[xodeuce]

Yesterday I received the Millett Max I bought from jc9394. After a day or so of listening to it (and very anxiously awaiting my DacMagic I ordered from the local stereo shop as well.

Those little jokers are popular!) I wanted to share my impressions.

Signal chain for now is Jolida JD-100 -> Straightwire Serenade IC -> Millett Max -> DT-880 (05-250)

Internals:

--Soundstage--
I'm listening to Pink Floyd's The Wall as I post this and I have to say I'm 100% impressed with this amp so far. I was previously using a Behringer Xenyx mixer to power them and I had no idea what I was missing. Previously the soundstage was very compressed, as if it lived totally within the confines of my ears. The first thing I noticed when I plugged in the new amp was that the soundstage opened up appreciably. After about 15 minutes of listening it opened a little more once the tubes got good and warm. Overall it is very easy to pick out individual instruments and voices in the mix, much more so than before. It seems as if the whole presentation has moved from within my ears and head to slightly in front, about even with my eyes, if that makes sense. It's a difficult thing to describe.

--Midrange--
The other thing that is absolutely amazing is the nice midrange improvement. With the xenyx it just sounded kinda muddy in the midrange, not honky, but just kinda, well, meh. The mids now are very fluid and realistic. The Chesky recording of Valerie Joyce singing Little wing. Wow. You can make out all of the nuances and intricacies in her breathing and technique. It is in a word, lovely.

--Bass--
Bass has improved, but not in quantity as much as extension and accuracy. It is definitely not over-emphasized, if anything I'd say it tends toward being very neutral and balanced overall. However, it still has enough impact to reproduce a kick drum with authority, but it is 100% tight and controlled. Definitely not "basshead" levels though. At all.

--Treble--
The highs are very balanced, but not sibilant. The attack and decay of high hat and cymbal are very natural sounding. Over all I would say it tends towards being bright, in that you are aware of the highs being present and faithfully reproduced. Cymbals are bright and shimmery when you hear them in real life, and they are when reproduced in my setup. That fact is not masked in the slightest. However it is not unbalanced towards the highs by any means, nor is it artificial sounding.

--Conclusions--
As far as improvements, I might have a couple of nagging things that I could find. The soundstage could be wider, but I suspect that has a lot to do with the phones rather than the amp. The highs could also be a VERY slight bit more tame *for some listeners*. However, I tend to prefer speakers that are towards the accurate end of the spectrum when it comes to high frequency reproduction. Martin Logans and Maggies (20.1

) are some of my favorites. They tell it like it is with high frequency though, and I'd say with this setup it is similar, which I like. There's nowhere to hide a recording that's poorly mastered way too hot and EQ'd with a smiley face. The mids though. Oh man, the mids. They do sound amazing. There are tracks that I've come across where as soon as the vocals start I've though, "Holy cow! I didn't know that the vocals on this track sounded that nice!" That's not to say they're overemphasized though, the overall tonality is still very balanced.

I've been a reader of the site for a long long time now, and I have never been to any meets at all, or heard other amp / phone combos. I finally "get it" though, so to speak. I didn't really appreciate how good these phones could sound until properly amped. I know, I know, everyone says it, but until I actually heard the difference I was a little skeptical. I'm very very pleased with the sound as it is set up now, and I reaaaaaally hope that the DacMagic is as appreciable an increase with my iMac as the amp was an improvement over the mixer. I have no doubt though that it should be an appreciable improvement. At that point it will be ALAC/iTunes -> iMac -> Toslink -> DacMagic -> Straightwire Serenade IC -> Millett Max -> DT-880, and I'll be "done" for the time being

For those interested, specs on the Millet are as follows:
Built by: pinkfloyd4ever
12FM6 Tubes
Blackgate NXs at CA2 and CA7
Vitamin Qs at CA8
2SC3422/2SA1359 BJT output transistors
Alps RK27 'Blue Velvet' 50kOhm pot
Neutrik 1/4" output jack
Vampire CM1F RCA input jacks
50VA wallwart

Last but not least, thanks to everyone in the community for posting helpful reviews and impressions of just about every piece of gear imaginable. With no way to audition this stuff around town the forums have been quite helpful.

 

[mattcalf]

Cool read, thanks for posting. I don't know if tubes are for me but each one of these mini-reviews makes it all the more a tougher decision.

 

[MadMan007]

Pics or it didn't happen! I'm already

(really for like a year out or so) considering DIY'ing a Millett hybrid circuit amp.

 

[jc9394]

Very nice review and glad you like the amp. As I told you, I'm not really sure how much improvement my incoming WA6 will improve. I will definately get either MiniMax or regular Max when fund allow.

 

[xodeuce]

Pics will be posted as soon as the power comes back on. We got back from dinner and it was out

. No more listening tonight, but stay tuned for pics. It really is a good looking amp, and sounds even better!

 

[jdkJake]

Great initial impressions! I can definitely relate to your comments on midrange and soundstage. They really leap out at you with the Millett MAX. That was my biggest surprise as well.

What tubes are you currently running?

jk

 

[xodeuce]

I have three sets that came with it, 12fm6, 12ae6, and 12fk6. Right now I'm running the 12fm6. I haven't rolled the others in yet. I want to log some hours with these tubes and get a good overall impression of them and then try the 12ae6's and see how they sound in comparison.

