[MalVeauX]

   
MalVeau
 
OK-So with the HE 6's which is 50 ohm @83 sensitivity and the Mini X would resistors help or not? If so what value and how connected?
 
Thanks
 
Jack

 
Heya,
 
You do not need a resistor adapter of any kind of the Hifiman headphones that are low on sensitivity, like the HE-500 and especially the HE-6. The HE-6 is so insensitive that it is the very reason some of us looked to speaker amps instead of headphone amps to get raw current throughput.
 
For the HE500, HE4, HE6, all you need is a cable with 4 banana plugs terminated on it or an adapter with banana plugs terminated on it, and an interface that receives whatever cable you have. No resistors involved.
 
The only place for resistors here is for headphones that are very sensitive and have low impedance, meaning, they hardly needed an amplifier in the first place. To use them with a speaker amp (any speaker amp) you would want to probably introduce a resistor impedance adapter some where in the chain to cut down the noise floor and give you volume attenuation. I only use this for my Denon D5000 which is highly sensitive and doesn't even need an amplifier like this, I just do it for fun.
 
Very best,

 

[grizzlybeast]

I just let go of my he-500 before trying it out on the emotiva. I will soon be going ... audio gd-nfb 11.32->emotiva->lcd2rev2 and am stoked about it ( fingers crossed)
I don't mind heavy headphones so this should be my end game set up for a while. Hopefully they match well.

 

[spurxiii]

Where can I purchase those cables? I would like to connect my Alpha dogs with 4-Pin XLR cable to the Emotiva mini-X A-100.

I got mine from the same place Malveaux got it from. BTG Audio

 

[Shazb0t]

I got mine from the same place Malveaux got it from. BTG Audio

Same here, competitive pricing from Brian.

 

[tiabyuzhou88]

how much are those cables?

 

[robrob]

Some of those cables are obscenely expensive. It's easy to make very high quality cables if you can solder. If you can't then find someone that can and see the cable how-to's here: http://robrobinette.com/HeadphoneMods.htm#Making a Four Wire Balanced Cable.
 
Get 10 feet (or length of your choice) of Canare Star Quad cable and a female 4-pin XLR connector on ebay for about $15. You can simply tin the ends or add banana plugs (again ebay). 

 

[john57]

Since the Emotiva amps use a common ground I am going to use a headphone extension cable and cut of one end and stripe and use banana plug with closed screw and attach to the amp and work with the 1/4 female end.

 

[Kamakahah]

Some of those cables are obscenely expensive. It's easy to make very high quality cables if you can solder. If you can't then find someone that can and see the cable how-to's here: http://robrobinette.com/HeadphoneMods.htm#Making a Four Wire Balanced Cable.

Get 10 feet (or length of your choice) of Canare Star Quad cable and a female 4-pin XLR connector on ebay for about $15. You can simply tin the ends or add banana plugs (again ebay). 

This is spot on. You can make the same at a fraction of the cost if you have access to a soldering iron. Learning to solder is about as hard as baking cookies. Watch some YouTube videos and read a few tutorials then practice for 10 minutes on something cheap and you'll be set.

However, Brian at BTG-Audio does quality work at a more affordable price than most. I do recommend his services if you have no interest in DIY or finding a DIYer to make one for you.

 

[148124]

just be careful for cold solder joints (you have to warm it all together pretty well and take some time to get nice solder joint, but not too long either) - it may disconnect at any moment in the future if the solder joint is bad especially when this is your first contact with soldering iron and wires are thick (for instance speaker cables and 4pin XLR connectors)
 
after all it is nice to double check all the connections using some digital multimeter to be extra sure (1 L+, 2 L-, 3 R+, 4 R-)
 
btw I have just got some answers from emotiva support - a-100 stays in pure A class up to about 1W, after that it's AB class but the distortion is very low in this amp and I guess this is the key, this is why it sounds so good

 

[mohdkhamsya]

Hello people! Been using the Emotiva for a week or so. My chain is as follows: Foobar> NFB11.32 > Emotiva > HE500 (blue dragon cables with 15cm 6.3 female to banana plugs adapter). The Emotiva is a marked improvement over the 11.32 HPO. Very very noticeable. I thought the 11.32 had a very good amp section but the emotiva is of a different class. Compared to the 11.32 HPO, the emotiva has a much much wider and deeper soundstage and I would say a more 3D feel. It doesnt feel congested at all during fast pssages, unlike the 11.32 HPO, hence I'm able to perceive more details in my music in general. 
 
