[oivindi]

Is anyone using the Mini-I with a Mac?
 
I am trying to find out if it's possible to adjust left/right balance in the Sound control panel when using the Mini-I through the USB port.
 
Anyone have a screen shot or something?

 

[Mampus]

I had a good time with this DAC+Amp, paired with my beloved DT880/600
 
But, i must say, that this amp has a pretty low gain [i have to turn the volume to -20 dB (min. volume is -90 dB, max. volume is 0 dB, CMIIW) to enjoy the music]
 
Maybe some 'tweaking' will set the gain much higher, i hope
 
Or maybe some 'version B' which have a higher gain
 
Sorry if there's a wrong sentence in English

 

[stang]

The DT880 600ohm are a b***h to drive. I need them at 3 o clock with my MAD Ear+ HD on some Midnight Oil songs, but only 10 o clock with my M3. Strange, but awesome coz I am using the dt880 strictly with the M3. I wonder how good the dt880 600ohm sound with the Matrix Mini-i (DAC alone). 

 

[nvhoang]

i dont know how this Matrix DAC works with dt 880 (600 ohm). But it works very very fine with my HD 650. I´ve never turned volume over - 35 to get the full potential of my can.

 

[Putzeudel]

Quote:

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunneebear /img/forum/go_quote.gif More details please. I use mine mainly for USB so count me in.

It's a whole new project and probably takes a couple months to complete.

Any news on this? Is there a release date?
 

 

[Sid-Fi]

^

 

[jherbert]

-20 dB means 20 dB to go. Seems sufficient to me. 
 

But, i must say, that this amp has a pretty low gain [i have to turn the volume to -20 dB (min. volume is -90 dB, max. volume is 0 dB, CMIIW) to enjoy the music]

 

[lescanard]

Quote:

i dont know how this Matrix DAC works with dt 880 (600 ohm). But it works very very fine with my HD 650. I´ve never turned volume over - 35 to get the full potential of my can.

 
Funny - I've read this whole thread and at the end came across this - I'm only commenting because I just 2 days ago received my new DT990 600ohm phones. This has nothing to do with the Mini-i, I'm actually using the M-Stage to drive these cans beautifully.
 
Anyway - my main setup is DacMagic--->M-Stage. For my bedside rig - I've been using my Airport Express to my LDI+ and some AKG k271s (using the AEX as my Dac basically). I was going to buy a VDac to feed the LDI+ - but decided the Mini-i would be the best solution since I can use just the Mini-i  as a dac/amp if I want, or hook the tube amp if I desire. Good options. I guess my question is - is the headphone amp in the same league as the M-Stage (which is tremendous)? I don't expect as good but 75% would make me happy and the dac with LDI+ makes my total setup complete!  
 

 

[sunneebear]

Just look at the inside pictures of the the two and you will have your answer.  The M-Stage is a dedicated amp. The Mini-i is a DAC with a tiny part of the board used for the amp.  It looks like a afterthought but it sounds very good.  I don't think the Mini-i can match the M-Stage as a amp but the Mini-i still sound very good.

 

[grokit]

The Mini-i has a very clean sounding opamp and fantastic attenuation, but low impedance power is not its strong suit. It will, however, handle anything from mid to high impedance full-size headphones down to the most nuanced IEM with aplomb.

 

[spidey]

Quote:

The Mini-i has a very clean sounding opamp and fantastic attenuation, but low impedance power is not its strong suit. It will, however, handle anything from mid to high impedance full-size headphones down to the most nuanced IEM with aplomb.

Does it mean that the Grados will not benefit from this dac/amp? Waiting for the HF2 to arrive and tot maybe this is the one to go for.

 

[jherbert]

The chip used for headphone amplification is a ti TPA6120 designed for that purpose. So it is NOT an opamp in the common sense of general purpose opamps. You may want tohave a look at the original specification http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/tpa6120a2.html and see for yourself. In fact this amp was one of the major reasons I bought the mini-i in the first place. It beats a number of discrete and opamp based designs by a margin. And yes, the amp is designed for loads of 32 ohms and more. Don't know the Grados impedance, but they should do pretty well. 

 

[grokit]

Yes I'm not fully "electronics aware" and I probably should have said it works fine for anything but orthos or a ridiculously inefficient dynamic headphone like my K701. I agree that it should work well with Grados, as the Mini-i amplifier is quite neutral.

 

[spidey]

@Jherbert & Grokit
 
Thanks for the input guys.

 
Wish the dot matrix were blue though.

 

[lescanard]

Quote:

Just look at the inside pictures of the the two and you will have your answer.  The M-Stage is a dedicated amp. The Mini-i is a DAC with a tiny part of the board used for the amp.  It looks like a afterthought but it sounds very good.  I don't think the Mini-i can match the M-Stage as a amp but the Mini-i still sound very good.

Thanks - this is what I would expect. I was not expecting on par with the M-Stage - it would still be used often as a dac with my LDI+. I simply want the option to listen to the amp when I'm too lazy to fire up the Little Dot and have it perform well. Sounds like it will. Any opinions from anyone on the Mini amp with k271s?