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HE-500, LCD2, D5000, DT770, SR80, on a speaker amp (Emotiva mini-X A-100) Project

Apr 2, 2013 at 6:55 PM Post #1,006 of 3,819
Quote:
modulor said:
Regarding those resistors and their application, I'm not sure of the benefits entirely in comparison, or if they would be beneficial to add...it does look similar to HiFiMan's own adapter posted by wuwhere earlier in this thread:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/629352/he-500-lcd2-d5000-dt770-sr80-on-a-speaker-amp-emotiva-mini-x-a-100-project/165#post_8875942
 
If I'm reading this right, it seems as though they used 10ohm resistors to 'absorb' some of the current?
Click to expand...

 
The ol' hifiman box. The hifiman box does the same thing as Mal's little contraption, in effect. It puts the resistors in line with the signal. I believe there was some looking into that box and people were a little disappointed as it lowered the SQ of the sound signal. I was wondering what would happen if they were in parallel, and not series. Anyone help ? 
 
Apr 2, 2013 at 7:02 PM Post #1,007 of 3,819
Quote:
elwappo99 said:
 
The ol' hifiman box. The hifiman box does the same thing as Mal's little contraption, in effect. It puts the resistors in line with the signal. I believe there was some looking into that box and people were a little disappointed as it lowered the SQ of the sound signal. I was wondering what would happen if they were in parallel, and not series. Anyone help ? 
Click to expand...

Maybe this thread could help
http://www.head-fi.org/t/649107/speaker-amps-for-headphones 
 
Apr 5, 2013 at 9:31 AM Post #1,008 of 3,819
I've recently made an amp discovery I would like to share. I have been looking for a speaker amp to drive my Paradox headphones, having heard how they sound out of the speaker taps of my Musical Fidelity A1 amp. Having been into audio since the mid 1970s, and having owned and listened to a wide range of very excellent gear, some of it considered reference level, I have a pretty good idea about what constitutes really good sound. But, I admit I am relatively new to the headphone end of things. We are now getting into the realm of speaker amps, and I believe that it's not just a matter of more power, but also the fidelity of said amp. That is likely why people are using Don Garber SE amps, Nelson Pass First Watt amps, and others costing multi thousands of dollars. I need to go the 'economical' route.

In doing a lot of web research, I came upon an amp by TBI called the Millenia MG3. Rated at 30 watts/channel on ac, and 10 watts/channel on batteries, it seemed power wise to be a good choice. There have been glowing reviews which compared the amp to some pretty esoteric gear. The TBI sells for $500 (with a 30 day trial period). Several weeks ago I took the plunge. Jan - the designer - worked with me tirelessly to help get the amp to work properly with my headphones. What needed to be addressed first is the fact that the headphones are single ended and the amps' negative grounds are not shared. Also, there was gain background hiss. He suggested some resistors to use, and described to me how to arrange them ahead of the headphones. Things were promising. Then he came up with what I call his magic box, with some resistors that not only address the above issues, but if I understand it correctly, allow the amp to see a more appropriate impedance match for the amp. End result is astonishing sound quality.

Jan went above and beyond to help me out. I am very grateful to him for that. But with the end result being the level of sound quality I am getting over my Paradox headphones (which continue to prove to be astonishing in their own right), I wanted to put out the word in case any others were interested to check it out.

Here are some links that are relevant to the Millenia. There are others. It also received the Positive Feedback Award last year.

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue62/millenia.htm
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue64/awards.htm
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=108242.0
 
Apr 5, 2013 at 9:49 AM Post #1,009 of 3,819
SMG52,
 
Wow!  I've read everything I can find on Jan Plummer's creation and I'm hooked.  I want one!
 
Thanks so much for posting this!
 
I have to calm down before I take the plunge, but I think I'll be following in your footsteps.
 
tongue_smile.gif

 
Mike
 
Apr 5, 2013 at 3:03 PM Post #1,012 of 3,819
xaval said:
Maybe this thread could help
http://www.head-fi.org/t/649107/speaker-amps-for-headphones 
 
Click to expand...


 
Definitely a wealth of useful information there it seems, thanks for pointing this thread out!
 
