Mint or Pimeta??

[Super J]

I am getting ready to build my first amp and cant decide what to build. I have good soldering skills, and think I am up to building both of these amps. I listen to most of my music at home and in the car. At home its PC / iPod / Turntable -> Sennheiser HD-497. In my car its iPod -> Aux input into Pioneer reciever. Would a Mint improve my incar setup. I know its a headphone amp, but I like my music loud, and do get some distortion from the iPod. Thanks for the help.

 

[jerb]

for the car, are you using the line out of the IPOD or just the headphone out? If your not using line out then try it, It should help with the distortion

 

[MisterX]

Pimeta.
IMO The layout makes a lot easier for a first time builder to get it right the first time.

 

[Twombly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerb for the car, are you using the line out of the IPOD or just the headphone out? If your not using line out then try it, It should help with the distortion

Why do you need a MINT amp in the car? It's illegal to drive with headphones covering both ears in many states, not to mention unsafe.

 

[cire]

read his first post again. he's using it as a preamp for his reciever

 

[Twombly]

Shouldn't the head unit have a gain stage built in already?

I fail to see how a MINT could improve the sound in this case.

 

[mono]

Pimeta sounds better than a Mint, but Mint can be stuffed into a smaller case. IMO, Mint is a "pocket amp" optimized for that alone without making as much sacrifice as a CMOY.

 

[nikongod]

be careful about the likely ground-loops with a directly coupled amp if you want to run it off of the cars power.

 

[Twombly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mono Pimeta sounds better than a Mint, but Mint can be stuffed into a smaller case. IMO, Mint is a "pocket amp" optimized for that alone without making as much sacrifice as a CMOY.

I know that, but why is he pre-amping a signal that's going into a receiver that already has a gainstage?

 

[Super J]

Ok. I think I am going with a Pimeta. Since it seems that I shouldn't run a Mint into my car reciever, its not really worth it at them moment. Hopefully everything will go well, and I'll be posting pics sometime soon.

 

[Twombly]

Uh, have you not read any of my posts? By amping it, then putting it through the head-unit, and amping it AGAIN, you're introducing distortion.

Taken from tangent's site:
Quote:

If you were to use a stock PIMETA as a preamp, the cabling situation in typical source-preamp-amp configurations shorts out the ground channel. At best, this defeats it, making it a waste of parts. But worse, it can actually make the ground channel unstable, which is never good.

You're wasting your money.

 

[Super J]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twombly Uh, have you not read any of my posts? By amping it, then putting it through the head-unit, and amping it AGAIN, you're introducing distortion. Taken from tangent's site: You're wasting your money.

Yes, I read all of them. I am building the Pimeta for home use only.

 

[Nospam]

Believe it or not, there are reasons to use an amp, other than improving the sound.

I use a Go-Vibe between my iPod and car stereo for one reason: GAIN

It's going into an FM modulator anyway, so the sound won't be all that great anyway (especially if the top is down). I simply need an amp to boost the volume. Besides, music in the car is simply background music, so I don't care much about the sound quality (it's "good enough").

 

[Blooze]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twombly Why do you need a MINT amp in the car? It's illegal to drive with headphones covering both ears in many states, not to mention unsafe.

Always thought those laws were kind of funny. When we were teens we'd ride around with the stereo so loud you could hear it two blocks away even with the windows rolled up. I realize it's not safe, but it's kind of ironic that you can't wear headphones, but can run your stereo so loud you can't hear anything outside anyway.

I could use a MINT in my car--for my son's music--so he can listen to his own stuff in the back seat.

 

[Twombly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super J Yes, I read all of them. I am building the Pimeta for home use only.

Apologies.