The notes are still thick, extension is still excellent but the bass has an added body to them, although not at all bloated. Very satisfying. Gives out the visceral rumble some of us crave. The amp does not boost the bass in any way, in that sense it is transparent. But there is a slight addition to mid bass which makes the bass and the mids slightly warmer. Otherwise, the mids are all the same as when I used the 11.32 HPO. Just slightly lush, without losing the details. 
 
There is added air around the treble; the HE500 provides more shimmer and sparkle now. Overall though, as opposed to the NFB11.32 HPO, the emotiva brings everything slightly forward, which makes the music more lively as opposed to the 11.32 HPO's cold and duller presentation. It does lose a little accuracy and speed because of the slight tinge of warmth. But it is still very quick. To conclude, for $169, the emotiva amp is an absolute no brainer if you need an affordable amp for your power hungry Hifiman He500.
 
Extra notes: I tried using my microstreamer with the amp instead of the 11.32 DAC section. As much as I love the microstreamer, the 11.32 wipes the floor with it. No contest.

 

[148124]

Integrated amps in audio-gd dacs are not good amps if you really think about driving some orthos (SE, BALANCED, tested both and comparing to something like EF-5 or LYR, it's not even worth considering to drive any orthos, they sound cold, sterile and a bit dull with no soul and emotions, distortion is rising fast when you start taking out some real power to drive low sensitivity HP, this is my opinion, but when you switch to dedicated amp and use only dac section this is an amazing combination)
 
Nice to hear that you liked bass on emotiva, this is what I expect - to be more punchy and better defined on it + bigger soundstage, more air, although my current EF-5 does an amazing job with it but I am thinking slowly about HE-6 to try out and emotiva is a must have to start playing with it ;]
 
It seems when something like HE-4 or HE-6 doesn't have enough current reserve the bass is a bit shy and soundstage compressed, only mids and treble shine
 
just can't wait for this amp !!! still "Processed Through Sort Facility ISC MIAMI FL (USPS)"

 

[koiloco]

  Hello people! Been using the Emotiva for a week or so. My chain is as follows: Foobar> NFB11.32 > Emotiva > HE500 (blue dragon cables with 15cm 6.3 female to banana plugs adapter). The Emotiva is a marked improvement over the 11.32 HPO. Very very noticeable. I thought the 11.32 had a very good amp section but the emotiva is of a different class. Compared to the 11.32 HPO, the emotiva has a much much wider and deeper soundstage and I would say a more 3D feel. It doesnt feel congested at all during fast pssages, unlike the 11.32 HPO, hence I'm able to perceive more details in my music in general. 
 
The notes are still thick, extension is still excellent but the bass has an added body to them, although not at all bloated. Very satisfying. Gives out the visceral rumble some of us crave. The amp does not boost the bass in any way, in that sense it is transparent. But there is a slight addition to mid bass which makes the bass and the mids slightly warmer. Otherwise, the mids are all the same as when I used the 11.32 HPO. Just slightly lush, without losing the details. 
 
There is added air around the treble; the HE500 provides more shimmer and sparkle now. Overall though, as opposed to the NFB11.32 HPO, the emotiva brings everything slightly forward, which makes the music more lively as opposed to the 11.32 HPO's cold and duller presentation. It does lose a little accuracy and speed because of the slight tinge of warmth. But it is still very quick. To conclude, for $169, the emotiva amp is an absolute no brainer if you need an affordable amp for your power hungry Hifiman He500.
 
Extra notes: I tried using my microstreamer with the amp instead of the 11.32 DAC section. As much as I love the microstreamer, the 11.32 wipes the floor with it. No contest.

Welcome to the Emotiva club!  I was a non-believer until I got one.  $169 is incredible.  

 

[M-13]

Great write up mohdkhamsya! Pretty much how I feel about the Emotiva.

 

[Nimzerz]

GOD! Reading this thread is making me want the Emotiva more and more but I still can't afford it yet! BLEKH

 

[john57]

I received notice from Emotiva that my mini-X a-100 shipping weight 15lbs. is in the shipping pipeline  ahead of schedule. I already have cables, banana plugs, jacks already to go for my nirvana experiment and see how far can this remarkable amp can improve the basic sound quality of the headphones at normal levels. The amp uses common ground which will make my job a bit easier.