[MarioImpemba]

Would this make a good amp with a speaker-to-headphone adapter for HE-6, et al?
 
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/a100
 
- Price is certainly right.
- Power looks good
- Volume control
 
Thoughts?

 

[MarioImpemba]

In b4 "try it and let us know", lol. (I cannot buy anything for several weeks.)
 
Just curious what those with more technical knowledge than me think.
 
Thanks.

 

[wje]

I think you might have to use the $99 HifiMAN HE device for connecting the headphones to such an amp.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Head-Direct-HIFIMAN-HE-Adapter-FREE-SHIPPING-/260879194207?pt=Other_MP3_Player_Accessories&hash=item3cbd9c985f#ht_512wt_1163
 
That's a nice amp from Emotiva, though.  I used to have the Music Hall 2-channel amp that produced about 35 watts per channel.  I still kick myself often for selling about 7 years back.
 
 

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

Would this make a good amp with a speaker-to-headphone adapter for HE-6, et al?
 
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/a100
 
- Price is certainly right.
- Power looks good
- Volume control
 
Thoughts?

 
 
considering that they offer a trial period there's little to lose by buying it and trying it. why not get one and let the community your results.

 

[MarioImpemba]

Semi-necro.
 
I only own one pair of headphones that my DAC/HPA drives suitably. If I had a pair of hard-to-drive headphones I would try.
 
But, IIRC, when I looked into what's involved with using a speaker amp on headphones you need to do something about the massive resistance that headphones have in comparison to speakers. Probably some resistors are involved or something beyond my level of understanding.

 

[daveDerek]

to drive the he6s off of speaker taps all you need is a simple 4 pin xlr-> spkr wire  adapter. for those that are handy with a soldering iron it's a simple task, else there are diyers that could help you out. the emotiva is not a powerhouse speaker amp with it's 50w onto 8 ohm rating. this is just a few watts at the 50 ohm impedance of the he6s and is a fine power level for that can.
 

 

[wje]

I've created a diagram that can be utilized for building the necessary speaker taps:
 
http://home.comcast.net/~wayne.ernst/taps.pdf

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

I've created a diagram that can be utilized for building the necessary speaker taps:
http://home.comcast.net/~wayne.ernst/taps.pdf

Wayne, you rock!
 
for those who are concerned that the load to the amp should be padded down so that it seems something closer to 8 ohms than the 50 ohms from the he6 here are a couple of solutions. the first is the hifiman adapter box,
 
http://hifiman.us/Products/?pid=104
 
and the second, more cost effective solution, is something Ron posted.:
 
Quote:

here:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/557418/virtue-audio-sensation-m451-review#post_7524902

As headphone aficionados know, phones present a much higher impedance profile than the nominal 4-8 ohms that most speaker amplifiers expect. Sensation is tuned for 6 ohms, yet nothing sounded odd at all with my higher impedance headphones. Regardless, I’m a tinkerer and figured out that if I bridged the + and – speaker terminals with high-quality Riedon non-inductive 8 ohm 12 watt resistors, the amplifier would “see” 4-8 ohms, regardless of which headphones I was driving. Seth told me that I might hear sibilance in speakers presenting loads above 20 ohms, but I did not with phones, perhaps because of the lower current draw when compared to loudspeakers.

 

[gunting]

I found that I could barely turn the volume pot up past 7:00 on the mini-x a-100 before it became too loud. I just installed the Schitt passive pre-amp, called the Sys. I am now able to lower the strength of the signal after it leaves the DAC, and before it was seen by the emotiva amp. Man, this served to open up the sound of the He-6. If anyone has been in the same boat as me, with limited volume range on the power amp, try adding the Sys. You won't be disappointed.