[Happy Camper]

I know the mini X gets the press here but don't ignore better speaker amps. The better quality amps will have no noise floor and you will find even more of what the X is offering.

 

[goaliedad39]

I have tried it a couple of different ways.   PS Audio DLiii dac into input on the Mini-X and also DLiii dac into Soloist and then using Soloist as preamp into Mini-X.  I'm experimenting at the moment as to how best implement the Mini-X into my system.

 

[robrob]

The more powerful the speaker amp the more likely you'll need attenuation resistors like shown above to reduce hiss and give you more useable volume knob movement, but with the right resistors it should work. With 140+ watts per channel you'll need more resistance for more attenuation and probably higher watt rated resistors.

 

[chanwhk]

So which other Emotiva amp that you guys can safely recommend for HE-500?
I'm also looking to get the Stealth DC-1 DAC to go with it. 
Their prices is so good

 

[john57]

  FWIW, I don't hear any noise on my Mini-X with my HE-500's until I get the volume knob up to about 2 o'clock.  And there is no way I would be listening to music at that volume.

Great! that is about the same with me.  That is about the best you can do without a resistor box. Good connections and grounding can make a bit of difference.

 

[koiloco]

I know the mini X gets the press here but don't ignore better speaker amps. The better quality amps will have no noise floor and you will find even more of what the X is offering.

And what amp would that be?  TBI MG3 at $500.  How much better are we talking about here at 3x the cost?  I have read couple reviews comparing the 2 and don't believe that we are even looking at obvious/significant improvements.  It was more like personal subjective preferences.  At $169 + adapter cost and the SQ/performance the Mini-x offers,  IMO, it is the performance/price king for the HE500 (excluding old vintage amps, of course)

 

[manbear]

I don't think anyone is making the claim that the Emotiva is the best sounding speaker amp for headphones, just that it's very good for the price. It seems obvious that better is out there. Something is always better. If I were loaded, I'd get some Pass Labs XA60 monoblocks for my headphones, that would be the schiit 

 

[spurxiii]

I want to try the mini-x but unfortunately not so accessible in Oz. I missed out on a used TBi Millenia for about $200 (aud) so in my anger spent about the same for a TP60 which yielded good results also.

Is use my TP60 (50w@8ohms) without a resistor box even on my HD600s. My Audio Gd 15.32 DAC seems to be able to control volume output.

 

[davidsh]

Seems I will end up with a emotiva upa-2 for a little less than 300. Wish me luck. Does it have common ground?

 

[elwappo99]

Seems I will end up with a emotiva upa-2 for a little less than 300. Wish me luck. Does it have common ground?

 
I'm not totally sure on the ground, but I thought the unit has 2 amplifiers in it. I'd be very interested to hear how it sounds. 

 

[john57]

Seems I will end up with a emotiva upa-2 for a little less than 300. Wish me luck. Does it have common ground?

Not 100% sure but you can contact them. What I did find officially was this.
 

 Yes, the XPA-2, XPA-3, and XPA-5 are "common ground amps" and will work fine with the Polks.
Our DIFFERENTIAL REFERENCE AMPS (the XPA-1, XPR-1, and XPA-1L) are NOT, and you must NOT connect their negative speaker terminals to ground, or to each other.

 

[Taowolf51]

Seems I will end up with a emotiva upa-2 for a little less than 300. Wish me luck. Does it have common ground?

 
Usually the truly balanced non-common ground amps are marked as "differential reference", but I would call Emotiva and ask just in case. They're very nice and helpful.

 

[davidsh]

 

Seems I will end up with a emotiva upa-2 for a little less than 300. Wish me luck. Does it have common ground?

 
Usually the truly balanced non-common ground amps are marked as "differential reference", but I would call Emotiva and ask just in case. They're very nice and helpful.

I have wrote an email. Well, I'll buy it anyway and it probably has common ground. That would be nice, as it would make sense to use it for my other headphones with an adapter/box.

 

[Sonido]

  I have wrote an email. Well, I'll buy it anyway and it probably has common ground. That would be nice, as it would make sense to use it for my other headphones with an adapter/box.

Do you have the MiniX? If so, would love to hear a comparison.

 
Looked on the website on their other amps, and if I had unlimited money to blow, the XPA-1L sure looks interesting. Get two of them, and use a balanced setup on the HE-500 with 4-pin XLR (what I already have). Interesting thing about that amp is that it has a Class A mode that runs only 35 watts. But your stereo amplifier in the UPA-200 sounds interesting as well, though not sure if there would be a problem in too much power. I definitely support this kind of test new things mentality! For myself, definitely found a gem using the Quickie as a preamp to the MiniX. Let us know how it goes and sounds!

 

[Drsparis]

I wanted to start dabbling in the DIY stuff. This is a fantastic place to start (the quickie)... I'm really turned off by the idea of a random colored board though, anyone know if I can pay more to have a specific color or something?