Quote:
smg52 said:
I've recently made an amp discovery I would like to share. I have been looking for a speaker amp to drive my Paradox headphones, having heard how they sound out of the speaker taps of my Musical Fidelity A1 amp. Having been into audio since the mid 1970s, and having owned and listened to a wide range of very excellent gear, some of it considered reference level, I have a pretty good idea about what constitutes really good sound. But, I admit I am relatively new to the headphone end of things. We are now getting into the realm of speaker amps, and I believe that it's not just a matter of more power, but also the fidelity of said amp. That is likely why people are using Don Garber SE amps, Nelson Pass First Watt amps, and others costing multi thousands of dollars. I need to go the 'economical' route.

In doing a lot of web research, I came upon an amp by TBI called the Millenia MG3. Rated at 30 watts/channel on ac, and 10 watts/channel on batteries, it seemed power wise to be a good choice. There have been glowing reviews which compared the amp to some pretty esoteric gear. The TBI sells for $500 (with a 30 day trial period). Several weeks ago I took the plunge. Jan - the designer - worked with me tirelessly to help get the amp to work properly with my headphones. What needed to be addressed first is the fact that the headphones are single ended and the amps' negative grounds are not shared. Also, there was gain background hiss. He suggested some resistors to use, and described to me how to arrange them ahead of the headphones. Things were promising. Then he came up with what I call his magic box, with some resistors that not only address the above issues, but if I understand it correctly, allow the amp to see a more appropriate impedance match for the amp. End result is astonishing sound quality.

Jan went above and beyond to help me out. I am very grateful to him for that. But with the end result being the level of sound quality I am getting over my Paradox headphones (which continue to prove to be astonishing in their own right), I wanted to put out the word in case any others were interested to check it out.

Here are some links that are relevant to the Millenia. There are others. It also received the Positive Feedback Award last year.

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue62/millenia.htm
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue64/awards.htm
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=108242.0
Click to expand...

 
Intriguing little amp this is indeed.  I am now wondering what resistor cocktail he used in his 'magic box', and if a similar configuration would benefit other speaker amps setups as well.  This is definitely one to consider down the road...
 
Time for some more research!
 
Apr 5, 2013 at 4:03 PM Post #1,014 of 3,819
Just wanted to say that if anyone is interested in the Millenia, and wishes to connect with Jan about it, he has been incredibly helpful and responsive to all my emails and calls. More so than anyone else in the business I've had dealings with. At times I felt like I was taking TOO much of his time, but he continued to be responsive and helpful. Of course, as with all things, YMMV..... but that's been my experience. How often do you email or call a business, and it's the engineer/designer that picks up the phone or emails you back.... 
 
Apr 6, 2013 at 4:45 PM Post #1,018 of 3,819
Quote:
smg52 said:
Just wanted to say that if anyone is interested in the Millenia, and wishes to connect with Jan about it, he has been incredibly helpful and responsive to all my emails and calls. More so than anyone else in the business I've had dealings with. At times I felt like I was taking TOO much of his time, but he continued to be responsive and helpful. Of course, as with all things, YMMV..... but that's been my experience. How often do you email or call a business, and it's the engineer/designer that picks up the phone or emails you back.... 
Click to expand...

Jan is a great guy.
 
I bought a refurb one from him delivered to Europe. It had the latest AC mod but NOT the newest parts mod that caused a new tour to be created at AudioCircle. Apparently this new mod is worthy of a Mark 2 designation and is a significant leap forward in sound quality even over the superb Mk1. The Mk2 mod apparently costs about $50!!! Pity I am not in the US...
 
Apr 8, 2013 at 9:50 AM Post #1,020 of 3,819
Quote:
elwappo99 said:
 
Where did you end up getting your resistor from?
Click to expand...

 
This article was referenced in the Speaker amps for headphones thread:
 
http://www.duelundaudio.com/downloads/Resistorsvol5no3HIFICriticHiRes.pdf
 
Testing various resistors in a crossover network, HiFiCritic's results indicate that the "Dueland Cast" resistor outperformed the rest:
 
 
Duelund CAST: 79% 
“Did not sound like a resistor”, the CAST sounded 
neutral, transparent, free from audible distortion or 
emphasis, with excellent clarity and detail, good plus 
dynamics, and very good rhythm. The non-CAST
construction Duelunds at half the price will clearly be 
also worth trying despite (or because of) their negative 
temperature coefficient, which is claimed to compensate 
to some degree for medium term compression due to 
voice coil heating. (For this to work properly, the two 
time constants would need to be matched, which seems 
unlikely.)
Click to expand...

 
http://www.duelundaudio.com/Resistors.asp
 
http://www.duelundaudio.com/Distributors.asp
 
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