on the A-100 without jumpers.

 

[nahpungnome]

Yeah with lower impedance like Focals you don't want to have a high impedance resistor output like on the A-100 without jumpers.

Yeah I just took them out since I wouldn't really be using the 1/4" jack anymore. Glad I didn't jump the gun and sell my Jot after I got my A100...although A100 alone would've been fine too, would just have to be careful with the knob

 

[Seancs14]

Anyone have experience with using the A-100 and Focal Elex? My new office is isolated enough for me to have some speakers and I’d like to just have one amp to handle both some bookshelves and headphones. My Elex are the main headphones I use at work. Seems like I’ll have some hiss with jumpers in, but not sure what the effect will be of the low impedence without the jumpers in.

For some context, my current headphone amp is a Schiit Jotunheim.

 

[tim0chan]

Anyone have experience with using the A-100 and Focal Elex? My new office is isolated enough for me to have some speakers and I’d like to just have one amp to handle both some bookshelves and headphones. My Elex are the main headphones I use at work. Seems like I’ll have some hiss with jumpers in, but not sure what the effect will be of the low impedence without the jumpers in.

For some context, my current headphone amp is a Schiit Jotunheim.

Way too much power, something like the PS audio sprout would do better, or use your jotunheim with a mini power amp like the Burson bang

 

[nahpungnome]

Anyone have experience with using the A-100 and Focal Elex? My new office is isolated enough for me to have some speakers and I’d like to just have one amp to handle both some bookshelves and headphones. My Elex are the main headphones I use at work. Seems like I’ll have some hiss with jumpers in, but not sure what the effect will be of the low impedence without the jumpers in.

For some context, my current headphone amp is a Schiit Jotunheim.

I have the Elear and an A100. The volume is very loud right when the left and right channels balance out on the volume pot. It's about at the upper limit of what I normally listen to. Maybe slightly higher. I also have the Jot and I find the Jot and Elear go well together given the Elear's warm sound.

Btw that's with the full power mode. With the regular mode, it sounded like junk. Definitely not a good match for low impedance cans. Sounds great with my Auteur though.