Edit: Pics added to initial post.

 

[jdkJake]

I think that is a good way to proceed. I used my stock FM6 tubes for about a month to get a good idea of how they sound as well as what the amp was capable of all around.

I just recently put in a set of AE6 and are working with them for a while. I went ahead and ordered a bunch of tubes and now have a whole box of tubes to try from different manufactures (FM6, AE6 and FK6). Should be fun. Be sure to check the bias when you roll off the FM6. I saw a BIG change (~+14 to over +20) going to the AE6.

Enjoy. The MAX is a fun amp! I find myself pulling more and more CD's off the shelf just to hear how they sound in this different context.

jk

 

[xodeuce]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to rolling some more tubes through it. I also haven't tried it with my SR80's yet. I need to do that as well. I'm just enjoying it with the DT880's too much!

I got a wild streak tonight and totally re-arranged my office and re-wired my rig. I'm trying to decide if I can hear any difference. I'm now going from JD100 -> Bryston 1B Preamp Aux Input -> Tape Out -> Millett Max -> DT880. This was mostly so I can use my JD100 in my 2ch speaker rig. I finally cracked open my amp to see what was wrong with the left channel (as if I would have any clue what was wrong without seeing something charred or melted, haha), and lo and behold it was just a blown fuse, so I replaced it and it's working now. Huzzah! I didn't realize there are 4 more fuses inside the thing, in addition to the one right next to the power cord on the back. I feel mildly slacker-tastic for not doing that sooner. The thing has been collecting dust on my bookshelf for over a year. Live and learn I suppose. Anyway, I've done a little a/b switching it through the 1B pre, and I can't really notice a difference so far. I think it's mechanically switched without going through any gain stages, because it works when the pre is switched off. Anyway, I'll quit hijacking my own thread, I think the bourbon has made me long winded

I'm sure the wallwart that came with this thing is enough juice and clean enough and all, but are there any DIY power supply schematics for the Max?

 

[jdkJake]

Bourbon will do that! Glad to hear you fixed it though. Always rewarding to bring a component back from the brink.

Reading the schematic for the miniMAX, MAX and MOSFET MAX, the power supply is built into the unit (and one of the reasons they sound so good.). The wall wart is nothing more than a step-down transformer from 110VAC to 24VDC. They are spec'ed at 750mA or better to allow for a overvoltage of 27VDC when running the tubes biased at 13.5VDC. I think the MOSFET MAX wall wart is speced at 1A. In any case, it would be easy to procure and build a replacement, just not for the $10 or less a wall wart costs.

I finally plugged my SR225i's in the other day. It was a fun listen. I need to listen to them some more as well as try the FK6 tubes I now have before I can really comment. It is hard to pry the HD650's off this thing, they sound so, so sweet.

jk

 

[tomb]

Yes - you're correct. Technically, they are walwarts, but more accurately they're known as Class II transformers. They are probably more plentiful than "normal" walwarts, because they're used extensively in CCTV and security installations throughout the US. CCTV and security system installers are allowed to run 24V wiring without having an Electrician's license. Thus, they can wire an entire house or business using these walwarts with very lengthy wiring and use step-down transformers/DC supply convertors at the various panels and/or controllers.

As jdkJake says, the important power supply stuff in the MAX/MiniMAX is onboard inside the case - a fully-regulated, DC linear power supply that feeds the tubes and the Class A heat-sinked diamond buffer.

Don't forget what he says about tube-rolling, either - you must re-bias the tubes if you change them. If not, the possibilities run from sounding very bad to not sounding at all.

It's a very simple procedure, though.

The MAX websites contain more info - google for "Millett MAX" or "MOSFET-MAX" or "Millett MiniMAX".

 

[xodeuce]

A question about biasing. Should it be done with or without headphones connected, with or without a source connected, and where should the volume control be set? I did it last night with no source, no phones, and vol control set to the minimum. It seems like it drifts a little though, even after the amp has been on for 30 minutes or so. It seems that L & R stay in the neighborhood of 0.08 - 0.1 v of one another though.

 

[jc9394]

The last time I did it, I let the amp warm up around 30 minutes and have everything disconnected and set the volume to 0 just as you did. From what I gather anything within .05v is acceptable.

Did you try the 12AE6? How do you like it?

 

[jdkJake]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xodeuce /img/forum/go_quote.gif A question about biasing. Should it be done with or without headphones connected, with or without a source connected, and where should the volume control be set? I did it last night with no source, no phones, and vol control set to the minimum. It seems like it drifts a little though, even after the amp has been on for 30 minutes or so. It seems that L & R stay in the neighborhood of 0.08 - 0.1 v of one another though.

Upon rolling in a new set of tubes, I have been taking an initial reading and setting the correct bias upon power up without source, headphones or volume. Once initially set to the correct bias, I attach the headphones, turn on the source and set the volume to a nominal setting.

After an hour I check and adjust the settings as needed. I repeat this a few times (every hour) until it settles.

After that, I check every few days to be sure it is holding (after a 1 hour warmup). After a few days it is usually rock solid.

jk

 

[jdkJake]

BTW, if I understand it right, since the tubes are on the input stage and the output stage is Class A SS, the load on the amp should not affect tube bias.

I could be wrong though.

jk