[TheNew007]

Anyone here whose used this amp before, can you tell me how you ordered it? Did you have to contact a professional builder for assembly? If so, how much and how long did that take you?

And if you assembled it yourself, how long did that take you? and How much were all of the parts combined?

 

[synaesthetic]

You can get a kit from Jeff Rossel at Glass Jar Audio. It contains everything you need to put it together.

Glass Jar Audio

 

[mrarroyo]

You can contact Rockhopper Audio, his unit sells for $125 and IMO it is a sweet sounding one.

 

[dap_pad]

I'm not sure, but I think MisterX still builds them. PM him on Head-Fi.

 

[funniecow]

He still does, and his rate is 110? Talk to him about the warranty it's crazy good. I think he said he'll repair it as long as you pay shipping fees. That's basically a lifetime warranty my friend.

 

[dgbiker1]

I got the kit from glass jar for $80-something. It took about 1.5-2 hours to do the soldering and it was my first time doing surface-mount soldering. Overall I thought it was an easy project except for the two surface-mount chips- it's a bit unnerving trying out SMC soldering for the first time with $10 chips

 

[royewest]

I built a Mini3 today. It took me a long evening or two during the week to prepare for this, reading the parts lists and instructions several times, making notes, 5 visits to Al Lasher's in Berkeley to or from work, etc., etc.

Then I spent probably 6 hours today soldering and assembling, deliberately taking my time and triple-checking each step so I didn't blow it all. I'm sure an experienced builder could do this much more quickly. I am relieved that the more delicate components were more forgiving a novice builder than I'd feared.

It was odd to work on a project that starts with the most sensitive pieces (the surface-mount opamps) and then have to spend several more hours building before finding out if I'd destroyed them. Fingers crossed, all seems to be working.

After just a couple short listens (iPod headphone jack at max volume out, Apple Lossless, Lorraine Hunt Lieberman's heart schwimming in blood, cheap mini-mini cable, Mini3, Senn 650s), I'm delighted with the sound. I seem to listen at much lower volumes than other folks, so 90degrees from off is borderline too loud.

I'm looking forward to playing with this some more.

Now I just wish there were a DAC kit that took mini-Toslink input.....

 

[royewest]

Oh, price: I bought parts for two complete Mini3 kits, all using AMB's recommended parts for the board, components, case, battery, charger, and so on. I forgot one item and so had one double Mouser order, which raised my shipping costs slightly. But the per-unit cost (including tax and shipping) came to almost exactly $85.

I'd also like to say the AMB's site on this kit is just superb. From the overview to the parts lists to the detailed building instructions, the whole experience was great. What a fabulous contribution to the headphone community. Thanks, Ti!

 

[royewest]

One more point: I did not order the $40/set pre-drilled and printed endcaps for the Hammond enclosure. As a result, my Mini3 looks pretty amateurish -- I did a better job soldering than drilling/grinding holes in the aluminum endcaps. On the other hand, my power and audio jacks did not end up perfectly aligned, so I suspect that I'd have been sadly grinding my precious custom endcaps to make the holes fit the sockets....

 

[TheNew007]

I see that rockhopperaudio has only the low gain version of mini3 for sale.
Since the headphone I'm using is 25 ohms (denon ah-d2000), will the low gain (which I assume is the "extended runtime" option) be sufficient to power it?

 

[moriez]

On Rockhoppers site it says:

Choice of Gain:

* 2 for IEMs and low impedance headphones
* 5 for low and high impedance headphones

So he does do both unless he told you otherwise? That aside, it still looks like he is not building them atm. I have a Rockhopper Mini myself and it took about 2 or 3 weeks from order to arrival. Its a high gain to power my Senns HD25 and it does the job. Best to ask Stephen himself mate.

 

[jinp6301]

You have to choose between 2 or 5 gain, not both

and yes, the mini^3 is awesome

I just got mine today!

 

[tosh1000]

If you (or a friend) knows how to solder, then this amp is a no brainer. No better performance at almost any cost.

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheNew007 /img/forum/go_quote.gif will the low gain (which I assume is the "extended runtime" option) be sufficient to power it?

Low gain has nothing to do with extended runtime. They are mutually excluseive properties of the amplifier. And I believe that Rockhopper only builds the high-performance version of the mini³. For your Denons the low gain option should be fine unless you like losing your hearing.

 

[royewest]

I built the "high performance" option. I can't turn the volume knob more than 30 degrees clockwise before the volume in my Senn 650s is way too loud to be comfortable.